[acb-diabetics] 3 foods to fight metabolic syndrome

[Patricia LaFrance-Wolf]

The following is rather a long article, but I thought it was very revealing
and informative. I hope you find it helpful.

Three Foods to Fight Metabolic Syndrome

by Dr. David Williams 

Abdominal fat accumulation is the most easily identifiable sign of metabolic


syndrome, but it's by no means the only one. Metabolic syndrome, also called


Syndrome X and "insulin resistance syndrome," is loosely defined as having
any three of the following: abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, high
fasting blood sugar levels, high blood pressure, or low HDL cholesterol. 

Individually, these conditions are problematic, but even more troubling in 

combination; you should be aware that in addition to an "early warning sign"
of diabetes, metabolic syndrome can also be an indication of impending heart


disease. In fact, many people discover they are diabetic only after they
experience a heart attack. One Swedish study revealed that as many as 40
percent of those patients who were admitted with acute myocardial infarction
(heart attack) were diabetic but didn't know it. 

Abdominal Fat Is Just the Beginning

It's been well documented that having a pear-shaped body (smaller waist but 

larger hips) is healthier than having an apple-shaped body (more fat at the 

waist). But what complicates matters slightly is that not all abdominal fat
is 

created equal. 

Fat can develop in three different compartments of the abdominal region: 

abdominal (stored between the skin and the abdominal wall), visceral (in and


around the internal organs), and retroperitoneal (the back and sides or what
we commonly refer to as "love handles"). Fat in each of these areas has its
own metabolic reaction, as well as its own contribution to disease. 

Researchers, however, have recently discovered that the amount of visceral
fat 

is probably the best indicator of your risk for diabetes and heart disease.
The 

relationship makes sense when you consider that the veins of the internal
organs drain into the liver and visceral fat is the only type that shares
this circulation. 

The liver connection is what makes excess visceral fat so dangerous because
it 

can contribute to non-alcohol fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Obviously, much
of the fat accumulation problem originates in the diet (i.e., too much
highly refined sugar and carbohydrates and too little fiber and fresh
produce). 

When you eat sugar, flour, or other refined carbohydrates, some of the
digested sugars are used for your immediate energy needs. Any excess is
converted to fat or fatty molecules called triglycerides, which are stored
in fat cells for later use. 

Excess triglycerides in the blood are transported by the "good" cholesterol,
the HDL form. HDL "attaches" to the triglycerides and tries to lower blood
levels by taking them back to the liver. If you have low levels of HDL
cholesterol (below 40 mg/dL for men and below 50 mg/dL for women), if your
diet is high in refined carbohydrates, or if you're diabetic, you may
experience abnormally high triglyceride levels (equal to or greater than 150
mg/dL). While normal amounts of triglycerides are essential for good health,
elevated triglycerides and other blood fats are associated with higher risk
for diabetes and heart disease. 

There are good fats and bad fats. In simple terms, the most harmful types of
fat are the tiny droplets that can accumulate in the liver, organs, and
other tissues in the abdominal area. They are responsible for creating a
condition called insulin resistance (which is when cells in the body become
resistant to the effects of insulin). In other words, insulin's effect is
reduced and higher levels are required for it to have any effect. 

Resisting the Call

Insulin plays a key role in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and
proteins. It even helps regulate cell growth in the body. One of insulin's
many jobs is to 

"open" the walls of muscle and fat cells and cause them to remove glucose
from the blood. This process is one of the ways your body controls blood
sugar levels. 

Insulin acts sort of like the policemen you see on the television show COPS.
To 

lower blood sugar levels, it knocks on the door of muscle and fat cells.
When the cells become more resistant to insulin, the body requires that the
pancreas send out more insulin to get the job done. 

As resistance continues to build, more and more insulin is needed to knock 

down the door. Eventually, when the pancreas can't produce enough insulin, 

the blood sugar levels begin to rise. At first this increase in glucose
happens just after meals. Later, it stays high even during the fasting
state-which is when you have a diagnosis of diabetes. 

The increase in insulin also triggers the constriction of blood vessels and 

promotes clotting, leading to high blood pressure and restriction of blood
flow 

to the heart, which can trigger a heart attack. Basically, anything you can
do to increase the efficiency of insulin and/or decrease your body's need
for the 

hormone will improve your health and extend your life 

Diet, Exercise, and Three Metabolic Syndrome Fighters

Unsurprisingly, the best places to start are cleaning up your diet and
getting 

regular exercise. At the very least, you should be getting around 25 grams
of 

fiber in your diet each day. This is best obtained through whole grains
(bran 

cereals are excellent fiber sources), berries, nuts, legumes, fruits with
the skin 

and pulp, raw vegetables, et cetera. Avoid fried and processed foods, in
favor of whole foods, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and lean protein. 

As important as diet is to controlling metabolic syndrome and reducing your 

risk for disease in the future, high-intensity exercise seems to
specifically target that most-damaging visceral fat, according to
researchers. Diet alone helps reduce the subcutaneous fat (the fat between
the skin and the abdominal wall), but that fat is less harmful than that
visceral fat within and surrounding the internal organs. 

As you focus on sticking to a healthy diet and keeping up with regular
exercise, 

try to up your consumption of the following three substances to aid in your 

battle against metabolic syndrome (and the heart disease and diabetes
waiting 

for you down the road): 

.Grapefruit

.Cinnamon

.Cayenne pepper

Grapefruit

Not long ago, many doctors were telling their patients on prescription
medications to curtail consumption of grapefruit and grapefruit juice. I
thought the idea was absurd at the time, and I still do. Instead, the focus
should be on helping these patients curtail their drug use. The problem is
that eating grapefruit or drinking the juice increases the absorption of
certain drugs by as much as 200 percent-particularly blood pressure-lowering
medications and the popular (but dangerous) statin drugs used to lower
cholesterol levels. 

Researchers have now discovered that the group of compounds called 

furanocoumarins is responsible for this increase in absorption. Surely I'm
not the only one who sees the irony in eliminating a nutritious food such as
grapefruit-which could help reduce cholesterol oxidation, increase weight
loss subsequently lowering blood pressure, and help prevent diabetes-so one
can continue to utilize a pharmaceutical band-aid that, in the long term,
may well increase one's risk of dying. I realize that eating a grapefruit
with every meal won't solve all these health problems, but it can certainly
be an integral part of an overall program that will address the underlying
causes and not just mask symptoms with drugs. 

At the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California, researchers recently studied
the 

effects of grapefruit and grapefruit juice on body weight and metabolic 

syndrome. A total of 91 obese patients received one of the following three
times a day before meals: half a grapefruit with a placebo capsule; 8 ounces
of 

grapefruit juice and a placebo capsule; grapefruit capsules and 7 ounces of 

apple juice; or placebo capsules and 7 ounces of apple juice. 

After 12 weeks the fresh grapefruit group lost a total of 3.52 pounds. The 

grapefruit juice group lost 3.3 pounds. The grapefruit capsule group lost
2.42 

pounds and the placebo group lost 0.35 pounds. Grapefruit is not only a
delicious way to help lose excess weight, it also appears to be a diabetic's
(or potential diabetic's) best friend. While the grapefruit users in the
above study saw significant weight loss, they experienced an additional
benefit: a substantial reduction in blood glucose (blood sugar) and insulin
levels. So, if you have signs of metabolic syndrome, ramp up your grapefruit
intake (unless you're taking a contraindicated medication). 

Cinnamon

Research on cinnamon shows it can safely and effectively boost insulin
sensitivity. Cinnamon contains a group of flavonoids called Type A
procyanidins, which have been shown to mimic the effects of insulin. These 

flavonoids not only help transport glucose into our cells, but they promote
the 

synthesis of glycogen as well. 

Research has shown that one to three grams of whole powder can reduce
fasting glucose levels anywhere from 18 to 29 percent in type 2 diabetics.
Interestingly, cinnamon maintains its positive effects on blood sugar for at
least 12 hours. In one study when cinnamon was given to individuals up to 12
hours before a glucose tolerance test, levels of their blood glucose were 10
to 13 percent lower than in individuals given a placebo. 

Ordinary cinnamon powder, just like you can buy in bulk at your local 

supermarket, is by far one of the easiest and least expensive methods to
help 

control your blood sugar levels. (I'm aware that there's been some
controversy 

over the fact that what you buy in the grocery isn't "true" cinnamon, but 

instead the bark of a plant called cassia. In fact, all the research showing


benefits for blood sugar has been done using cassia.) 

Cayenne Pepper

Like cinnamon, cayenne pepper has also shown promise as another inexpensive
"poor man's insulin." Researchers in Tasmania, Australia sent me details of
their work in which they tested the effects of combining cayenne pepper with
meals. The study revealed that even one meal with the pepper had an
immediate effect, but it only lasted for a short period. They compared
several different scenarios, but the most effective program by far at
mitigating an insulin surge following meals involved taking about 4 grams of
cayenne pepper with each meal. Individuals who followed this program
produced about one-third less insulin. The greatest benefits were seen in
the obese participants. 

I don't know how practical it is to take 4 grams of cayenne pepper with each


meal. Obviously, most people would need to take this in capsules (except for


those meals of boiled crawfish where the pepper flows rather freely over the


"bugs"). However, by using cayenne pepper occasionally, and cinnamon or 

grapefruit at other times, you might be able to help head off future health 

problems associated with metabolic syndrome. 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/acb-diabetics/attachments/20120723/ec6a147d/attachment-0001.html>