Richard Whelan ~ Medical Herbalist

Metabolic syndrome is the baby brother of diabetes. It may take many years but metabolic syndrome always eventually grows into diabetes if it is not successfully treated.

Metabolic syndrome is a disorder in the way that sugars are transported from the blood into the cells of the body. The biochemistry of metabolic syndrome is complex but at the heart of the problem is an elevated insulin level where the body produces extra levels of insulin in order to drive high levels of sugar inside our cells and out of our blood where it is harmful in excess. The chronically elevated insulin levels in metabolic syndrome are the reason why untreated metabolic syndrome eventually develops into diabetes. Our body’s ability to make higher than usual amounts of insulin eventually becomes exhausted.

It is estimated that up to one in four people in Western society have metabolic syndrome to some degree. Arguments for why metabolic syndrome affects so many people are compelling. Metabolic syndrome and its related conditions such as diabetes are virtually unheard of in societies that eat an unrefined, ‘primitive’ diet. People in modern society eat a much greater amount of refined foods and in evolutionary terms our bodies have simply not had enough time to adapt to these high-sugar containing foods. Many people are not genetically ready to eat a diet so rich in carbohydrates and their eating patterns in early childhood set the stage for the syndrome to develop when they get older.

A confident diagnosis of metabolic syndrome can usually be made based on a typical pattern of problems because it always has adverse effects on health and wellbeing.

For example a very common feature of metabolic syndrome is being unable to lose weight despite doing all the “right things”. People who have metabolic syndrome are usually (but not always) overweight, especially around the abdomen.

People with metabolic syndrome get a fatty and congested liver which may be picked up in raised liver enzymes and cholesterol levels.

Another common feature of metabolic syndrome is high blood pressure. The raised insulin levels of metabolic syndrome cause the blood vessels to slowly become hardened and congested. if untreated the eventual outcome is heart disease.

Many women with hormonal problems, especially polycystic ovarian syndrome, are strongly affected by metabolic syndrome.

In practice the most common problem that I have found that people with metabolic syndrome seek help for is exhaustion and a low mood. One study showed that people with metabolic syndrome were 5 times more likely to suffer from depression than the average person.

Metabolic syndrome is basically genetic, some people can handle the modern diet, many cannot. You cannot cure having the metabolic syndrome but you can definitely live in a way that it never causes you any health problems, ever.

Protein:
You have to regularly eat small amounts of protein. Eating protein will effectively smooth out the blood sugar highs and lows. Protein rich foods are nuts and seeds, meat, fish, chicken, eggs and dairy products. You especially have to eat protein in the morning so your blood sugar levels stay stable through the day.
Avoid or minimize the ‘big’ carbohydrates.
The main starchy carbohydrates are bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and bananas. Carbohydrates include things that are made with any kind of flour, or grains, or sugar.
Exercise.
Exercise plays a key role in preventing and treating metabolic syndrome. Children who eat lots of sugary foods can often stave off the excess weight and other symptoms of metabolic syndrome because they are so active (although this is becoming less and less so). When you exercise you make your cells more sensitive and more responsive to insulin.

Herbs such as Golden Seal and Celandine to help the liver are essential for people who have had the metabolic syndrome for a while. Energy tonics such as Panax Ginseng and Withania will help restore the vitality needed to eat and exercise well to recover health. For people who have uncontrollable sugar cravings and who overeat I and my colleagues have had striking success with bitter herb combinations such as Gentian and Ginger.

I also use nutritional medicines including Chromium and B-vitamins to help sugar metabolism and Omega-3 fish oils to reduce the risk of heart disease and sticky blood.

Q & A

Question : Which is the easiest meal to get right with the metabolic syndrome?
Answer : Dinner, any kind of meat plus almost any kind of vegetables. But, depending on how bad your health is you have to either completely stop or at least markedly reduce bread, pasta, rice, grains and potatoes and likewise you will have to stop or reduce sweets or desserts.

Question : Which is the hardest meal to get right with the metabolic syndrome?
Answer : Lunch, this is the time that, unless you have planned ahead, you are going to fall into the trap of convenience foods which, with few exceptions are high in refined carbohydrates.

The best way to get your lunch right is through your dinner. Make a larger amount than you need and at the same time as you serve dinner put one or two portions into a container that you can store for lunch. There is no harm in freezing food but it will taste better if you let it thaw naturally and heat it on a stove instead of a microwave.

Any kind of soup, or casserole, or stir-fry, or whatever combination of meat and vegetables you had for dinner will work just as well for lunch. If you do this right, be prepared, get your thermoses and Tupperware and all that kind of equipment working for you then you will feel like you are eating like a king or a queen. Even though you will lose weight do not think of this as a weight loss diet. You have to enjoy it and not feel deprived if there is any chance that it will succeed in the long term.

I ask my patients with metabolic syndrome this question and I hope they say yes. Eggs are the best breakfast food because they are so rich in protein and so easy to get ready. Any kind of egg preparation is fine and it is particularly hard to get bored with well-made omelettes. Eggs are still haunted by their mythical high cholesterol past. You do not get cholesterol from eating cholesterol. You get cholesterol from having a dodgy liver and having too much saturated fat in circulation which in turn you get from having too much sugar in your blood. Sugar is the enemy, not fat, not protein.

People with metabolic syndrome typically have higher than ideal levels of cholesterol and so are usually nervous about eating extra eggs. It may not be until you have eaten eggs every day for months and see your cholesterol levels actually come down that you will finally feel at peace with the whole (seeming) contradiction of it all.

Go online and get recipes from low-carb, caveman, metabolic syndrome etc. websites.