"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

Stress can result in metabolic syndrome. Here's how you can overcome it

March 1, 2024 – High blood pressure. High triglycerides. A expanding waist. High fasting blood sugar. Abnormal cholesterol. If you’ve three or more of those symptoms, this could be the case Metabolic syndrome – a typical but often ignored condition. Metabolic syndrome, also called insulin resistance syndrome, increases your risk Type 2 diabetesHeart disease and stroke.

But now researchers are finding that stress plays a vital role and are coping with it stress could help reduce the danger of metabolic syndrome and treat related diseases.

Although coping with psychological stress can sometimes be complicated, there are easy and cost-effective ways to scale back stress levels and the danger of metabolic syndrome.

Why this matters: New research published within the diary Brain, Behavior and Immunity – Health found that stress can result in increased stress Inflammation, and inflammation increases the danger of metabolic syndrome. Stress can result in weight reduction HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) and increases obesity, insulin resistance, etc Triglycerides – All of those can damage your inflammatory pathways. Thus, stress is not directly linked to metabolic syndrome via the deleterious effects of inflammation.

If your Triglyceride levels – a variety of fat within the blood – 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) or more, there may be also the next risk of metabolic syndrome. Other risk aspects include: Fasting blood sugar over 100 mg/dL and a Blood pressure higher as 130/85.

One method to reduce your stress is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT highlights the advantages of mindfulness—the art of being “in the moment” and paying close attention to how your body communicates (e.g., acknowledging the intense). Fear They often feel this in the course of the holidays or at large family gatherings). Another ACT technique is to each recognize and act on the non-public values ​​you’ve identified. Having yourself because the context—which implies “being aware of thoughts, feelings, etc. without holding on to them”—is one other ACT practice.

In addition to managing your stress levels, there are other practical ways to observe or reduce your risk of metabolic syndrome. These include helpful tracking tools like an affordable blood pressure cuff and blood glucose monitor (about $20), in keeping with Easton Bryant, PharmD, owner of. North Century Pharmacy in Columbia, Kentucky.

A body composition analyzer will also be extremely helpful in monitoring the danger of metabolic syndrome. Although these devices are quite expensive, there are healthcare facilities across the country that help you use the device at a low price. You can use a body composition analyzer to find out the quantity of fat in your limbs and extremities in addition to your muscle mass.

Building your muscle mass is an often-overlooked a part of lowering your risk of metabolic syndrome, says Michelle Ponder, MD, a board-certified endocrinologist and diabetes and metabolism specialist at Duke Health in Durham, NC. Experts recommend at the very least 150 minutes of moderate exercise (dancing, brisk walking, cycling) or 75 minutes of high-intensity activity (running, swimming laps, climbing stairs) per week.

“People fail to make sure that at least two of those activity sessions per week are resistance exercise,” Ponder said. “So whether it’s body weight or Weightliftingthat really plays a big role in preventing the development of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.”

Keeping a journal of what you eat and drink can be an excellent method to track your day by day habits and stay on top of your health goals, Bryant said.

“If you're just documenting what you're doing, you have to get honest with yourself,” he said. “For example, you eat five cookies every day. This month you ate 150 cookies. Measurement is truly everything, and that's what drives me [to reach my own health goals].

Diet plays a crucial role in reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome, primarily because of the way poor nutrition can contribute to indicators of the disease. For example, waist circumference: A waist circumference of 35 inches or more in women or 40 inches or more in men is one of the main indicators of metabolic syndrome.

But within just three to four months, you can lose dozens of pounds and adjust your waistline to a healthier size, said Nettie Novelli, a licensed metabolic balance practitioner and founder of Wellionaire Living LLCa science-backed metabolic program that creates customized nutrition plans to help you achieve your health and wellness goals.

Novelli has been in the wellness industry for 30 years and maintains a healthy lifestyle with a healthy diet and regular exercise. Despite this, she noticed that her waist was increasing. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome surprised her. Because of her health and wellness background, she learned how a health-conscious person could develop this disease and what she could do to get better.

Because metabolic syndrome is based on insulin resistance — or too much sugar in your bloodstream — eating foods that are wrong for our specific body can increase the risk of diseases that lead to metabolic syndrome, she said.

Novelli offers its customers a tailored nutrition plan based, among other things, on their metabolic blood value (blood sugar level), as well as their age, gender, health status and dietary preferences. Using this tracking method, Novelli went from a size 10 (34-inch waist) back to a size 2 (27-inch waist). “When the insulin and blood sugar systems are functioning properly, the symptoms of metabolic syndrome begin to disappear – and that is the waistline.”

Metabolic syndrome is commonly not a “hot topic” because many individuals deal with the aesthetic side of weight reduction and health, reminiscent of tightening the waistline in time for summer, Bryant said.

Whether diagnosable or not, awareness of metabolic syndrome is critical because the danger of great consequences reminiscent of stroke or heart disease is way greater with a cluster of cardiovascular diseases than with a single one. But metabolic syndrome and its associated diseases are widespread across the country, and doctors often simply prescribe medication reasonably than making major weight loss plan and lifestyle changes, Bryant said.

Click Here to learn more about metabolic syndrome.