Understanding the Three Types of Metabolic Testing

Of all the remarkable natural mechanisms and processes in your body, metabolism is one of the most essential. It refers to your body’s conversion of food and nutrients into energy, which powers your every move as well as all of your body’s functions. The calories you consume from foods and beverages blend with oxygen to provide the energy you need to stay alive, including the energy your body uses while resting. 

A speedier metabolism can help manage your weight and eliminate excess body fat, but there are numerous reasons why your metabolism might be dysfunctional. Fortunately, modern medicine allows us to learn helpful information about your metabolic function using several advanced testing strategies. 

Our expert providers at neXendo Wellness can help you develop a nutrition and exercise program that can help you manage both your weight and any underlying metabolic conditions, including diabetes. At our offices in Long Island City and Murray Hill, New York, Anastasios Manessis, MD, FACE, ECNU, ABOM, and Brandon Caraballosa, MS, RD, CDN, CPT use three forms of metabolic testing to gather the necessary information for effective personalized planning. 

1. Resting metabolic rate (RMR)

When you’re at rest or asleep, your metabolism continues the process of energy conversion to support the organs keeping you alive. Your body is continuously burning calories, even when you’re not voluntarily moving any muscles. In fact, 70-80% of calories you burn throughout the day are burned while you’re at rest. 

An RMR test uses indirect calorimetry to measure the amount of heat your body produces due to the production of carbon dioxide and nitrogen waste. When oxygen goes in, these products come out. 

During the test, you sit in a chair while breathing normally into a tube for around 10 minutes. The tube is attached to a machine that calculates your resting metabolic rate, which can be influenced by your hormone levels, weight, and muscle-to-fat ratio. 

2. Maximum volume of oxygen (VO2 max)

Your VO2 max is the amount of oxygen your body absorbs while you engage in aerobic exercise. During the test, you walk or run on a treadmill or ride an exercise bike while breathing into an oxygen mask. The machine measuring your breathing calculates the difference between the amount of oxygen you breathe in and the carbon dioxide you expel.

Oxygen intake is a crucial part of metabolic function. When you inhale oxygen, your lungs absorb it to convert it into a type of energy called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). 

The more oxygen you can intake during exercise, the more ATP you can produce. A high VO2 max score indicates good lung and heart health. 

3. Lactate threshold testing

Lactate threshold testing involves multiple blood tests as you engage in aerobic activity on a treadmill or stationary bike. Lactate, which the test measures, is a byproduct your muscles produce during exercise. The test determines the point at which lactic acid builds up faster than your body can flush it out, which leads to muscle fatigue. 

Using the results of your lactate threshold test, your provider at neXendo Wellness can develop a stamina-appropriate exercise program to help you reach your health and wellness goals.

Start your metabolic testing today

These three metabolic tests plus a body composition analysis and general blood testing are the keys to an optimal nutrition and exercise program. Give us a call at neXendo Wellness or schedule your appointment online for metabolic testing today.