Do You Have Metabolic Syndrome?

Metabolic Syndrome is a cluster of conditions when combined together increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.  These conditions can include increased blood pressure, elevated insulin levels and excess body fat around the waist and/or abnormal cholesterol levels.

If more than one of these conditions occur in combination, your risk is even greater than usual of having a heart attack, stroke or developing diabetes.

The causes of metabolic syndrome are generally interwined with a less than healthy lifestyle including smoking, drinking, eating a diet high in sugar, refined carbohydrates, fat and lack of exercising.  Metabolic syndrome also becomes more common in women around peri-menopause, menopause and is also more common in people with a sedentary livestyle/ work environment.

Symptoms To Watch For!

The symptoms of metabolic syndrome that every person should watch for:


  *   Obesity, particularly around your waist (apple shape)
  *   Elevated blood pressure
  *   An elevated level of the blood fat called triglycerides and a low level of high-density lipoprotein
  *   Resistance to insulin, a hormone that helps to regulate the amount of sugar in your body

Having one component of metabolic syndrome means you're more likely to have others and the more components you have the more likely you are to suffer from a serious, life-shortening disease in the future.


Blood tests to detect the amount of fatty deposits in your blood and your resistance to insulin can be conducted at our Pinewood clinic on Duncan Mill Road in Toronto, this test will help determine whether or not you may have Metabolic Syndrome.

Treatment
Aggressive lifestyle changes and, in some cases, medication can improve all of the different conditions that characterize this condition.
In general the person will be advised to be more physically active, lose weight and quit smoking. This can help reduce blood pressure, improve cholesterol and reduce blood sugar levels.

Walking half an hour to an hour a day is initially recommended to help you lose five to ten percent of your body weight, reduce insulin levels, lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of diabetes.

Smoking cigarettes increases insulin resistance and worsens the health consequences of metabolic syndrome. A naturopath can help you kick the cigarette habit.

If you have metabolic syndrome or any of the components of metabolic syndrome, you have the opportunity to make aggressive lifestyle changes. Making these changes can delay or derail the development of serious diseases that may result from metabolic syndrome. Our naturopaths and dieticians can recommend weight loss plans for reducing that apple belly as well as help you rethink your diet and lifestyle so you are less prone to developing diabetes or experiencing a cardiovascular related health crisis.

For more information or to book a consultation about anti-aging, diet and weight loss programs or any health issue you may be experiencing, visit the Pinewood Natural Health Clinic website that has a list of full services and products at www.pinewood.ca or call our Toronto Office at  (416)-656- 8100.  We also have an office in Pickering, Ontario at (905)-427-0057. You can also email us at info@pinewoodhealth.ca and we would be happy to answer any question that you have about our holistic health services.

Why High Protein Low Carb Diets Don’t Always Work

Many people who come to the Pinewood Natural Health Centre in Toronto to ask about a weight loss solution have actually lost weight through trying other diets. The only problem is that once they have lost the weight, they often gain it all back plus a few pounds moree  nThere are other options, including a largely successful low calorie diet accompanied by hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin)

The problem with High Protein Low Carbohydrate diets is that it is very hard on the urinary system and liver because it pushes your system into a state where it begins to eliminate ketones. These are acids that are produced when the body burns fat for energy.

Ketones  are also produced when the body is not producing insulin properly.  It is ketones that help you process sugar for your cells to use as energy. When is occurs, ketones form in the blood and if they are not excreted or if the body is overwhelmed by them you can get very sick, especially if you have been diagnosed with insulin resistance or diabetes.  A lot of people gaining weight in our society today are very insulin resistant which make a high protein low carb diet an unwise  choice for them.

How High Protein Low Carb Diets Became So Popular

This type of diet is not a new one. It was first developed in the sixties by Dr. Irwin Maxwell, M.D. in 1967. The idea of forcing the body into a state of ketosis by feeding it only protein  so that pounds became the basis for The Doctor’s Quick Weight Loss Diet, known more casually as the Stillman diet. The body would be tricked into releasing fat through the urine.

The Atkins diet, officially called the  Atkins Nutritional Approach is exactly the same thing. His book called Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution in 1972 was revamped as Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution (2002).  The New Atkins for a New You (2010) is the most recent edition of the same diet.

Today the concept of losing fat by eating protein and no carbs is a big business and the basis of many supplement products and newer spinoff fad diets.

The Drawbacks of High Protein Low Carb Diets

These diets produce ketosis and this is just simply not the greatest state for the body to be in. It can cause fatigue, nausea and constipation, none of which fit into the definition of living a healthy and active lifestyle. Long term side effects are bone loss, heart problems and kidney damage.

To top it off, ketosis is not the greatest state for your body to be in. Ketosis is an abnormal body process that occurs during starvation due to lack of carbohydrate. Ketosis causes fatigue, constipation, nausea, and vomiting, none of which are part of a healthy lifestyle. Long-term side effects of include heart disease, bone loss, and kidney damage.

A nutritional analysis of the Atkins diet by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (http://www.pcrm.org/) concluded that this diet was much too high in saturated fat and cholesterol and too low in fiber to be healthy.  This is because there is a lot of cholesterol in all of the meat and butter approved of in the diet. Eating so much animal product also stresses out the liver, intestines and kidneys.

 It is also a very acidic diet that was analyzed as being deficient in   seven key vitamins and minerals including calcium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, vitamin B12, and thiamine.  Alkaline diets are more healthy for you.

As to be expected they also found that this diet that is very heavy on butter and meat was very high in cholesterol and saturated fat and very low in fiber.  In fact if you stick religiously to an Atkins diet you are likely to only have two to seven grams of fiber a day when at least 35 grams is what is recommended.

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The problem is that eating this much meat it means including more toxic, artery clogging fat in your body.  The excess protein also stresses every organ in your body including the kidneys, intestines and liver. 

The Not So Great Results

The typical Atkins dieter loses a great deal of weight but only for a short while. The spin-off diets, like the South Beach diet are just as bad and include liberal use of toxic sugar substitutes like Splenda that also make the blood very acidic.

 It also does not help that the low level of carbs ingested while they do these diets makes people feel tired so they do not feel like exercising.

If you want to lose weight there are healthier options at your disposal. This includes hCG plus injections.

For more information or to book a consultation about anti-aging, diet and weight loss programs or any health issue you may be experiencing, visit the Pinewood Natural Health Centre website that has a list of full services and products at www.pinewood.ca or call our Toronto Office at  (416)-656- 8100.  We also have an office in Pickering, Ontario at (905)-427-0057. You can also email us at info@pinewoodhealth.ca and we would be happy to answer any question that you have about our holistic health services.