Have a look at this AskDrErnst article, posted nearly two years ago. It’s all about Metabolic Syndrome, what it is, why you might have it, the dangers of having it and what you can do to get rid of it.

I’ll do a little bit of re-hashing here. But the real purposes of this post are:

1. A kind of “I told you so”
2. To show off this nifty infographic we made

Here’s what happened: about two months ago (April 2017), researchers at Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University published a report in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics about Metabolic Syndrome.

To put it succinctly, Metabolic Syndrome is a combination of factors. If you can tally up at least three of the following conditions, you’ve got Metabolic Syndrome:

• High blood pressure
• Abdominal obesity
• Insulin resistance
• Abnormal lipids
• High triglycerides
• Low “good cholesterol” (HDLs)

Clearly it makes sense that having more than one of these indicators is a bad thing. The real issue is that they seem to sort of exponentially destroy your health when present in combination. It is particularly hard on your heart, and if you do have Metabolic Syndrome, you are at a nearly 20% higher chance of having a heart attack within the next 10 years. It puts you at the same level and risk to heart health as someone who has already had a heart attack.

As the researchers of this study noted in the press about their report:

“The major factor accelerating the pathway to metabolic syndrome is overweight and obesity… Obesity is overtaking smoking as the leading avoidable cause of premature death in the U.S. and worldwide.”

However, it should be noted, smoking contributes to metabolic syndrome.

Anyway, the good news is that when the report came out, there was a flurry of media activity around metabolic syndrome. Finally, something doctors on the fringes (like myself) had been talking about for years made it’s way just a little bit more into the mainstream.

The problem with mainstream medicine, of course, is that the only way they’re going to deal with it is medication with a bit of light lip service about lifestyle.

Maybe MDs will start acknowledging that people even HAVE metabolic syndrome, but I feel like the scene would play out something like:

“Well, Mr. Jones, it appears you have Metabolic Syndrome. See, the combination of your obesity, your insulin resistance and high blood pressure puts you at a higher risk of heart attack.”

“Oh no! Help me doc!”

“Of course. So I’m going to prescribe you Lisinopril for your blood pressure, Soliqua for your insulin resistance and here’s a pamphlet on bariatric surgery.”

“Alright, thanks doc!”

(Mumbling as he exits the exam room) “You might want to stop eating fast food and get some exercise as well.”

“What’s that doc?”

“Oh nothing! Have a great day!”

Here’s a more effective, less toxic strategy:

• Don’t smoke
• Rid your diet of sugar and carbs to the greatest possible extent
• Ditch artificial sweeteners
• Get moving at least once a day, even if it’s just a walk through the neighborhood
• Stop eating peanut butter – this one seems random, I know, but the majority of peanut butter contains what are called aflatoxins, a kind of mold that is terrible for several reasons, one of which being it majorly increases inflammation and thus blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.

Again, if you want a more in-depth look at metabolic syndrome, how you get it and how to prevent and/or get rid of it, check out my article on it from a couple of years ago.

But the most salient point that needs to be made about this condition is that it is entirely lifestyle controlled. There is no significant genetic component on which to blame this problem. It’s not contagious. It’s simply something that is making people suffer because they either don’t know how to live a healthy lifestyle or they don’t care to. And it’s on the rise. Researchers who published this report expressed concern for American kids, for whom obesity and diabetes is on the rise. I am concerned for them as well.

Let’s live like we want to be around for a while. I know I want you to stick around.