Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is not a disease in itself, but rather a diagnosis based on a collection of conditions or metabolic risk factors that can make someone more likely to develop other serious medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes.  Metabolic syndrome has also been referred to in the past as syndrome X or dysmetabolic syndrome.

Many Americans today are being diagnosed as having metabolic syndrome. The collection of conditions that contribute to this diagnosis are high blood pressure, abdominal obesity or excess fat around the waist, high cholesterol levels, and/or high blood sugar. If you have at least three of these, chances are that you already have or will develop metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome doubles your risk for developing heart disease, having a stroke, and your likelihood of developing diabetes is five-fold if a doctor has told you that you have metabolic syndrome.

If you fall into this category, these are some of the things that can delay or prevent              serious health issues:

Reduce your body weight by at least 5% – 10%.

Maintain your blood pressure below 135/85.

Maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

Exercise and/or increase your activity level.

Get plenty of sleep each day, at least 7 -9 hours nightly.  Sleep does affect your weight,        so the more that you get, the better your body will be able to maintain and/or lose              weight.

Modify your diet.  Maintain a well-balanced low-carbohydrate diet, rich in good fats,          and low in bad fats.  Remember that carbohydrates convert to sugar when                            metabolized.  Reduce your sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg per day, and eat                  healthy snacks.

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Blood Pressure

Everyone is always concerned about their blood pressure these days. Most are weary of keeping it from elevating to “high blood pressure”, but there is a small population that actually has the opposite concern. Have you ever wondered what controls your blood pressure? It is a function of your autonomic nervous system. A part of your nervous system that automatically controls things such as blinking and heart rate, those processes in your body that you don’t control, and which are in autopilot without you having to think about them.

So what is it that causes your blood pressure to deviate from a normal range to a high blood pressure reading?  Stress is a leading cause.  When you experience prolonged stress, which many in our society do today, the adrenal glands release the stress hormone cortisol, and subsequently adrenaline is also released.  These hormones are meant to help us in dangerous or life threatening situations, but are then meant to go back down to a normal level when the perceived danger has passed. Much like a zebra being chased by a lion, these hormones kick in to provide the “fight or flight” state that is necessary to survive the situation, but after the danger has passed, they return to normal levels. This occurs naturally in animals, but not so in humans. Unfortunately our society is under such great stress in all aspects of life, that we live in a fight or flight state, and our bodies suffer from chronically high levels of stress hormones.

Remaining in a high stress state can cause imbalances to occur in our heart rate, our blood pressure, and even our sleep patterns. Our bodies are not meant to operate under these conditions, and will eventually start to complain by sending an alarm. This alarm will either be discovered during routine blood work or will be felt in the form of some symptom that causes us to seek a medical diagnosis.  These symptoms can include anything from light-headedness, to palpitations or stroke.

Meditation and conscious deep breathing are a good way to reduce stress, and thereby reduce blood pressure.  Diet also comes into play, as does regular exercise.  There are also natural remedies such as aromatherapy that can have significant effects on reducing stress and blood pressure. Do yourself a favor today and think of ways that you can reduce your stress and live a healthier life.  For more information on stress, see: Pain