Metabolic Health
Metabolic health is a term used to describe a collection of required chemical reactions that take place in all living organisms. A metabolic disorder develops when an abnormal chemical reaction occurs which alters the normal metabolic process.
Did you know?
Approximately 20-25% of the world’s adult population have metabolic syndrome?
A common misconception surrounding metabolic health is that it refers solely to your weight, and if you are overweight you are considered to be unhealthy. But in actual fact this may not be entirely true. Good metabolism means that your body is in good overall health, which doesn’t account for just your weight! Common metabolic disorders include genetic metabolic disorders, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Understanding and testing to see how well your metabolism is functioning is key to ensuring long lasting health.
Genetics
There are a number of genetic metabolic disorders caused by mutations of single genes. Examples of common disorders include Gaucher’s disease, hemochromatosis and cystic fibrosis. Gaucher’s disease is a genetic disorder that affects the body’s ability to break down fat that can accumulate in the liver/spleen and bone marrow. Hemochromatosis is a condition that is caused by the over-absorption and build-up of iron while cystic fibrosis is a metabolic disorder that appears as a result of a build-up of mucus in lungs/liver and intestines. Each of these metabolic disorders affect certain organs from functioning properly and therefore your overall healthiness.
Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common types of metabolic disorders in the world that is expected to affect 592 million people by 2035. It is characterised by high blood sugar, insulin resistance or a lack of insulin being produced by the pancreas. Insulin resistance occurs when the body isn’t able to use insulin the right way which increases blood glucose levels. Insulin is needed for cells to take in glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream and convert it into energy. Over time this lack of insulin can damage the organs in your body.
Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome (also known as syndrome X, Reaven’s syndrome, and CHAOS) is not a disease but a collection of risk factors that affect your health; these include high blood pressure, high blood sugar/cholesterol and abdominal fat. Left untreated, these risk factors, together, can lead to long term serious problems including an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and developing type 2 diabetes.
Can you improve your metabolic health?
Yes! The good news is that if you discover that your metabolic health is not up to scratch you can improve it through a combination of diet, exercise and lifestyle adjustments such as:
- 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise 5-7 times a week
- Low-dose aspirin to reduce your risk of stroke or heart attack
- Quit smoking
- Medication for blood pressure/cholesterol/ blood sugar
- Limit alcohol intake
- Eat a healthy balanced diet
Related Products
Randox has developed the RX series of clinical chemistry analysers for superior semi-automated and fully automated testing. The RX series extensive dedicated test menu goes beyond routine testing and has many unique and high-performance tests available. Our range of tests covers several parameters to assess your overall metabolic health.
Metabolic Health Profile
| Albumin | Chloride | Potassium |
| Alkaline Phosphatase | C02 Total | Sodium |
| ALT | Creatinine | Total Bilirubin |
| AST (GOT) | Glucose | Total Protein |
| Direct Bilirubin | Lactate | Urea |
| Calcium |
The RX series clinical chemistry analysers provide laboratories with a robust and smart solution ensuring you maintain a consistent workflow and can provide accurate results first time, every time. Offering excellent customer support services, our trained engineers are on hand to work with you in preserving the continuity of your operations while maximising the potential of your RX series instrument.Our world-famous test menu of high quality reagents ensures excellence in patient care, guaranteeing unrivalled precision and accuracy reducing costly test re-runs or misdiagnosis and offering complete confidence in results.
For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/clinical-chemistry-analysers/
Metabolic syndrome comprises of risk factors such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar/cholesterol and abdominal fat, which together, can lead to serious long term problems including an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and developing type 2 diabetes. Randox have developed an extensive range of reagents to accurately diagnose and monitor metabolic health, with the aim that patients can take the appropriate measurements to improve their health.
All reagents are available for use on a wide range of third party biochemistry analysers. Contact us to request an application for your specific analyser.
Adiponectin
Adiponectin is a clinical diagnostic biomarker for metabolic risk assessment. Adiponectin is solely excreted by adipocytes and is a protein hormone with anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitising properties. It plays an important role in a number of metabolic processes such as glucose regulation and fatty acid oxidation. Levels of adiponectin have been linked with several pathologies including metabolic syndrome, cancer and cardiovascular disease, as levels are inversely correlated with Abdominal Visceral Fat (AVF). Randox is one of the only manufacturers of adiponectin in an automated biochemistry format, removing the inconvenience and time consumption associated with traditional ELISA-based testing.
For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/adiponectin/
Small-dense LDL (sLDL) Cholesterol
Small-dense LDL cholesterol is a vital cardiac risk marker, usually tested in patients with prediabetes or metabolic syndrome. Randox sLDL utilises the “Denka Seiken” method which produces results in less than ten minutes. Research has shown individuals with a predominance of sLDL have a 3-fold increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI), even for those who HDL, LDL, Total Cholesterol and Triglyceride levels are considered ‘normal’. Elevated levels of sLDL are associated with a sedentary lifestyle, a diet high in saturated fat, insulin resistance, pre-diabetes and genetic disposition. Measurement of sLDL allows the clinician to get a more comprehensive picture of lipid risk factors and tailor treatment accordingly. Reducing LDL levels reduce the risk of both CVD and MI.
For more information visit: www.randox.com/sldl-cholesterol/
TxBCardio™
Randox TxBCardio™ is used to assess the level of aspirin resistance in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease. Aspirin resistance is a serious clinical problem and is estimated to affect 25-20% of patients on a low dosage. It is important to assess aspirin resistance as this may be anticipated in patients with metabolic syndrome. The identification of these patients can be significantly improved through the use of Randox TxBCardio™ as the results generated can be used to enable timely intervention by clinicians and they can focus on anti-platelet therapy.
For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/txbcardio/
Other metabolic health tests:
- Albumin
- Alkaline Phosphatase
- ALT
- AST (GOT)
- Direct Bilirubin
- Calcium
- Chloride
- CO2 Total
- Creatinine
- Glucose
- Lactate
- Potassium
- Sodium
- Total Bilirubin
- Total Protein
- Urea
When diagnosing and monitoring metabolic-related complications such as Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), it is vital that laboratories have a robust Quality Control (QC) system in place to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the results produced. As a world leading manufacturer of QC solutions including Third Party Controls and External Quality Assessment (EQA), our extensive product portfolio is designed to help reduce costs and time without compromising on quality.
Diabetes
Liquid HbA1c Control
- Liquid ready-to-use format ideal for use in the lab or at the POC
- Whole blood sample matrix commutable with that of the patient sample
- Assayed control with values available for HPLC
- Convenient bi-level pack accurately covering the patient reportable range
- Open vial stability of 30 days ultimately helping to reduce waste and costs
- For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/liquid-hba1c-quality-control/
Glycated Hemoglobin EQA Programme
- Monthly analysis ensuring early identification of test system errors
- Maximised peer groups for comparative performance assessment
- Reports available within 72 hours allowing corrective action to be taken immediately
- User-friendly reports delivering at-a-glance performance assessment
- For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/hba1c-eqa/
CVD risk
Lipid Control
- Covers the complete lipid profile
- True third party control ensuring unbiased performance assessment with any instrument or method
- Manufactured from 100% human serum ensuring a matrix commutable with the patient sample
- Free from Sodium Azide which can interfere with direct clearance methods of HDL and LDL Cholesterol
- Three clinically significant levels available covering low, borderline and high risk levels of HDL and LDL Cholesterol
- For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/lipid-quality-control/
- Covers the complete lipid profile with a choice of reporting just three parameters at a reduced cost
- Monthly analysis ensuring early identification of test system errors
- Maximised peer groups for comparative performance assessment
- Reports available within 72 hours allowing corrective action to be taken immediately
- User-friendly reports delivering at-a-glance performance assessment
- For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/lipids-eqa/
Our Randox Health clinics offer comprehensive health testing as part of our Signature, Everyman and Everywoman packages to give you a comprehensive picture of your overall metabolic health. Our clinics utilise the same cutting-edge tests and quality control that we have available to clinical laboratories globally, as well as our patented Biochip Array Technology (BAT).
For more information visit: https://www.randoxhealth.com/