Metabolic Syndrome

On May 7 this year, Medco Health Solutions, Inc., a leader in managing prescription drug programs, reported that Metabolic Syndrome accounts for about forty percent of all prescription costs in the United States.

Metabolic Syndrome, also called Syndrome X, is characterized by such symptoms as obesity, high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and other blood sugar irregularities. It has also been linked to certain cancers, including breast cancer and colon cancer. Metabolic Syndrome stems from insulin resistance, which is a condition where the cells in the body become resistant to the stimulation of insulin, thereby requiring more and more insulin to respond. How does this happen?

The primary culprit is chronic, excessive consumption of sugars and other carbohydrates. All carbohydrate, except fiber, is absorbed into the bloodstream from the gut, transported to the liver, and turned into glucose, also known as blood sugar. Since most of us live rather sedentary lives, we fail to burn this sugar for energy. To deal with the glucose, the pancreas sends out insulin to stimulate the cells throughout the body to absorb this sugar, where it is stored as glycogen, or “muscle sugar”. When the stores of glycogen reach capacity, the rest of the sugar is stored as fat.

If this happens once in a while, it is no big deal. But the modern U.S. diet is based on carbs: bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and lots of sugar. After years of consuming this kind of diet, and after years of being awash in insulin, the cells of the body stop responding. The pancreas reacts by producing even more insulin to get a cellular response, leading to a condition known as hyperinsulinemia. It is this excessive insulin which puts you on the fast track to gaining weight, triggering diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Excess insulin often reduces blood sugar to the point of hypoglycemia, which leads to light-headedness and increased hunger. You then reach for a candy bar or bagel to carry you through, further aggravating the underlying problem.So if you’re thinking “this sounds all too familiar”, then the best prevention would be to act now. It’s never too late to reverse metabolic syndrome, and that has been successfully achieved by thousands of people. That’s right, just by changing dietary habits and providing your body with the proper nutrients you can avoid metabolic syndrome easily and successfully.

The first step is to dramatically reduce your consumption of bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and sugar, especially soda and juices that contain high amounts of sugar. This is known as a low carbohydrate diet, which, despite what critics may say, is actually the healthiest diet for humans. And when we say “diet”, we don’t mean just a temporary fix to lose 15 pounds, we mean a way of eating for the rest of your life.

The next step is to be sure to include lots of fiber. One criticism of the low carbohydrate diet is that it does not contain enough fiber. However, sugar has no fiber, and bread, pasta, rice and potatoes certainly contain very little. Even whole grain cereal is not very high in fiber. The best way to get your fiber is from lots of green (not starchy) vegetables, legumes and nuts.

Aside from fiber, there is no requirement for carbohydrate in the human diet, according to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. However, carbohydrate has an addictive quality that is actually quite similar to the addictive properties of alcohol.

Persons who eliminate carbohydrate from their diet can experience withdrawal symptoms such as “brain fog”. The brain’s primary source of energy is glucose. If suddenly the brain has no glucose, the result can be a foggy-headed feeling along with cravings for carbohydrate.

A great solution is the nutrient amino acid, glutamine, which the brain can readily use for fuel in place of glucose. Glutamine has the advantage of not increasing blood sugar, and not stimulating insulin release, while feeding the brain the energy it needs to function properly.

So while being sure to include glutamine, good sources of protein and healthy fats, we can also add minerals and nutrients essential at benefiting healthy blood sugar that allow our metabolic functions to operate smoothly. Most notable of these minerals are chromium, zinc and copper, which are critical in glucose metabolism.

Another nutrient helpful in enhancing the effects of insulin is green tea. The authors of a 2002 green tea study (Anderson RA, Polansky MM. Tea enhances insulin activity. J Agric Food Chem 2002;50:7182-6.) cited other research in which the antidiabetic effects of tea on human beings were investigated. When humans in clinical trials ingested EGCG catechins from tea before ingesting 50 g of starch (which is converted to glucose by digestive enzymes), glucose production was suppressed, apparently because the catechins inhibited the enzyme action.

Hoodia gordonii extract, derived from South African cactus, has been shown to reduce blood sugar by 15%. This allows for less circulating insulin, reducing both fat storage and hunger. An easy way to consume all this beneficial nutrition is with WARP 9 Nutrition Shakes.

Dense in nutrition and low in carbohydrate calories these shakes provide high fiber, great sources of proteins, healthy fats and nutrients beneficial in losing weight and supporting healthy blood sugar easily and effectively.These shakes not only taste great but they also include all the nutrients we spoke about including glutamine, hoodia, green tea, chromium, copper, zinc and 20 other vitamins and minerals.

Metabolic syndrome is the ticket to an early demise. If you have it, fight back! If you don’t have it, avoid it! Just remember and apply the above guidelines so you can achieve a long and healthy life. And don’t hesitate to use healthy shortcuts like WARP 9 Weight Loss Shakes.