Metabolic Syndrome

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What Is Metabolic Syndrome?

If you spend time listening to news about health and wellness, you have probably heard the words “metabolic syndrome” mentioned on several occasions. What is metabolic syndrome and why is it important to you?

Well, metabolic syndrome is a term used to describe a group of risk factors that can increase your risk for coronary heat disease, stroke, type two diabetes and kidney disease. Identified some twenty years ago, metabolic syndrome is becoming more and more common. The American Heart Association estimates that it effects some 47 million Americans and this numbers appears to be on the rise. There are many theories as to why these numbers are increasing, but there is increasing evidence that a sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition are two of the main culprits.

Signs of metabolic disorder:

  • Large waist size- Men 40 inches or greater- women 35 inches or greater
  • High triglycerides– 150 mg/dl or higher- or if you are taking a cholesterol medication
  • Low good cholesterol (HDL)-  for men less than 40mg/dl- for women less than 50mg/dl
  • Hight Blood Pressure- 135/85 or greater- or if you are taking a blood pressure medication
  • High fasting glucose levels of 100 mg/dl or greater

Now this does not mean that having one of these symptoms means you have metabolic syndrome. Instead, the more of the symptoms you have from the list above, the greater the likelihood is that you have metabolic syndrome.

Risk factors that can increase your chances of having Metabolic Syndrome:

  • Insulin resistance
  • Age- Risk of metabolic syndrome is 20 % for someone in their 40’s and up to 45% for someone 60 plus
  • More prone to blood clots and inflammation- Inflammation is often a sign of poor health that can lead to other chronic medical conditions
  • Other medical conditions such as fatty liver, cholesterol gallstones, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS),
  • Family History.
  • Ethnicity- some ethnicity’s have shown a higher propensity towards metabolic syndrome.

 

Unfortunately, there is not much anyone can do to change the risk factors listed above.  However, the good news, is that the emerging field of epigenetic has shown us that our genes are expressed based on several lifestyle factors.

These factors include:

– Diet

–  Weight

–  Smoking

–  Exercise

–  Hormone balance

–  Stress

Thus, a diet high in saturated fats, trans fats, salt, cholesterol, artificial sugars, and processed foods, or little exercise, smoking, being overweight, or having a hormone imbalance can increase your risk of metabolic syndrome. However, you can decrease your risk by eating lots of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, organic/natural foods, wholes wheats, exercising, maintaining a healthy weight, optimal hormone levels, and not smoking.

This doesn’t mean that you have to make all of these changes or else. If you have several of the symptoms listed above and have poor habits; just making a few small changes can make a huge difference. For example, walking more instead of taking the elevator or escalator, cutting out soft drinks and drinking more water, or loosing 10 pounds can also make a profound difference. By making these changes now, you can affect whether or not your genes express health or disease.

To find out more about metabolic syndrome contact us today.