Health Habits

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Posts Tagged ‘hypertension’

Obesity Isn’t The Disease…It’s Only A Symptom

March 12th, 2010

I read an interesting study the other day.

In this study, the researchers argued that when it comes to Metabolic Syndrome (hypertension, dyslipidaemia, glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia, central adiposity {big belly}, high blood sugar) obesity may actually be a good thing.

Here’s why.

Metabolic Syndrome is a result of our Standard American Diet
The S.A.D. combination of too many calories and the over-consumption of sugar + fat-centric meals causes…
An increase in the secretion of insulin. When this happens on a regular basis, we end up with…
hyperinsulinemia, which…
Causes the expression of the lipogenic transcription factor SREBP-1c and its target enzymes and so on and so on and so on until we end up with Metabolic Syndrome and all of the wonderful ailments I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Sounds pretty grim, doesn’t it?

And the first thing that your doctor is going to tell you if she suspects you have Metabolic Syndrome is to lose weight.

As if obesity is the cause of Metabolic Syndrome.

But, it ain’t.

We know that our bodies respond to our Standard American Diet by increasing the amount of circulating insulin.

This leads to an increase in body-fat.

Common sense tells us that this is bad.

These researchers disagree.

They propose that this new body-fat delays, rather than causes, the metabolic syndrome induced by chronic caloric surplus.

They argue that subcutaneous fat in general exerts a positive effect on insulin sensitivity. Subcutaneous fat is the body-fat that exists between your muscles and your skin – we’re not talking that solid “beer belly” kind of fat.

This “healthy” type of adipose tissue is genetically determined and has a strong sexually dimorphic component as well. Females, at any given body mass index, are protected against insulin resistance more than males.

And if we prevent insulin resistance…we prevent Metabolic Syndrome.

To test this hypothesis further, the researchers bred obesity resistance mice with with db/db mice, which normally become obese and develop severe metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) by the age of 8–10 weeks.

Sucks to be a db/db mouse.

They ended up with some mice who stayed lean despite their voracious appetites.

Unfortunately, these mice developed Metabolic Syndrome in 4 weeks instead of the typical 8-10 weeks.

The researchers concluded that body-fat is a normal response designed to permit stockpiling of fuels while simultaneously protecting our lipid-intolerant organs.

Metabolic syndrome appears only after the storage capacity of the adipocyte compartment has reached a maximum, at which point a gradual accumulation of ectopic fatty acids begins.

Ectopic means “not where it’s supposed to be”. It accumulates in the abdominal region (beer belly), the liver, muscle tissue including the heart, the pancreas, and perhaps in lipid-rich deposits in the arteries.

Obesity should therefore not be regarded as a pathology or disease, but rather as the normal, physiologic response to sustained caloric surplus without which the advent of metabolic syndrome is accelerated.

Conclusions

Obesity isn’t a disease
It’s a symptom of another disease – Metabolic Syndrome
It’s better to have squishy, subcutaneous fat than the big, hard beer belly kind of fat

My Suggestion

Stop thinking of obesity as a health issue unto itself.

If obesity is a result of something else, you need to know what that cause is and then take action to reverse the problem.

You can start by dumping the Standard American Diet and replace it with something more Mediterranean or Asian or Paleo.

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Play v.s. Exercise

February 26th, 2010

Awesome Image taken by Toby Green - flickr

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Researchers have found that in just 3 short months, a group of inactive men with high blood pressure were able to drastically lower their BP, resting pulse rate and body-fat % by playing soccer.

That’s right – soccer.

In fact, the results were significantly better than results achieved via the typical medical advice on healthy diet & exercise. (link to study)

The researchers found that “a regular game of soccer affects numerous cardiovascular risk factors such as maximal oxygen uptake, heart function, elasticity of the vascular system, blood pressure, cholesterol and fat mass far more than e.g. strength training and just as much if not more than running”.

More than running?

But, isn’t that what soccer is? You run and chase the ball over here…and then you chase the ball over there…etc, etc….

So, why is playing soccer better than just running around a track?

What’s the difference?

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The difference is that soccer is played with other people, and when you play soccer you talk and laugh and compete with those other people.

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And that makes it fun.

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And fun + exercise is better than running on a treadmill while watching Anderson Cooper make his serious “news-man” face.

But, maybe you don’t like soccer. Maybe it’s a little too Euro for your taste.

Doesn’t matter.

Find some physical activity that:

Gets your heart beating, and
You think you may enjoy

Maybe you join a running club, or lift weights with a buddy, or go swimming with the old ladies at the community center, or play softball or volleyball or basketball or play ping pong with nunchucks

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It doesn’t matter what the activity is.

Fun + Exercise = Good for You

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Can Potassium Reverse High Blood Pressure?

May 20th, 2009

High blood pressure is a killer….we all know that

Eating a diet high in sodium can lead to high blood pressure….we all know that

And because we know these things, a lot of people have been told by their doctors to stop eating this…

…and to start eating this…

And they aren’t happy about it.

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But, maybe there is another way.

Maybe, instead of labeling salt as a BAD FOOD, and banning it from our diets altogether, we can balance out the hypertensive effect of sodium with the hypotensive effect of potassium.

If only we had some proof…

The Proof

Earlier this year, researchers found that “the ratio of sodium-to-potassium was a much stronger predictor of hypertension and cardiovascular disease than sodium or potassium alone”.

“There isn’t as much focus on potassium, but potassium seems to be effective in lowering blood pressure and the combination of a higher intake of potassium and lower consumption of sodium seems to be more effective than either on its own in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Paul Whelton, senior author of the study in the January 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

In this study, researchers determined average sodium and potassium intake of their test subjects.

They collected 24-hour urine samples intermittently during an 18-month period in one trial and during a 36-month period in a second trial.

The 2,974 study participants initially aged 30-to-54 and with blood pressure readings just under levels considered high, were followed for 10-15 years to see if they would develop cardiovascular disease.

The results

The highest salt consumers were 20% more likely to suffer strokes, heart attacks or other forms of cardiovascular disease when compared to the lowest of the low sodium eaters.

20% more likely to suffer a stroke.

Better ditch that salt shaker…..right?

Maybe not…

The participants with the highest sodium-to-potassium ratio in urine were 50 percent more likely to experience cardiovascular disease than those with the lowest sodium-to-potassium ratios.

According to this study, the ratio of potassium to sodium in your diet is more important to the health of your heart than the overall consumption of sodium.

That doesn’t mean you should go crazy with the double bacon cheeseburgers.

According to Dr. Whelton, healthy 19-to-50 year-old adults should consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day — equivalent to one teaspoon of table salt.

More than 95 percent of American men and 75 percent of American women in this age range exceed this amount.

So, it’s probably safe to assume that you are part of the majority. How much potassium do you need to help balance out the salt?

To lower blood pressure and blunt the effects of salt, adults should consume 4.7 grams of potassium per day unless they have a clinical condition or medication need that is a contraindication to increased potassium intake.

Most American adults aged 31-to-50 consume only about half this amount.

And how do we get more potassium?

Good potassium sources include fruits, vegetables, dairy foods and fish.

Foods that are especially rich in potassium include potatoes and sweet potatoes, fat-free milk and yogurt, tuna, lima beans, bananas, tomato sauce and orange juice.

Potassium also is available in supplements. However, most potassium supplements come in dosages of 50mg . To get your daily 5 grams, you would need to take 100 pills.

So, maybe we should listen to the good doctor and “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” – Hippocrates

Click here for the USDA’s list of foods high in Potassium.

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Health Habits

Posts Tagged ‘hypertension’

Obesity Isn’t The Disease…It’s Only A Symptom

Conclusions

My Suggestion

Related Posts

Play v.s. Exercise

Fun + Exercise = Good for You

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Related Posts

Can Potassium Reverse High Blood Pressure?

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Related Posts