What is Metabolic Syndrome?  According the the International Diabetes Federation (2006), Metabolic Syndrome, also called Syndrome X, is defined as a disease state in which a person has central obesity (belly fat) and any two of the following:

• Dyslipidemia (high cholesterol)
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar)

It, along with cardiovascular disease, stroke, and a variety of cancers, which most often acompany Metabolic Syndrome, is responsible for the March 2005 statement by the National Institutes of Health and the New England Journal of Medicine:

"that because of this epidemic, the current generation is projected to have a shorter life expectancy then the previous one... for the first time in recorded history."

How is it treated?  The most common treatment is to address each symptom as separate, unrelated diseases. For example, a doctor may prescribe statin medication to lower cholesterol, a calcium channel blocker to lower blood pressure, and insulin to lower blood sugar. In extreme cases, a doctor may also recommend weight loss surgery.

The problem is that none of these address the true causes of each diagnosis and none of these address the disease as a whole. 

What other treatment options are there?  Metabolic Syndrome is a life-style disease and can be reversed by making life-style changes, particularly in diet.

The most important change to make is to cut all carbohydrates from your diet except those coming from fibrous vegetables. When we consume carbohydrates in the form of grains, breads, cereals, fruit, and starchy vegetables, they are converted to sugar in the body and require the body to secrete insulin. In a body with Metabolic Syndrome, too much insulin is already being secreted. Cutting carbohydrates reduces insulin production. Over time, this helps correct hyperglycemia.

Because the body will continue to secrete insulin, at least for a short time, cutting carbohydrates from the diet will initially produce hypoglycemia, to little blood sugar, producing symptoms of fatigue or weakness. This is normal as the body re-adjusts to the changes.

Once the sugar store, also called glycogen, is depleted from the body, the body begins to release glucagon rather than insulin. Under the influence of glucagon, fat is burned for fuel and feelings of fatigue and weakness should dissipate.  Glucagon helps lower cholesterol levels, thus correcting dyslipidemia, and helps reduce sodium retention, thus correcting hypertension.

Dr. Cherniawski's comment: Most diseases people learn to live with and manage with medication without addressing the true cause. In addition, media, doctors, and nutritionists often lead us to believe that grain products, especially whole grains, are an important part of our diet.

While small amounts may be good for otherwise healthy individuals, for those who struggle with weight and have problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, and/or blood sugar, a.k.a. Metabolic Syndrome, grain products should be cut from the diet to reverse the Metabolic Syndrome disease process.  

Please contact our Las Vegas office to learn additional natural solution to Metabolic Syndrome and other health problems.

For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolic_syndrome. The American Chiropractor November 2011, "The New Approach to Metabolic Syndrome." www.idealprotein.com. www.thepaleodiet.com.

The liver is one of the most important organs in the human body. It acts in the formation of blood and the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins. In addition it acts as a general detoxifier for the body, removing chemicals and drugs taken in from the outside.

It is easy to forget that prescription drugs are still drugs. Though an accurate definition for the word drug is hard to find, many experts agree all drugs are, to some degree, poisons, in that they disrupt the natural balance of the body. A diabetes drug approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has been associated with reports of liver injuries. As a result, the manufacturer is adding new warnings to the prescription information and labels.

Rezulin (troglitazone) is used in combination with insulin or sulfonylurea in patients with adult-onset diabetes mellitus whose blood glucose levels are not adequately controlled by these other therapies alone.

After less than one year on the market, there were 35 reports of liver injury, and one report of liver failure leading to a liver transplant and one death.

It is not yet determined if the liver injury is caused by Rezulin itself, or by its combination with other drugs, or by some other factor altogether.

Patients taking the drug should have routine checkups, and liver function tests if they develop symptoms of liver dysfunction, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, lost of appetite, or dark urine.

SOURCE:  FDA Consumer, Jan-Feb, 1998. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease
Control Press Release, Oct 30, 1997. As reported in Health Watch.