Dr. Health - Holistic Medicine
HEALTH GALLERY NUTRITION CENTER NEWSLETTER
July 2010
What Is Metabolic Syndrome?
Metabolic refers to metabolism, or how the body uses energy. Metabolic syndrome is a collection of risk factors that, when combined, greatly increase a person's risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes. You may have metabolic syndrome if you have at least three of these heart disease risk factors:
- Belly fat. This means that you carry a lot of extra weight around your middle and have a large waist circumference. Belly fat is a greater indicator of heart disease risk than fat in other places on the body. Waist circumference of 40 inches or greater for men and 35 inches or greater for women means greater risk.
- High blood sugar. This occurs when blood glucose levels are higher than normal when measured while fasting (without any food or drink in your system). Blood glucose higher than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) increases risk of heart disease.
- High triglycerides. These are blood fats that boost heart disease risk. Levels at 150 mg/dL or higher are unhealthy.
- Low HDL. This is high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol--the higher the number, the better. Lower than 40 mg/dL for men and lower than 50 mg/dL for women raises heart disease risk.
- High blood pressure. Anything higher than 130/85 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury) increases heart risk.
People with metabolic syndrome are twice as likely to develop heart disease and five times as likely to have diabetes as people who don't have these risk factors. It's estimated that about 47 million people in the United States have metabolic syndrome. That means that about a quarter of the entire U.S. population is at high risk for heart disease and diabetes.
Walt Edwards, Ph.D. - Dr. Health
How Metabolic Syndrome Affects Your Body
Obesity can cause what's known as insulin resistance, a condition in which the body can't properly use the hormone insulin. Insulin is released by the pancreas, and turns glucose (sugar) in the blood into energy. Insulin resistance is linked to both metabolic syndrome and obesity, and often leads to diabetes.
Your Perception Of The World Around You Can Affect Your Health
Being pessimistic can be more than just an emotional drain on yourself and those around you--pessimism has been linked to a higher risk of dying before age 65. The good news is that expressing positive emotions such as optimism is associated with a variety of health benefits: lowered production of the stress hormone cortisol, better immune function, and reduced risk of chronic diseases. If you are stressed-out or anxious, which can be either a cause or an effect of a pessimistic outlook, try the following:
- Take care of yourself by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and getting adequate sleep.
- Express your emotional reactions honestly so you can effectively deal with what's bothering you.
- Confide in someone--your mate, a good friend or a trusted relative.
- View the cup as half full instead of half empty.
Can Science-based Evidence Be Trusted?
It's virtually impossible to expect a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, which has a major obligation to its stockholders, to simultaneously have the patient's best interest at heart. As Golomb says, the two are fundamentally incompatible. And yet this is THE source of the vast majority of the funding for all our science-based evidence.
What About Vitamin K? and Milk thistle!
People who get vitamin K from food may have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Among 38,000 adults followed for a decade, those who got the most vitamin K in their diets were about 20 percent less likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
According to Reuters: "It's estimated that more than 23 million, or nearly 11 percent, of U.S. adults have type 2 diabetes. The extent to which specific nutrients in the diet might affect diabetes risk remains unclear."
Both vitamins K1 and K2 were related to a lower diabetes risk, but the relationship was stronger with vitamin K2, which people get mainly from meat, cheese and eggs. K1 is an integral part of liver function and a good source of help for cirrhosis and jaundice of the liver.
When the subject of liver problems may arise one herb that always deserves discussion is Milk thistle. Milk thistle is extremely good at cleansing the liver, an important factor in diabetes. In doses over 1,500 mg per day, loose stools as a result of increased bile flow and secretion can occur. This desired effect makes it the herb of choice for any liver-related diseases, including liver toxicity associated with acetaminophen, anti-psychotics, halothane, and alcohol.
Why Is The Hemoglobin A1C Blood Test Important? Glycation is the chemical reaction between sugar and amino acids in your blood. The product of this reaction is a life-threatening compound known as an Advanced-Glycated End Product (AGE Product). To measure how much glycation you have, doctors and nutritionists look at hemoglobin A1C. Increased A1C can be used to measure how much damage your body has suffered from the "lost blood sugar." Uncontrolled, the AGE Products will elicit fatigue, depression, blurred vision/blindness, joint pain (osteoarthritis) and heart disease. It usually covers a blood sugar count for an average three month period. Readings below 6.5 are better than higher amounts. Check with your doctor for details.
Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup
A number of studies have shown that when we drink our calories (as opposed to eat them), our brains will process information differently. Unlike solid food, liquid calories don't satisfy hunger because they don't suppress a hunger hormone called ghrelin which tells us to eat more. In an analysis of the eight-year Nurses' Health Study II, it was shown that women who upped their caloric soft drink consumption from one soda per week to one or more per day gained weight and had a higher risk of type II diabetes.
Sodas are unquestionably linked to obesity, both the adult kind and the childhood kind. Research conducted in 2001 by David Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children's Hospital in Boston, found that the odds of a teenager becoming obese increased a whopping 60 percent for each can or glass of sugar-sweetened soft drinks.
Anti-inflammatory foods: Atlantic salmon (wild), fresh whole fruits, vegetables--bright multi-colored vegetables, green tea, water, olive oil, lean poultry, nuts, legumes, and seeds, dark green leafy vegetables, old fashioned oatmeal, spices (specially turmeric and ginger).
Inflammatory foods: sugar, from any source, processed foods, French fries, fast foods, white bread, pasta, ice cream, Cheddar cheese, snack foods, oils such as vegetable and corn, soda, caffeine, and alcohol.
Thought For The Day: Many cultures (and some open-minded people) believe in karma and reincarnation. I am not sure if it exists or not, but it sure seems to explain the differences and seeming injustices in this world. Or, simply put, doing to others as you wish to be done to you--reaping what you sow --both in this lifetime and potentially in future lifetimes seems to answer the question of why are we here. In the meantime, my best advice is to live your life as though you believe that karma is a reality. Or, to put it in more secular, pragmatic terms, to live every moment as though the whole world were watching!
Contact Dr. Health:
Walt Edwards, Ph.D.
29820 Ellensburg Avenue
PO Box 283
Gold Beach, OR 97444
541-247-7077
walt4health@gmail.com
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