HEALTH & WELLNESS
NATUROPATHIC INSPIRATIONS
INGRID PINCOTT ND
Treating Metabolic Syndrome THE K E Y TO A HE A LT H Y I M MU NE SYSTEM I have always considered fall the season of fresh starts.
associated with altered immune function and chronic
Is this going to be the fall of “discipline” where I en-
inflammation.
deavor to eat less sugar, stop coffee, and exercise and meditate more? This article explains “metabolic syndrome” and how it predisposes the body to infectious diseases such as colds and flus, and how all of the above disciplines may contribute to your immune health. Dr. Jeffery Bland, PhD, recently wrote a wonderful summary of Metabolic Syndrome, July 26 2020 on the Medium platform, describing it as the non-communicable disease (NCD) pandemic that has been on the
When did this state of altered immune function begin to be a global health issue? In the early 80s in Japan where diabetes was not heard of, over the period 1988-2012 there was an exponential growth of obesity, hypertension, prediabetes, and diabetes. This was a trend that was spreading across the world: a global epidemic of metabolic syndrome. Today more than 30% of the North American population
radar of the World Health Organization, public health
has metabolic syndrome!
groups, and health providers in recent years. These
What is the cause of chronic inflammation that is impacting populations in so many countries?
NCDs have overtaken infectious diseases as the most significant global cause of illness and premature death.
What is metabolic syndrome? Metabolic syndrome is technically not a disease but a constellation of proinflammatory conditions including hypertension, insulin resistance and obesity. Hypertension is classified as blood pressure readings over 135/85, insulin resistance is indicated in blood sugars above 6.1 and triglycerides over 1.7, but not yet clas-
Dramatic changes in lifestyle, environment, diet, and stress cause metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a state of lowered resilience to disease and one of the pathways involves “furin”. It is a protein that regulates various biochemical processes, both in times of good health and when a disease state is present. In people who have comorbidities that are associated with metabolic syndrome furin levels have been found to be
sified as diabetes, and increased body mass index as
abnormal.
measured simply by abdominal circumference great-
How do we treat metabolic syndrome?
er than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men. The comorbidities linked to metabolic syndrome are
Many lifestyle, environmental, and dietary factors are
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