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Posts Tagged ‘metabolic syndrome’

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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We (almost) have the technology to make you leaner, stronger, fitter…

November 18th, 2009

Back in the 70s, Colonel Steve Austin was the Six Million Dollar Man…a NASA astronaut nearly killed during a test flight.

But, luckily for him, NASA had the technology to rebuild him…better than he was before..better..stronger..faster

And luckily for all of us, we are pretty close to having the technology to help make us leaner..stronger..fitter…and healthier.

Thanks to researchers at St. Louis University, we may soon have access to smartphone applications that will help us transform our bodies from fat to fit.

And I am not talking about first generation apps that tell you the number of calories in a Big Mac or produce a generic computer generated workout.

CADA interface

I am talking about software that is being used currently on a group of elderly Chinese diabetic patients (not necessarily the most tech-savvy group on the planet).

This new technology uses interactive smartphone games and various logging features to help the elderly diabetics manage their health and learn more about their condition.

Initial studies of the interactive diabetes self-management system, called the Chinese Aged Diabetic Assistant (CADA), are promising, researchers found. The system enables diabetics to track their blood glucose, weight, diet, exercise, mood and blood pressure – valuable information that will assist their doctors in providing the best care possible.

“This project did not start out as a gaming project, but we did a lot of groundwork – from looking at the health care infrastructure in China to conducting focus groups with older diabetics and interviewing various providers – and found that gaming was a persuasive way to engage patients in managing their personal health.”

The games vary in purpose. For example, researchers created a “food pyramid” type game, which encourages gamers to eat a balanced diet, limit high-sugar foods and watch their daily intake of fat and salt.

Applications including a trivia game and a tile matching game, in which gamers connect the necessary components for a healthy lifestyle, were popular educational choices among the test group.

While games engage and motivate the patients, smartphones makes the technology convenient.

First, smartphones are mobile, meaning patients can use them at any time or any place. They can be used as small, inexpensive computers even if no network infrastructure is in place. If connections are in place, smartphones make it easy for patients to share health information with their providers, care givers and others within personal network. Also, because many users are already mobile phone owners, including some smartphone users, adapting the technology is feasible for patients, providers and hospitals.

Smartphone technology may even offer a solution to better managing health care costs for chronic conditions, says Mark Gaynor, Ph.D., associate professor of public health at the School of Public Health.

“The only way to cut the cost of caring for people with chronic conditions is to enable the patients to self manage their health. In order to do that, though, self-management must be reasonable and easy to do. Smart phone technology makes it easy for patients to track important health information.”

So what about us non-diabetics?

There are almost endless opportunities for using smartphone technology in health care, researchers say.”Imagine walking into a McDonalds and having your cell phone recognize your location and make healthy menu recommendations – all this and more is possible with smartphone technology.” (why do they always use McDonalds as the restaurant example?)

Researchers say smartphones can make tracking one’s health easier and more convenient. In the future, CADA users will be able to share information with their providers and receive important health reminders. They are also working on Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as a scale that communicates with the phone to record and track daily measurements and a blood sugar monitor that automatically records daily readings on the phone.

And while it’s true that this technology doesn’t have the pizzazz of a pair of bionic legs, I think that its potential to integrate healthier behaviors into our day to day lives is powerful stuff.

True, it took an explosion in global obesity levels to get peoples attention, but finally, there is growing public awareness that we can and should take better care of our bodies.

And, if tools like the CADA smartphone make it easier to get fit, then maybe, just maybe, we aren’t doomed to a future where we evolve into this…

wall-e-captain-fat

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Vinegar is a Fat-Burning, Waist Shrinking, Cholesterol Lowering Superfood

October 15th, 2009

In yesterday’s post, I introduced you to a study which showed that plain ole’ vinegar is effective in suppressing body fat accumulation.

More specifically, the researchers found that laboratory mice fed a high-fat diet and given acetic acid developed significantly less body fat (up to 10 percent less) than other mice.

I was so excited by this low-tech, inexpensive weight loss trick that I contacted the author of the study.

And to my surprise, he emailed an even more recent study which looks at the fat-burning effects of vinegar on actual human beings….no more mice studies.

The Science

In this study, researchers investigated the effects of vinegar intake on the reduction of body-fat mass in obese Japanese students.

The 175 students were randomly assigned to three groups of similar body-weight, BMI and waist circumference.

During the 12 week study, the participants ingested 500ml daily of a beverage containing either 15 ml of apple vinegar (750 mg AcOH – acetic acid), 30 ml of vinegar (1500 mg AcOH) or 0 ml of vinegar (0 mg AcOH, placebo).

In place of vinegar, the placebo group ingested 1250 mg of lactate.

To make them more palatable, all beverages contained the equal amount of flavor and artificial sweetener.

The Results

After only 4 weeks, the vinegar-group participants saw their body-weight, BMI and body-fat percentages improve. These improvements continued in a dose dependent manner for the entire 12 weeks

Translation: more vinegar = more fat loss

In addition to BF, BMI and BF%, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, LDL cholesterol and serum TG (triglyceride) levels also fell (starting in week 8).

These results can be considered to be due to the body-fat loss because the VFA (visceral fat), SFA (subcutaneous fat) and TFA (total fat) values were significantly lower in the vinegar groups than in the placebo group.

Does the vinegar make these "diet" chips?

Conclusion

15 ml (0.5 oz or 1 tbsp) of vinegar per day is enough to significantly improve your:

Body-Weight
BMI
Body-Fat Percentage
Waist Circumference
Waist-Hip ratio
LDL Cholesterol
Serum TG
Visceral Body-Fat, and
Subcutaneous Body-Fat

And considering that these health markers are associated with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and metabolic syndrome, perhaps it might be wise to consider adding a tbsp or two of vinegar to your daily diet.

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Fighting Fat With Vinegar

October 14th, 2009

Your Grandma was right.

It turns out that the acetic acid found in plain ole’ vinegar is effective in suppressing body fat accumulation.

The Science

Earlier this year, Japanese researchers found that laboratory mice fed a high-fat diet and given acetic acid developed significantly less body fat (up to 10 percent less) than other mice.

Based upon their findings, the scientists believe that acetic acid fights fat by turning on genes for fatty acid oxidation enzymes. The genes churn out proteins involved in breaking down fats, thus suppressing body fat accumulation in the body.

link to the study

Conclusion

Vinegar is cheap, harmless and versatile in the kitchen.

It may also help you metabolize sugars more efficiently, lower blood pressure and lose weight.

What do you have to lose?

Links to more vinegary/weight loss research

Journal of Agricultural Food & Chemistry - A study showing the fat-burning benefits of vinegar
Agricultural and Biological Chemistry – Vinegar controls insulin response to carbs
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition – Vinegar supplementation lowers glucose and insulin responses and increases satiety after a bread meal in healthy subjects
Medscape General Medicine – Vinegar: Medicinal Uses and Antiglycemic Effect

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Doctors Ignore Obesity

September 30th, 2009

Obesity costs America $147 billion each and every year.
It’s linked to cancer…
and diabetes…
and depression….
and generally ain’t that good for you

So, how come “many overweight patients are not being advised to lose weight, diet, or exercise”.

In fact, when it comes to medical intervention in cases of obesity, the numbers are as follows:

Having a doctor tell the patient about the health problems associated with being overweight (48.0%),
Suggesting diet and exercise (46.5%),
Referring the patient to a formal diet program (5.2%),
Prescribing a weight loss medication (4.0%),
Recommending a non-prescription weight loss product (1.8%),
Recommending stomach bypass surgery (1.5%).

I don’t know about you, but considering that obesity is fast becoming the western world’s #1 health issue, I think that the global medical community should be taking obesity prevention/treatment much more seriously.

I don’t know if it’s a lack of knowledge or the threat of discrimination lawsuits or the frustration of being ignored by obese patients over and over and over, but if we want to reverse the tide of obesity related disease, real steps need to be taken.

The time for talk is over.

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Soda Tax = Tax Grab

September 17th, 2009

It looks like my prediction of a American Soda Tax may soon come true.

According to ABC News, “several of the nation’s leading health experts are calling for a tax on soda as a means of curbing America’s obesity-epidemic”.

But wait, here’s the good part:

Their paper, appearing in the most recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, calls for a tax on “sugar-sweetened” drinks in order to reduce the consumption of the drinks and lower health costs as well as fund government-run health programs.

FUND GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH PROGRAMS

“A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is really a double-win,” said Dr. David Ludwig, a co-author of the paper and director of the Optimal Weight for Life program at Children’s Hospital, Boston.

“We can raise much-needed dollars while likely reducing obesity prevalence, which is a major driver of health care costs, the paper states.

“Ultimately the government needs to raise more money to cover the deficit, and in terms of ways of raising that revenue, a tax on sugar sweetened beverages is really a no-brainer.”

So, there you go.

Just like I said here, the government will take advantage of America’s Obesity Epidemic™ and introduce a soda tax in order to help reverse the defecit.

But will it help reduce the nation’s obesity problem?

According to the latest research, small tax increases will have little effect on behavior.

On the other hand, big tax increases should do the trick. Especially for America’s poor.

So, there you go, just like I predicted:

5 Bucks for a Can of Coke

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Here's why you NEED aerobic exercise

April 19th, 2009

Let’s face it. Cardio is boring.

Running laps around a track or pedaling away like some spandex wearing gerbil.

Boring.

But,according to the authors of this new study, “your personal aerobic fitness is not something you will see in the mirror but it is an important predictor of your long-term health,”

“The most important part of physical activity is protecting yourself from diseases that can be fatal or play a significant role in increasing the risk factors for other metabolic diseases.”

The Study

Fatty Liver

For years, we have known that poor aerobic fitness is associated with obesity, heart disease, stroke and diabetes. This new study adds another serious condition to the list – non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

The study also suggests that the resulting liver problems play a crucial step developing obesity-related illnesses. In fact, the study authors think that “Fatty liver disease will be the next big metabolic disorder associated with obesity and inactivity.”

So, to test the link between aerobic fitness and fatty liver disease, the researcher bred a strain of genetically unfit rats. These couch-potato rats could only run an average of 200m compared to over 1500m for the average fit rat.

Leaving both strains of rats to their own devices, the researchers noticed that at 25 weeks, the unfit rats showed clear signs of fatty liver. “By the end of their natural lives, the rats’ livers had sustained damage including fibrosis (the precursor to cirrhosis) and unexpected cell death”.

In contrast, the ‘fit’ group enjoyed heathy livers throughout their lifespans – despite the fact that neither group was getting any real exercise.

The team’s findings provide the first biochemical links between low aerobic fitness and fatty liver disease, and have lead the authors to suggest that NAFLD could potentially be treated or prevented by a suitable exercise program.

Conclusion

Aerobic exercise is boring
Aerobic exercise prevents fatty liver disease
You don’t want fatty liver disease, so
Get movin’

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HIIT Training: The Cure for Insulin Resistance, Type 2 Diabetes, Metabolic Disease and Obesity?

January 28th, 2009

Art by Bill Hall - billhall.com

It’s official:

HIIT training is AWESOME!!!

Researchers from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland have concluded that:

The efficacy of a high intensity exercise protocol, involving only 250 kcal of work each week, to substantially improve insulin action in young sedentary subjects is remarkable.

This novel time-efficient training paradigm can be used as a strategy to reduce metabolic risk factors in young and middle aged sedentary populations who otherwise would not adhere to time consuming traditional aerobic exercise regimes.

And for those of you that don’t know, here are the risk factors of Metabolic Syndrome that HIIT training is so effective at reducing:

Abdominal obesity (excessive fat tissue in and around the abdomen)

Atherogenic dyslipidemia (blood fat disorders — high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and high LDL cholesterol — that foster plaque buildups in artery walls)

Elevated blood pressure

Insulin resistance or glucose intolerance (the body can’t properly use insulin or blood sugar)

Prothrombotic state (e.g., high fibrinogen or plasminogen activator inhibitor–1 in the blood)

Proinflammatory state (e.g., elevated C-reactive protein in the blood)

People with the metabolic syndrome are at increased risk of coronary heart disease and other diseases related to plaque buildups in artery walls (e.g., stroke and peripheral vascular disease) and type 2 diabetes.

It’s estimated that over 50 million Americans have it.

And I am 100% sure that you don’t want it.

So, what do you need to do?

Go to your doctor and get checked out – Max intensity sprints combined with a sky high B.P. is just asking for trouble.
Go through my HIIT resources
Find an exercise bike, set of stairs, outdoor track or even a carpeted area in your home to do burpees
Schedule 3 x 15 minute HIIT workouts per week
Get HIITing

And I am serious about the doctor. I don’t mean to sound like your mother, but a visit to your doctor at least once a year for a check-up is a very, very, very good idea.

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Obesity, Diabetes, Insulin Resistance and Vitamin K

November 27th, 2008

Ain’t science great?!!!

Researchers at Tufts University were investigating the effect that Vitamin K supplements have on the bone mineral density and vascular calcification of a group of 355 non-diabetic men and women aged 60 to 80.

However, during the course of their 3 year study, they found that the participants who received the Vitamin K supplement had a noticeable improvement in their insulin resistance.

And as you already know, insulin resistance is one of the major factors driving America’s obesity epidemic.

And if you didn’t know: read this, this and this.

STUDY DETAILS

Among the participants given vitamin K, both men and women took daily multivitamins containing 500 micrograms of vitamin K, five times the Adequate Intake (AI) recommended by the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board, with instructions to maintain normal diets without any additional supplementation.

They also received a calcium and vitamin D supplement.

Men and women in the control group received no vitamin K supplementation but did receive the multivitamin and the calcium and vitamin D supplement.

For the present study, insulin resistance was assessed by the homeostasis model (HOMA-IR).

Additionally, participants’ blood glucose and blood insulin levels were measured following a minimum 10-hour fast.

In addition to improved insulin resistance, the supplemented men had lower blood insulin levels compared to the un-supplemented men at the conclusion of the study.

CONCLUSIONS

The researchers concluded that Vitamin K supplementation for 36 months may reduce progression of insulin resistance in older men.

And why would Vitamin K have an effect on insulin resistance?

The researchers theorized that vitamin K may improve insulin sensitivity through suppression of inflammation.

Aaahhh, our old friend inflammation.

Isn’t it funny how our Western diet, inflammation, obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes keeping showing up in the same places

So, Where Do I Get The Vitamin K?

During the study, the participants took daily multivitamins containing 500 micrograms of vitamin K, five times the Adequate Intake (AI) recommended by the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board, with instructions to maintain normal diets without any additional supplementation.

Checking my multi, I see that I am taking 80 mcg of vitamin K.

So, where can I get more Vitamin K?

According to the USDA:

vitamin-k-foods

And if you want more info on Vitamin K:

Check out the Linus Pauling Institute page on Vitamin K

or watch this video:

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Apples lower Metabolic Syndrome risk

April 10th, 2008

There is a new scientific paper being discussed today that claims that people who eat the equivalent of one large apple a day are at lower risk of metabolic syndrome.

The paper, presented at the Experimental Biology 2008 meeting was produced by Nutrition Impact, LLC , paid for by the American apple industry and heartily endorsed by the author of the 16th C rhyme “An apple a day keeps the doctor away…” .

The paper analyzed data collected in the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. After crunching the data, Nutrition Impact concluded that adults who eat apples and/or apple products (juice, sauce) are 27% less likely to have metabolic syndrome than non-consumers.

Other benefits for the apple eaters include: smaller waistlines, less abdominal fat, and lower blood pressure.

Not too suprisingly, when compared to apple abstainers, those who chose to indulge eat more fruit in general. They ingest higher levels of fibre, vitamins A and C, calcium and potassium. They also eat less total fat, saturated fat, modified fats and total sugar.

From this paper, I think it is safe to say that apples make up part of a healthy diet. When compared to other fruits, the apple is not a magic anti-Metabolic Syndrome pill. However, when compared to the typical North American diet of sugar, modified fats and a variety of non-foods, the apple is a superstar.

I found out about this paper in my daily National Post – Apples & Metabolic Syndrome

I thought this blogger did a great job with this topic. I wish my post was half as well written. medinnovationblog

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If you are interested in a better way to eat, click here or here or here.

Thanks.

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Health Habits

Posts Tagged ‘metabolic syndrome’

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

Conclusions

My Suggestion

Related Posts

We (almost) have the technology to make you leaner, stronger, fitter…

Related Posts

Vinegar is a Fat-Burning, Waist Shrinking, Cholesterol Lowering Superfood

Related Posts

Fighting Fat With Vinegar

Related Posts

Doctors Ignore Obesity

Related Posts

Soda Tax = Tax Grab

5 Bucks for a Can of Coke

Related Posts

Here's why you NEED aerobic exercise

The Study

Conclusion

.

Related Posts

HIIT Training: The Cure for Insulin Resistance, Type 2 Diabetes, Metabolic Disease and Obesity?

.

Related Posts

Obesity, Diabetes, Insulin Resistance and Vitamin K

STUDY DETAILS

CONCLUSIONS

So, Where Do I Get The Vitamin K?

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Related Posts

Apples lower Metabolic Syndrome risk