Metabolic Syndrome

The metabolic syndrome is a disease of the 21st Century. Twenty-four percent of adults in the United States qualify for this diagnosis.¹ For the first time in recorded history, it is suggested that, if the current trend in obesity continues into the next generation, our children may have a lower life expectancy than we have ourselves.²

Criteria for diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome include at least 3 of the following 5 things: abdominal obesity (with specific measurements for men and women), elevated triglycerides (>150), low HDL (<40 in men, <50 in women), high blood pressure (>135/85), high fasting blood sugar (>110).

So, we see the family practice doctor or internist for our high blood pressure and high cholesterol, we try to lose weight the best we can – by eating egg whites, avoiding fat whenever possible, drinking diet sodas – and still we find that we gain weight, and our cholesterol comes down only with drugs, our blood pressure comes down only with drugs, and we do not feel well.

How many people do we all know who are chubby around the middle? How many of our friends are taking high blood pressure medicine and statin drugs for their “cholesterol”? And these are the folks who consider themselves healthy, because by all insurance-based criteria, they are healthy. Their “disease” is “well managed.”

In fact, they do not have a defined disease. They have diagnostic codes, for which they see multiple specialists, and are given multiple drugs as a “preventative” measure. They are advised to return for follow-up, so that when they get sick enough, they can be given more drugs. As Jeffrey Bland so eloquently put it, “somewhere along the line they will develop a ‘clean’ diagnosis – myocardial infarction, diabetes, stroke, cardiac arrest… In the meantime, they take medicine, eat refined flour, sweets, diet sodas, low-fat manufactured foods… and become more obese, and more ill, until finally their “diagnosis” becomes apparent.

It is frustrating that the status quo does not promote or teach health.

Of course there is always hope. Consider the fact that insulin – the body’s response to a sugar load – does much more in physiology than simply deal with blood sugar. Yes, it is the transporter of glucose across the cell membrane. But it serves other functions as well.

When our bodies think they are under stress, they shift to “storage” mode – to store up fat against the hard times coming, when game is not plentiful and we need every ounce of fat we can store if we are to survive the winter season. True, most of us do not have the issue of survival through the winter season any more. But we do have other stressors, and our genetics, while they do not necessarily change rapidly, are very good at adapting to new situations.

In our modern lives, we are always fighting the clock, always trying to do more in less time, always shorting ourselves on sleep, always in a hurry… what better definition is there of stress? And what does the body do under stress? It stores up fat for the hard times ahead.

So, maybe one of the ways to treat the metabolic syndrome is to relieve stress. Set realistic goals. Learn to say “no.” Read a good book. Get enough sleep. Stop putting chemicals into our bodies. Drink water, not sugar. Eat food, not chemicals.

To take it one step further – cellular signaling depends on the information coming into the cell, and the state of health of the cell itself. A cell under stress reads somewhat different signals than a healthy cell, and therefore sends out different signals. Not all calories are alike. Is it not possible that meat from animals raised under stressful conditions with hormones and steroids inevitably imparts those stress signals to those of us who eat the meat?³

Treatment

At the Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine, where we truly believe that an ounce of prevention is worth way more than a pound of cure, we look first at the diet – the fuel which is being presented to the body. Then we look at the metabolism, to see where processes may be distorted – are there kinks in the fuel line? We look at the information systems which direct the metabolism – are all the cables connected correctly? We look at the content of the body's filters – do the filters need changing out? Do we need to address toxicities?

We modify the diet, to include lots of “clean” meats, fruits and vegetables, and eliminate the high inflammatory foods – sugars, starches, additives, colorings and chemicals. Once again, if you can’t pronounce it, it probably isn’t good for you, even if the FDA says it’s OK as an additive. Nobody ever suffered from a deficiency of Aspartame⁴, BHA or BHT⁵.

We also use herbal medicine to help restore the body’s sensitivity to insulin, so that we can eliminate pharmaceutical medication. We monitor blood work, to make sure that the markers are improving. We may even look at total body burden of heavy metals, since it is known that heavy metal toxicity can cause “unexplained” high blood pressure.⁶

And in the end, with diet change and exercise as a way of life, the syndrome is reversible. It is possible to become restored to excellent health. It simply takes unflagging resolve and some diligent work.