Metabolic Syndrome affects 20% or more of the US population and about 25% of Europeans. Currently, its prevalence is increasing worldwide, along with the prevalence of obesity.
Metabolic Syndrome refers to a medical condition diagnosed with insulin resistance. Impaired fasting glucose with impaired glucose tolerance plus the following two risk factors:
- obesity (waist to hip ratio or body mass index)
- hyperlipidemia (hypertriglyceridaemia, low density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL])
- hypertension, fsd
- microalbuminuria
The pathogenesis of MetS includes both genetic and acquired factors. One of the most important acquired factors in insulin resistnace.
Why is insulin resistance crucial in developing MetS?
When your body has a constant high glucose level, it stops internalizing it into the cell. Chronic elevated glucose levels lead to insulin resistance.
Although you have a lot of sugar in your blood, the tissues do not detect it and begin:
- break down lipids, increasing fatty acids (which are small units that form lipids)
- break down glucose storage (increasing blood sugar levels)
Fatty acids damage cells because they lead to chronic inflammation and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. Excess glucose is fatal to your vessels. These two processes work together and lead to cardiovascular events. Furthermore, inflammation is toxic to the pancreas (insulin production sites).
HOW TO PREVENT OR REVERSE Metabolic syndrome?
Because it is a condition associated with obesity, we must act at the beginning. What are the strategies for reversing obesity?
Changing your lifestyle and diet: The most important thing is to stop your refined sugar intake. No refined sugar means no cakes and sweets. Instead, you should eat slow glucose foods such as vegetables and starches. Small amounts of fructose in the form of fruit are also justified.
We suggest cutting refined and processed carbohydrates. You may be wondering if the so-called "healthy whole grains" are good for you.
The problem with these grains is that they significantly increase insulin levels. The problem lies in the process of creating them. The modern way of processing these grains is very different from traditional stone grinding.
We want to avoid increasing insulin levels, which is why we recommend moderate amounts of all food, such as beans, sweet potatoes, and vegetables. In addition, small amounts of fructose are also good, but only in the form of fruit (instead of artificial sweeteners of fructose syrup).
When it comes to protein, we should strive for about 15-20% of our total calorie intake. People who have kidney problems should aim much less. We advise you to eat all food, such as beef (steak, for example), fatty fish (salmon), etc.
When we cook, we should process our food as little as possible. Instead of preparing our meat in vegetable oil, we should cook in a frying pan without fat and then add raw extra virgin olive oil or a piece of butter to the steak.
Fat is very beneficial for us because it regulates our endocrine system. People are usually afraid of eating fat or eating a highly processed form of fat. That is why it is considered unhealthy.
Processed fat, such as that cooked at high temperatures, such as fried food, oils extracted from vegetables such as palm oil or fat stored on shelves for a very long time (like peanut butter) is not necessarily healthy for us.
However, full-fat products such as meat, avocados, raw extra virgin olive oil, eggs and fatty fish are very beneficial for us. They are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, thanks to which we are healthy and fuller between meals. What's more, they also reduce inflammation.
The high content of vegetables, fresh fruit, cereals and olive oil guarantees a high intake of vitamin A, vitamins C and E, polyphenols (antioxidants) and various essential minerals. It has been suggested that these basic elements are responsible for the beneficial effects of this diet on human health.
We also recommend that you start caring for your meals.
Intermittent fasting can help you get rid of excess blood sugar by improving your glucose resistance. Studies show that it works in people with diagnosed diabetes. In addition, it is worth exercising during fasting to speed up the loss of belly fat.
We recommend that you drink coffee in the morning and start your first meal around 2pm, then have a small snack (like fruit) and a second large meal late in the evening. Two large meals will significantly reduce the insulin spike during the day. This will ensure that you only have two or three sugar peaks