Metabolic syndrome is a medical condition commonly known as "Syndrome X". It is made up of a group of combined conditions (known as a syndrome), which create an increased risk for heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, fatty liver, and cancer. Metabolic syndrome is becoming more and more prevalent in North America and although the risk varies by ethnic background, it ranges from between 11 and 41%, with an average of around 25% of the population. That means that approximately 1/4 of North Americans are currently suffering from metabolic syndrome.

What are the risk factors?
The two most important risk factors for metabolic syndrome are central obesity, and insulin resistance (pre-diabetes, or diabetes type II). Other risk factors include: increased age, hormonal imbalances, lack of exercise, and genetic predisposition. Smoking can also increase the negative effects associated with this condition.

Central Obesity
The term "central obesity" means carrying extra weight around your upper body, particularly in the abdomen. People with central obesity are often commonly called "apple-shaped". One of the signs required for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome is a waist circumference greater than or equal to 102cm (40in) in men, and 88cm (35in) in women, although the exact numbers vary by ethnic origin.

Insulin Resistance
This condition involves the body's tissues being unable to properly respond to insulin. It is often the predisposing condition that leads to type II diabetes. Because blood sugar levels remain high, while not enough sugar is able to enter the body's cells, this leaves the person feeling tired and hungry despite having just eaten. Also, blood fat levels rise as the body tries another means of feeding its starving cells. For more information on diabetes, please click here.

What are the signs and symptoms?
Metabolic syndrome can manifest in a number of different ways, but the most common symptoms include some combination of: high blood pressure, increased blood sugar, elevated triglycerides, low levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol. Actual diagnosis of metabolic syndrome requires at least 3 of the following signs:

Nutritional Information

Because most of these signs require measurements from your doctor, the easiest ones to check by yourself are blood pressure and waist circumference. If these measurements are high, it is a good idea to see your healthcare practitioner for further screening. If you are still unsure, there are a number of symptoms that can reveal these.

underlying problems. Insulin resistance causes high blood sugar, and creates symptoms of increased hunger, thirst, and urination. Cardiovascular symptoms accompanying high blood pressure and unbalanced blood fats can be: dizziness, chest pain, and shortness of breath.

What can I do about it?
Although some of the predisposing factors of metabolic syndrome are genetic and beyond our control, most are easily altered by diet and lifestyle changes. Maintaining a healthy body weight is essential to help reduce the risk of Syndrome X. Again, the fastest and most effective way to lose weight is through diet and exercise.

Exercise
It is extremely important to exercise for at least 30 minutes every single day. This can simply involve walking for 10 minutes, three times a day, or it can be bicycling, swimming, or working out at the gym. Whatever activity you can easily incorporate into your routine, start doing! Trying a few different activities can help alleviate boredom and ensure you stick to your new lifestyle choice. Exercise is the most powerful means of promoting weight loss and also directly helps regulate blood sugar and blood fats. For more information on weight loss, please click here.

Diet
Changing your diet to reduce the overall caloric intake is a huge step in a healthy direction. Eating fewer processed foods and reducing the amount of unhealthy fats in your diet can go a long way to bringing your blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels into the normal range. Fruits and vegetables provide essential nutrients and healthy fibre that also helps to lower cholesterol. The changes that you make don't have to be huge, every little thing that you do for your health counts towards making your life better. Long lasting change most often happens one small step at a time.

Supplements
There are a number of supplements that can help with blood sugar regulation and insulin sensitivity. For more information on blood sugar regulation and supplements that can help, please click here. To help prevent the development of metabolic syndrome, it is also important to maintain a healthy blood pressure, for more information on how to do so, please click here. Helping to balance blood fats and cholesterol is also extremely important, for more information please click here. One particular supplement has been shown to benefit a number of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, and that's inositol. Different forms of inositol have been shown to help regulate hormones, reduce the risk of arteriosclerosis, and maintain insulin sensitivity. For more information on inositol, please click here.