When you eat food, it gets digested and broken down into carbohydrates, fats, and protein. The carbs and fats are burned for energy or stored as fat if you eat more calories than you consume. The protein is synthesized into new lean tissue and muscle.
That’s how a healthy metabolism is supposed to work, anyway. But something has been going very, very wrong with this process for the last couple of decades.
When something goes wrong with your metabolism, it’s referred to as metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome has been on a sharp rise recently, along with diseases like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, renal disease, and obesity. But are these completely separate diseases, or do they all have one common link? Medical experts and scientists are still scrambling to find the answer to these questions. And we’re about to present you the most up-to-date and medically accurate data they’ve put together in recent years.
Metabolic Health and Metabolic Syndrome
Everyone’s metabolism eventually slows down with age. But the how and the why behind that slowdown can make a big difference in whether or not you develop metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is defined as having any or all of the following health problems:
- High blood pressure
- High (fasted) blood sugar
- Excess abdominal fat
- Unhealthy cholesterol levels
- High (fasted) triglyceride levels
The more of those symptoms you have, the worse it gets. Recent studies have also discovered strong links between metabolic syndrome and the following diseases:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Insulin resistance (which is a dangerous precursor to diabetes)
- Renal disease and renal failure
Divisiveness in the Medical Community: Metabolic Syndrome Is a Hot-button Topic!
“Old school” doctors and medical experts believe that genetics are the biggest factor which determine if someone will develop metabolic syndrome (or something more serious). They believe diet and lifestyle choices may factor into the equation, but for people who have a family history of the disease, it’s inevitable. They take a very fatalistic approach. They rarely discuss diet or lifestyle options with their patients – instead they pull out their prescription pad, send their patient to the pharmacy, and call it a day.
“New school” doctors, on the other hand, take a very different approach. They have a lot of newer research which backs up the idea that diet and lifestyle have a very strong impact on disease – including metabolic syndrome. In some cases, they’ve seen patients eliminate their metabolic symptoms and even send type 2 diabetes into remission through diet and lifestyle changes.
We obviously can’t give you medical advice, and we strongly encourage you to listen to whatever your doctor has to say. But what’s the harm in making a few healthy diet and lifestyle changes alongside whatever course of treatment you’re currently pursuing? Probably not much. It may even do you some good.
Diet, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Syndrome
Whether you subscribe to the old school or new school philosophy about metabolic syndrome and its associated diseases, one thing is for sure: making healthy diet and lifestyle choices can have a positive effect. But what sort of positive changes should you be making?
The most popular suggestion offered up by medical experts is to exercise more. Even if it’s something as simple as taking a walk around your neighborhood, experts agree that it’s better than being sedentary all day. The next most common bit of advice is to consume fewer calories than you burn. This can help you lose weight, and weight loss can help stabilize blood sugar levels. This is obviously a step in the right direction since out of control blood sugar is one of the most damaging aspects of metabolic syndrome and diseases like Type 2 diabetes.
Lastly, whatever diet you prescribed to – whether it’s low carb, low fat, high protein, high-fiber, or anything in between – everyone agrees you should be eating whole foods. Examples of whole foods include:
Fresh fruits and vegetables from the produce section of your grocery store or your local farmers market
Fresh meat and fish purchased from your local butcher or seafood store
Minimally processed dairy products and real butter
It might take a little more time and effort to make your meals from whole foods that to heat up a microwave dinner or swing by a fast food restaurant, but we promise you it’ll be worth it. Eating more whole foods, getting more exercise, and eating a reasonable amount of calories will all help you reduce your likelihood of metabolic syndrome – keeping you happy and healthy for life!
