If you are obese, have diabetes mellitus, or symptoms of insulin resistance then you might be at risk of having metabolic syndrome, which is a collection of risk that can lead to heart disease. There is no medication that can be given to stop metabolic syndrome, only some steps that you can take to prevent it.
Health problems like damaging the lining of coronary arteries, kidneys unable to remove salt, increase in triglyceride, increased risk of blood clots, and the slowing of insulin production can all develop from having metabolic syndrome and these factors can all lead to much more serious problems like strokes and heart disease.
Being inactive and overweight are the main contributors to developing metabolic syndrome, therefore doing more exercise and striving to lose weight will help to limit or prevent the risk factors that go along with metabolic syndrome.
Here are some tips to avoid metabolic syndrome:
- Have a healthy weight — even losing 5-10% of body weight can aid your body’s ability to produce and recognise insulin and reduce the chance of metabolic syndrome evolving into something more dangerous. This can be achieved through diet, exercise and certain weight-loss medications (but only if recommended by a doctor). You can speak to your doctor or a dietician to help you come up with an eating plan.
- Being active — Increasing your activity can improve your insulin levels. It’s good to do aerobic exercises such as walking for thirty minutes a day which can result in weight loss, reduced risk of diabetes, improved cholesterol and improved blood pressure.
- Change your diet — carbohydrates should be no more than 50% of your total calories. Eat complex carbohydrates such as brown bread, brown rice, and unrefined sugars. Also increase your fibre consumption by eating things like beans, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Try to limit the amount of red meats and poultry in your diet. Try to consume healthy fat such as canola oil, olive oil, flaxseed and nuts.
Medication:
Your doctor may prescribe medication to help reduce the risk even further.
- High blood pressure medication including ACE inhibitors (Capoten, Vasotec), angiotensin II receptor blockers (Cozaar, Diovan), beta-blockers, diuretics.
- Cholesterol medication including statins (Crestor, Lescol, Lipitor, etc) niacin (Niacor, Niaspan, etc), Zetia, bile acid resins (Colestid, Questran).
- Diabetic medication including Glucophage, Actos, Avandia.
- Aspirin or baby aspirin. Low dose aspirin reduces the risks of heart attacks and strokes.