Metabolic Flexibility

Anyone who embarks on changing their dietary system and wishes the organism's behavior to move in the desired direction while maintaining good health must respect one absolutely essential characteristic of human metabolism – metabolic flexibility.
Even though this term is often presented as the body's ability to preferentially use fats or carbohydrates as an energy source, its meaning is actually much broader. Its proper understanding is not demanding:
Metabolism refers to the chemical processes, that is, the organism's ability to process (absorb and expel) various substances and energy. The food we consume is always processed by the organism in some way, resulting in a certain amount of energy produced and unwanted components expelled. The primary goal of metabolism is to keep the organism alive.
Flexibility means elasticity.
When these two terms are combined, the designation metabolic flexibility arises. This emphasizes the ability of the body to function in the field of using energy sources with the absence (or minimally low intake) of carbohydrates, where the main energy source in the diet is fats, or "switch" to a mode where, after dietary adjustments, carbohydrates are the main energy source with the supplementary use of fats. Simply put, it is a capability that every person on this planet possesses.
However, metabolic flexibility harbors much greater potential than just the ability to adapt flexibly to one or the other energy source. It only needs to be viewed from a broader perspective.
A typical characteristic of human metabolism is flexible adaptability. This term may sound unnecessarily technical to most people, but its explanation is quite simple:
A human being is an organism programmed by nature to be an omnivore. This means we are capable of "eating" everything available on this planet and also successfully digesting it. This fact tells us that the human metabolism is very flexible (= flexible) in its ability to process food, and it also has the capacity to adapt (= adapt) to different conditions.
Simply explained, this means that our metabolism, that is, the ability to process food, can adapt to different conditions (=food selection and their composition), and that too within a certain range (elasticity). Interestingly, no other animal species on this planet has this ability to such an extent, making us unique. The explanation is also simple here:

1. Human beings are on the highest evolutionary rung of the entire biological system.
This means that the history of our genetic code reflects the development of all evolutionary stages we have ever gone through before becoming humans. We bear elements and characteristics (abilities) of these past stages. Practically, this means that this great flexibility in the ability to adapt allows us, as omnivores, to move between extremes, such as purely plant-based diets (= herbivory = veganism) to predominantly meat-based diets (a typical example being the Inuit, whose diet is 90-95% composed of animal products).

2. Humans have the most developed consciousness.
Our consciousness is the bearer of free will. Thanks to it, we can choose how we want to proceed with our eating habits. We are not as restricted (limited) as other animal species, which are predominantly driven by genetics. However, this has its partial rules that need to be respected; otherwise, any unhealthy experimentation with different dietary styles and approaches will backfire on us health-wise. Let us focus particularly on the following two:

- For each change we want to make in nutrition, it is absolutely essential to invest enough time so that metabolism has the space to adapt. Depending on the extent of the changes, this takes months to years. Thus, expecting that any "spur-of-the-moment action" in the form of a fundamental change in eating habits will occur immediately and simultaneously without problems is unrealistic.
An example can be a situation where an average individual in our modern society, a person who consumes meat 2-3 times, dairy products 2-3 times, and an egg once every day, wants to transition to vegetarianism. In the case of transitioning to a purely plant-based diet, it will take on average 2-4 years before the mind and metabolism fully adapt.

- Every change we wish to make in nutrition is subject to a spectrum of rules that keep our metabolism in balance. Therefore, it is necessary to know "a bit" about nutrition and its impact on health. Without this knowledge, it simply won't work; otherwise, we would deviate from metabolic balance, which will always backfire health-wise.
The key term to internalize here is "balance." If we understand this well, we will be able to manipulate food to our advantage, without fearing any adverse effects on our health.
Balance is a concept that can be perceived in different ways and from various perspectives. In a timeline, let's divide it into:

Short-term.
Short-term balance means that in food, we change one or a few things that simultaneously don't significantly impact the deviation of metabolic processes from a long-term set regime. Homeostatic self-regulatory systems will react quickly and flexibly to any such change.

Long-term.
To ensure and maintain it, we need to use a balanced combination of knowledge about the functioning of the body and mind, knowledge about nutrition, and a hefty dose of empathy (= the ability to empathize with the situation).

The conclusion of these reflections is a range of interesting findings that should accompany anyone interested in any form of manipulation with their diet:

1. Every person is an omnivore, which allows a very wide selection of what they can eat. Thus, our diet can exhibit the widest possible variety in food choices and subsequently the intake of various substances.

2. It is just us (our consciousness and free will) choosing and deciding what, how, and when to eat and for what purpose.

3. The combination of genetic (= inherent) and epigenetic (= environmental conditions) factors creates our own uniqueness or individuality. Because of this, it is not possible to claim that there is only one correct way of eating. The diet of each person should therefore be slightly different.

4. Whether the goal of diet change is weight reduction, the effort to support sports performance, or to improve health, it is advantageous to exploit the potential of flexibility and adaptability of metabolism. Always with the goal of investing sufficient time in the entire process of changes and simultaneously striving to respect the rules of short-term and long-term balance, which we ensure with the principles of the Zone of Optimal Functioning (ZOF).