One of the buzzwords in holistic medicine today is anti-aging. I prefer to call it aging gracefully. Aging in my experience can be a wonderful process of growth and fine tuning th e spirit, mind and body.
So what do we have to address to prevent loss of health that might accompany aging? Often ignored is a syndrome called Metabolic Syndrome or Insulin Resistance which is one of the most common causes of aging today.
If you:
- have problems with premature aging
- a family history of diabetes,
- blood sugar problems,
- tend to gain weight round the abdomen/ waist,
- have tags on your skin,
- a certain type of cholesterol profile with high triglycerides or a low HDL,
- high blood pressure
- are a type-2 diabetic*, these two articles are aimed at you.
These characteristics define a pre-diabetic state called Metabolic Syndrome or Insulin Resistance. This is unfortunately a very common condition found in almost 44 % of people aged 40- 69 in the United States today. (1) And about 7% of them have frank type-2 diabetes.
Aging can be slowed and contrary to popular belief, diabetes and metabolic syndrome are preventable and even reversible. My hope is that as you read through these articles you will have a clearer understanding of how you can make better choices that can create lasting changes in your health and life.
We will look at how our food choices, physical activity, emotional state and other factors contribute to these syndromes. We will look at how the pre-diabetic state called the Metabolic Syndrome is as dangerous as frank diabetes and the importance of tackling diabetes before it starts.
Step I: Nutrition:
Food Quality:
For simplicity’s sake lets look at foods as having calories and nutrients. Nutrients are essential for the survival of the body and include proteins, vitamins, minerals, fiber, essential fatty acids and many more. Calories are simply what the body uses to burn energy. Due to the processing of foods and other causes, our foods have become deficient in nutrients but higher in calories.
Let us take the example of grains. The husk of rice (preserved in brown rice) is rich in the B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron, selenium, phosphorus, fiber and protein. When we take out the husks we are depriving our body of these most essential nutrients. Meanwhile we get all the calories. However the body senses that it is not getting all it needs by way of nutrients and activates the hunger signal. And so very soon we are hungry again, but we eat the same foods. And still do not get the nutrients we need. The body stays hungry.
A study at Cornell University took lab rats and divided them into two groups. One group was given a regular diet, while another group had their calories restricted by 25%, while keeping their nutrient intake steady. The group with the restricted calories lived 35% longer!
A look through the medical literature will reveal more than 150 studies showing magnesium deficiencies in people who have diabetes or risk factors of developing diabetes. But other essential vitamins and minerals are also found lacking like biotin, potassium, chromium, zinc, vitamin D, niacin and vanadium, to name a few.
Another way food helps is that a lot of plants and spices have a very positive effect on blood sugar regulation in the body. Cinnamon, mustard, fenugreek, better melon, maitake mushrooms are some of these. Also the flavanoids and enzymes found in plants are very beneficial.
Calorie Quantity:
The authors of the book ‘ The Okinawa Program’ went to Okinawa, Japan to find out why they had more people who lived to be over 80 there, than any other part of the world. After interviewing these octogenarians, one of the most common responses they got was that they left the dining table with their stomachs 90% full. Of course, I would not recommend this if you are already underweight.
The Cornell researchers also found that excessive calorie intake was interpreted physiologically by the body as ‘stress’.
All of this goes back to the hormone ‘Insulin’. Insulin is secreted in response to higher calorie intakes and lowered nutrient intake. In people with Metabolic Syndrome or the early stages of type-2 diabetes, insulin is found in higher than normal levels. These high levels of insulin are physiologically damaging to the body causing weight gain, generalized inflammation, a high systolic (upper number) blood pressure, skin tags, changed cholesterol levels, and in general speed up the process of aging.
In this era of high insulin levels, understanding how our dietary habits help bring them down and acting on this information is a key foundation on the journey back to health and wholeness.
Next blog post: Exercise, lifestyle and emotional factors in Metabolic Syndrome.
* Type-2 diabetes is the more common form of diabetes found in adults and makes up 90% of adult diabetics. In this form the major problem is an initial overproduction of a hormone called Insulin. In contrast Type-1 Diabetes is a more severe form in which the pancreas do not make Insulin due destruction of pancreatic cells.
This article was originally written by me and published in AZ Net News in the June July 2008 issue.
Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Tahoma Clinic
Leo Galland, MD
Life Extension
Phillip Alexander, BrandMuscle
Tom Peters!
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