What is Metabolic Syndrome?More than 50 million Americans have metabolic syndrome, a term used to describe a collection of risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Experts agree it’s the average American lifestyle driving the epidemic. But this may actually be good news. If we got ourselves into this mess, then we should be able to get ourselves out of it.
Now, let’s take a look at the risk factors a little more closely. Basically, your doctor will “label” you metabolically sick if you have three or more of the following problems:
- A large waist size — greater than 40 inches in men or 35 inches in women.
- Blood pressure that is 130/85 or higher.
- HDL-cholesterol (the good stuff) less than 40 mg/dL in men and less than 50 mg/dL in women.
- Triglycerides greater than 150 mg/dL.
- Fasting blood glucose greater than 110 mg/dL.
Evidenced-based Nutrition for Treating Metabolic SyndromeThe nutrients that show promise in treating metabolic syndrome target belly fat, elevated sugar or insulin dysfunction. By correcting all three risk factors, you can expect to see major changes in your metabolic health. Better metabolic health translates into fewer heart attacks and strokes.
Let’s look at the evidence:
1. Fish Oil1,2
Fish oil activates the transcription factor PPAR-gamma, which causes belly fat to burn. PPAR-gamma also helps to maintain healthy blood sugar through multiple mechanisms.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has shown that a water-soluble extract of cinnamon could help reduce risk factors long associated with diabetes and heart disease. The study involved 22 obese participants with elevated blood sugar. They were divided into two groups and either given a placebo or 250 milligrams of dried, water-soluble cinnamon extract twice daily with their diets. The study showed that water-soluble cinnamon extract improved several antioxidant variables by as much as 13% to 23%. These numbers led to decreases in fasting glucose.
In a recent double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 32 obese, insulin-resistant adult men and women drank smoothies made with freeze-dried blueberry powder for 6 weeks. A placebo control group consumed smoothies without blueberry extracts. The blueberry group showed a statistically significant improvement in insulin sensitivity versus the placebo group.
Drinking 1 cup of coffee a day lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 7%, according to a review of 18 studies covering 500,000 people. Coffee contains chlorogenic acid which can inhbit the liver from producing too much sugar and slow down sugar absorption.
Six Healthy Lifestyle Steps for Metabolic SyndromeSo, here’s the lowdown in simple steps that you can easily follow. If more people simply took these steps, we would be significantly healthier and metabolic syndrome could be a thing of the past.
1. Eat less, probably half what you eat now.
2. Drink at least 1 cup of coffee every day.
3. Tone muscles with resistance exercises.
4. Eat fish 3–4 times a week, and eat dark fruits and vegetables daily.
5. Add spices like cinnamon and curcumin to food.
6. Consider the following daily supplements:
- a. 2–4 grams of fish oil per day.
- b. 250 mg of water-based cinnamon.
- c. 500 mg of blueberry extract.
- d. 200–400 mg of a green coffee bean extract.
- Diabetes. 2006 Apr;55(4):924-8.
- Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Feb;19(2):262-8. Epub 2010 Sep 2.
- J Am Coll Nutr. 2009;28:16-21.
- J Nutr. 2010 Oct;140(10):1764-8.
- Arch Intern Med. 2009 Dec 14;169(22):2053-63.
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