Are you metabolic? Metabolic refers to the biochemical process involved in the human body’s normal everyday functioning. That might sound pretty impressive, but far from being cool, individuals suffering from metabolic syndrome are subject to habits, conditions and traits that increase an individual’s chance of developing heart disease and other health problems including diabetes and stroke.
Although your health should be a consideration all year long, the holiday season (between Thanksgiving and New Years) is a particular time because we tend to let ourselves go and eat a lot more than usual (and a lot more of what we shouldn’t be eating).
Metabolic Risk Factors
Medical experts say there are five metabolic risk factors. An individual can have a specific risk factor or a combination. Many risk factors tend to occur in pairs. If you have three or more you may want to be examined by a medical professional for a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.
High Blood Pressure: in its simplest form, blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries while your heart pumps blood. If this pressure remains elevated over time, this pressure can damage your heart and lead to artery blockage.
Large Waistline: experts call it abdominal obesity but it is what it is. Excess fat in the abdominal area makes for a greater risk of heart disease than excess fat in any other part of the body, for example the hips of lower back.
Low HDL Cholesterol Level: HDL is often called the “good” cholesterol because it helps remove the bad cholesterol from your arteries. But if you have low HDL that means there’s not enough of the good cholesterol doing its job. Thus, your risk of heart disease is much higher.
High Blood Sugar: even is your blood sugar level is just a bit high; it may be an early sign of diabetes.
High Triglyceride level: Triglycerides are a type of fat found in the blood.
More Factors, More Risk
As we just mentioned, the more risk factors you can identify with, the greater your risk for heart disease, diabetes and stroke. In fact, according to xxxx a person who has metabolic syndrome is twice as likely to develop heart disease as someone who doesn’t. And to be honest, even one risk factor is a bad thing.
Just who is at risk is becoming more easily identified: metabolic syndrome is increasingly linked to obesity and lack of physical activity. Genetics play a part and insulin resistance is also a consideration (insulin resistance can lead to high blood sugar levels).
The good news is that with relatively simple lifestyle changes regarding diet and exercise you can lower your risk of metabolic syndrome. A commitment from yourself and assistance from your health care provider can get you on the right track for lifelong health.