You probably know what metabolism is but what about metabolic syndrome? It’s been estimated 1 in 4 people suffer from metabolic syndrome and don’t even know it.
Metabolic syndrome (also called insulin resistance syndrome or syndrome X) is a health condition that can doubles a person’s risk of having a heart attack or a stroke. It can also double a person’s chances of developing some types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), asthma, cholesterol gallstones and fatty liver disease.
The unfortunate new about metabolic syndrome is that many of the symptoms of the condition are quiet and unassuming and not noticeable to the person who has the condition. They are also often not noticeable to the outside world. The good news is that losing weight and adding a brisk walk to your daily routine may be all that is required to slow the start of this syndrome, or to stop it all together.
This also includes many of the health problems that go along with it.
An individual who suffers from metabolic syndrome has a combination of three (or more) potential health factors. These health factors include:
• High blood pressure
• Excess body weight
• High blood sugar levels
• High levels of triglycerides
• Low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol
Having one of these risk factors can increase your chances of having a heart attack, a stroke or developing diabetes. However the more factors you possess the greater your potential is for suffering from any of these serious health conditions.
Metabolic syndrome is believed to be inherited to a certain extent. However, medical researchers have not come to any concrete conclusions on this subject. This syndrome is suspected to develop from insulin resistance.
Scientists are not completely clear as to why insulin resistance develops and therefore are even less clear about metabolic syndrome. One thing that is certain is that living a sedentary lifestyle and being overweight (or obese) can contribute to the start of the syndrome.
Losing weight can make you less likely to fall victim to metabolic syndrome. In the same way, reversing the syndrome can be as simple as adding more physical activity to your routine and losing weight. Weight loss can have many advantages for all aspects connected to metabolic syndrome. These include improving your blood fat levels and your resistance to insulin.
Starting and maintaining an exercise program is the most significant thing you can do to send metabolic syndrome packing.
Making dietary modifications is also helpful for weight loss clients. Basic changes are all that you need to do. To reduce your LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase your level of HDL (good) cholesterol switch from eating unhealthy saturated fats to healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats including olive oil, peanut oil and canola oil. These healthy fats can also be found in foods such as avocados and a variety of nuts.
Check out the Mayo Clinic web site for more information on Metabolic Syndrome.
Samantha
Alternative Health for Today 