Metabolic syndrome AKA Syndrome X is a combination or grouping of cardiac risk factors resulting from insulin resistance (when the body’s tissues do not react normally to insulin). A person with metabolic syndrome has a much higher risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death. How would you like to be told that? I was. Lovely.
The most common fat distribution with this syndrome is the apple shape with upper body fat including a waist that pretty much equals hips and chest. A tube. That was me two years ago. Sitting on a time bomb perhaps.
The main causing factors are obesity with aging. Waist circumference is noted to be a significant factor which indicates visceral fat (fat around your organs including fatty liver – which is pre-cirrhosis really). Research studies observed that upper body obesity appeared to predispose to diabetes, atherosclerosis, gout and calculi (stones).
Interesting note: overweight horses can also get this syndrome known as ‘equine metabolic syndrome’ So if you have a horse and can’t get the saddle around the waist – be highly suspicious of weight gain and metabolic syndrome ;)
It is a syndrome of obesity with diabetes or pre-diabetes and insulin resistance, hypertension (high blood pressure) and high ‘bad’ cholesterol , blood clotting and lipid abnormalities.
The World Health Organization Clinical Criteria for Metabolic syndrome is:
Insulin resistance, identified by 1 of the following:
• Type 2 diabetes
• Impaired fasting glucose
• Impaired glucose tolerance
• or for those with normal fasting glucose levels (<110>
Plus any 2 of the following:
• Antihypertensive medication and/or high blood pressure 140 mm Hg systolic or >90 mm Hg diastolic)
• Plasma triglycerides >150 mg/dL =>1.7 mmol/L)
• HDL cholesterol <35>30 kg/m2 and/or waist:hip ratio >0.9 in men, >0.85 in women
• Urinary albumin excretion rate =>20 µg/min or albumin:creatinine ratio =>30 mg/g
Increased waist circumference may be a warning to check for the syndrome but remember that even slimmer women can have insulin resistance (these are most likely the 'fat-thin' people whose ratio of body fat to lean muscle is high).
This syndrome can be prevented and reversed. When we eat foods high in refined carbohydrates insulin levels surge to remove the sugar from the blood and to get it into the cells. For a period of time it works, but if your insulin spikes too often from a diet rich in high carb foods, particularly simple carbs, that cause excess insulin secretion, your cells respond by decreasing their reactivity and reduce the # of insulin receptors on the cell surfaces. This eventually prevents sufficient glucose from getting into the cells and allows more to stay in the blood resulting in high blood sugar. Basically cells are not able to receive enough glucose for energy which they need to function adequately.
Many women with insulin resistance have carbohydrate craving, fatigue, and weight gain. Fatigue because the cells are starving for energy because as mentioned they cannot get enough glucose; craving because your body is trying to get more carbohydrates for energy and weight gain because the sugar is not able to be adequately be utilized and is stored as fat. As you can see by the diagram at the top - it creates a cycle. This is an oversimplification but you get the picture.
Eventually the capacity to generate insulin properly is taxed and leads to type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance is a major factor in metabolic syndrome.
Why is this happening?
In ancient times our ancestors were hunters and gatherers obtaining and eating whole foods and getting lots of exercise in the process of daily living and survival.
I for one sit on my butt all day and I was used to grabbing whatever I could eat, wherever I could - at fast food places or grazing around the office eating refined carbohydrates, preservatives pesticides, trans fats, toxins, and high fructose sugars. No wonder my insulin manufacturing system was wearing out.
Treatment
Can you reverse this trend?
Absolutely!
You are not going to do it with drugs or surgery though. You are going to do it much more naturally. (But please do not discontinue any medications without consulting your doctor. Once you reverse the condition your testing will reveal that you no longer need certain medications).
Earlier in this blog I mentioned when I was very obese I had this syndrome among other health concerns. I had tried reducing fat and sugar in my diet and took multiple mediations to control blood pressure, and cholesterol etc. The B/P meds ‘just’ kept my blood pressure at an acceptable level and though I tried every cholesterol medication available – they did not work.
One day when I went back for follow up for my high cholesterol, my doctor’s husband was covering (don’t worry he was also a doctor – at least I think so). He was not as nice as she was. He said there are no more medications to try. You are fat and you have to lose weight with nutrition and exercise. That is your only hope. Of course there was no advice offered by this lean runner on how an old fat woman should do this.
I tried but was so extremely short of breath when I did anything and had pain, was dizzy, felt faint and had a rapid heart rate. I was then put through a battery of tests which tied me up in the bottle necked health care system for two years. In the end I was just fat.
I tried for several years trying to lose weight by slowly increasing my activity and watching my nutrition and in the midst of it all I broke my ankle and was non-weight bearing for 5 months. I reached my heaviest weight ever. No surprise.
I finally hired a personal trainer to lead me through the maze of fitness information. With extreme determination on my part and patience on the part of the PT I achieved miraculous results.
I learned more by copious reading and became a huge fan of the Eat Clean Diet books by Tosca Reno.
During the process I found out how carb sensitive I was. I made sure to decrease my carbs, make them complex carbs and always have them earlier in the day as well as fill up on fibrous carbs. Avoiding anything white such as starches – like potatoes, white rice, and sugar (just listen to Tosca on the subject of sugar !).
I discovered on the rare occasion that I had bread or flour products that wheat had been causing my irritable bowel symptoms all those years. TaDa! Epiphany.
I could go into great detail about topics such as the GI diet but have decided not to because it is actually a complex issue and theory which is often misunderstood even by fitness trainers. It is best to stay away from complicated diet theories.
The best way to eat for most people is - simply. Eat as close to the ancestors diet as possible - avoid processed foods, eat natural whole foods.
The most important features to healthy nutrition are: eat 6 smaller meals each day, eat a combination of lean protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, fibrous carbohydrates and you can't go wrong.
Conclusion
You are on a great journey to a new healthy lifestyle. I have been on mine for at least two years and I am still enjoying my journey. I have essentially become a hunter gatherer again with good nutrition and exercise.
Nowhere in the plan did I have gastric stapling, bypass, bands, fad diets, packaged diet foods, diet shakes or diet drugs.
Do things that way and you will not be healthy, you will retain your bad habits and you will have an unhealthy weight loss where your skin will not keep up.
Do things naturally with nutrtion, cardio and resistance training, sensibly and gradually losing weight, and your skin will keep up – natural plastic surgery.
I no longer have syndrome X, metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance – whatever you want to call it. Everything is perfectly normal and healthy. I am not taking any medications.
But I stay this way by eating clean 90% of the time and making exercise a permanent part of my life.
If you reduce your weight to at least within 20% of your ideal body weight and incorporate at least 20 minutes of vigourous exercise per day into your lifestyle you can significantly reduce your risk factors.
The only other thing I have left to do, is coax the man of my dreams to eat clean too. It is a work in progress :)
