Metabolic syndrome, also called syndrome X, encompasses a collection of complaints surrounding metabolism, metabolism. Metabolism means converting nutrients into building materials and energy for the body.
In short, metabolic syndrome is a condition in which the balance between energy intake and energy consumption is out of balance. Energy storage depends not only on what you eat but also on how much you exercise and thus consume. Furthermore, many factors play a role that can vary from person to person, including, for example, gut flora.
Diagnosis
To be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, there is excess waist circumference, high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, high cholesterol and elevated blood sugar or Type 2 Diabetes. A clear indication is having a lot of fat around the abdomen. These risk factors increase the risk of cardiovascular disease considerably, in addition, consider fat accumulation in the liver and therefore liver cirrhosis, sleep apnea, depression and in the longer term even Alzheimer's disease.
In Western countries, an average of 30% of middle-aged people have metabolic syndrome; more common in men than women. Patients are often prescribed blood pressure-lowering medication, beta-blockers, metformin and statins to prevent or reduce the risk of serious consequences. This does not resolve the disease because the medication does not address the causes.
Symptoms
Symptoms of metabolic syndrome are:
- Fatigue, lameness
- No desire or energy to exercise
- Poor memory and/or concentration
- Brainfog
- Depression
- Cravings (need for sugary and fatty foods)
- Frequent urination
- Thirst and dry mouth
- Inflammations
- Perspiration (excessive)
Risk factors
The mechanisms in the body that lead to obesity are very well researched, but appear to have many different causes. Risk factors for getting metabolic syndrome include chronic stress, eating too many sugars (especially fructose) and refined carbohydrates, too many meal times, poor quality food, too little exercise and too much sitting. But also medication use (for example, antidepressants), underweight at birth (below 2800 grams), genetic predisposition, gut flora imbalance, smoking, alcohol, etc. If you look closely at this enumeration, you will see that these are mainly lifestyle factors.
Stress
During stress, the energy distribution in the body changes. The energy you need for daily life is allocated by the organs to the immune system. The immune system becomes dominant, so to speak, leaving less energy for other functions in the body. The body does create a buffer of energy in the form of fat tissue, but in the case of metabolic syndrome, the body does not know how to convert this fat into this energy. The possible result? Both an energy deficit and fat storage.
In fact, organs consume a lot of energy and fat and support tissue a much smaller proportion.
In addition, in times of stress, the emotional part of the brain gets more blood flow, causing more feelings of anxiety and restlessness. This in turn causes people to eat more and exercise less. So stress, on the one hand, causes the immune system to be activated, leaving less energy for basal metabolism, and on the other hand, causes an energy imbalance.