Metabolic Syndrome - Solutions

Okay, so you've read my link on Metabolic Syndrome and think you may have it.  Or maybe you want to avoid dealing with it and its destructive force on your testosterone and erectile strength?  Either way, this is nasty stuff and below I give you many research-based solutions to prevent or even eliminate its hold on your life.  Science has come so far in its understanding of Metabolic Syndrome that there is simply no reason to let it take out your heart, brain and penis. 

Below are 20 solutions to prevent and defeat Metabolic Syndrome.  Put these all together and you have handily defeated what is probably Pubic Enemy Number One.  (Yes, I meant Pubic.)

1)  Magnesium.  Magnesium is one of the few supplements that I would recommend for most people and one of the reasons is the close relationship between Magnesium and Metabolic Syndrome.   

2) Low Fat (or Ornish) Diet.  A Low Fat or (Ornish) Diet will lower blood pressure, dramatically decrease cholesterol and even clean out your arteries.  In short, it will reverse almost every negative aspect of Metabolic Syndrome.  Please read this link on a Low Fat or (Ornish) Diet for more details.

Do you know the foods and drinks that increase erection-boosting Nitric Oxide? Check out the Peak Erectile Strength Diet where I show you how to dramatically and naturally improve your erectile strength.

3) Exercise had done very well in defeating Metabolic Syndrome.  For example, one study of sedentary but healthy subjects with Metabolic Syndrome resulted in "30.5% (32 participants) [who] were no longer classified as having the metabolic syndrome after the exercise training. Among the 32 participants who improved their metabolic profile, 43% decreased triglycerides, 16% improved HDL cholesterol, 38% decreased blood pressure, 9% improved fasting plasma glucose, and 28% decreased their waist circumference." [6] In other words, even without any dieting or even baseline dietary changes, exercise made very significant improvements in a large number of patients. 

4)  Being Overweight is another huge risk factor for insulin resistance and Metabolic Syndrome. In fact, recent research shows that fat tissue is the number one cause of insulin resistance. [30]  The reason?  When you get fat enough, macrophages (white blood cells) actually move in and take residence in your fat and begin to pump out pro-inflammatory cytokines and this inflammation response leads to the nasty insulin resistance that causes so many problems.  The good news is that the same study [31] showed that participants that dropped the pounds sent the macrophages running out of their fatty tissues and reversed their insulin resistance (and diabetes) risk.  I advise reading my link on How to Lose Weight the Right Way, as you can easily depress your testosterone levels if you are not careful.

5) Vinegar and Cinnamon.  Both vinegar and cinnamon [18] help with glucose and insulin metabolism.  Try to include a tablespoon or two of vinegar prior to any meal with a significant amount of carbs.  Read about How Vinegar Can Help Keep the Pounds and Decrease Insulin and Glucose. Remember:  Anything that blunts the glucose spike that occurs after a meal should also blunt the insulin spike as well. CAUTION:  There is a certain type of "mock" cinnamon (Cassia) commonly sold in stores that has significant amounts a liver and kidney toxin called couramin. You only want to buy true cinnamon, which is Ceylon Cinnamon.

6) Whole Grains.  Whole grains lower insulin resistance simply because they are broken down by our digestive systems more slowly and thus spike blood sugar much less.  Several studies have shown that Whole Grains lower insulin resistance. [4]  See this link on Grains for more details.

7) Saturated Fats and Total Fats.  Researchers have used a high fat diet [20] and saturated fats [21] (on animals) to induce insulin resistance!  That's how potent these are at generating Metabolic Disorder symptoms.  You definitely want to keep saturated fats and total fat to a minimum unless you are going to be extremely careful.

8) Fish Oil.  Many studies have shown that fish oil protects against insulin resistance. 

9) Blood Pressure.  High blood pressure is one of the hallmarks of Metabolic Syndrome and there are excellent strategies to lower your blood pressure.  See this link on How to Lower Your Blood Pressure for details.

10) Mediterranean Diet with Nuts.  The Mediterranean Diet probably help with erectile dysfunction is that a recent study [11] found to improve Metabolic Syndrome . Metabolic Syndrome is a set of conditions (high blood pressure, insulin resistance, poor lipids, etc.) that plague Western societies.  There are several interesting things about this study.  First of all, the participants were seniors, all of whom were at risk for heart disease including about two thirds who already had developed Metabolic Syndrome . The study found that the Metabolic Syndrome was actually reversed for 14% of the participants. (NOTE:  Nuts were also a part of the most succesful cohort in this study.)

11) Juvenon.  This is a supplement that is basically a combination of Acetyl-L-Carnitine, the mitochondria booster, and ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid), the powerful antioxidant. One study showed a nice reduction in blood pressure in those with Metabolic Syndrome of 139 to 130. [14]   

12) Alpha-lipoic Acid.  Alpha-lipoic acid, one of the components of Juvenon, has been shown in a study to improve insulin resistance.  [17]

13) Testosterone.  Researchers castrated rats which made them much more insulin resistant. [19] They then administered supplemental testosterone which helped reverse the insulin sensitivity resulting from castration. This, of course, implies that testosterone plays a strong role in both insulin resistance and sensitivity.  Again, see my link on How to Improve Testosterone Naturally or Testosterone Therapy for ways to boost your testosterone. Also, one well-known HRT clinic has actually reversed ALL of their Type II diabetics.  In other words, all of their patients with Type II diabetes have been able to get off of insulin by simply raising their testosterone into the 800-1000 ng/dl range!

14) Stress.  Stress has been associated with Metabolic Syndrome.  Stress negatively affects hormones (cortisol and testosterone) and leads to behaviors such as increased smoking and drinking and decreased exercise. [22]

15) Black Tea.  Tea, like cinnamon and vinegar, seems to dampen the post-meal glucose and insulin responses according to one study. [23] The research is new but looks very promising: tea was actually found to mimic the Diabetes drugs Precose and Glyset. Again, this is a rather conusing result to many, because the the school of thought has always been that caffeine causes significant sugar spikes not amerliorations of the same.

16) Dark Chocolate (Cacao).  A recent study found that dark chocolate improved insulin sensitivity. [26]  Of course, the secret is not the sugar or milk - it's the cacao, which is one of the staples of the ultra heart healthy Kuna peoples. Eating a small bar per day (dark only) is a heart healthy idea.

17) Sleep.  Studies have shown that lack of sleep leads to greatly reduced glucose clearance, i.e. you become much more insulin resistant, and your immunity is whacked. [24] In one recent study scientists placed 11 participants in a closed environment where  sleep, calories and physical activity could be carefully controlled.  The researchers found that as those in the study went from 8.5 hours of sleep to 5.5 hours, their blood sugar was significantly higher and their insulin resistance significantly worse. [25]

18) Fructose.  One 2009 study found that men put on a high-fructose (200 g/day) diet significantly increased the number of men with metabolic syndrome (and their blood pressure).  In addition, putting them on a uric acid blocker almost eliminated the increase. [27] You don't need to worry about the small amount of fructose in fruit:  200 g is a LOT of fructose.  But you should definitely limit sweets and cokes and anything with a substantial amount of sugar or corn syrup.

19) High-Intensity Training.  If you can take the pain, High-Intensity Training, a close relative of Interval Training, has also been shown to do a nice job of lowering insulin levels. Intensity is a technical term that basically refers to the amount of effort in a certain amount of time or the amount of "sweat and burn" the exercise induces.  Researchers put (female) participants on a repeated cyle of "sprinting" on a stationary bike for 12 seconds and then pedaling much more slowly for 12 seconds and so on for twenty minutes three times per week. [29]  This very minimal amount of exercise significantly reduced insulin levels.

20) Leucine / Branched Amino Acids (BCAA's). Leucine is the heavy-hitter amino in Brached Chain Amino Acid supplements and is responsible for many of the muscle-building effects of whey.  And it turns out that leucine may be one of your potent weapons for fighting insulin resistance and prediabetes.  See my link on Branched Chain Amino Acids for more details.

21) Sugary and Sweet Drinks. It will probably come as no surprise that these have been found to accelerate Metabolic Syndrome (and type II diabetes). [32]  Of course, it could't have anything to do with the extra fructose and empty calories...

22) Coffee.  Many men do not know that coffee has a strong "glucose-limiting" compound in it and supplement manufacturers have pulled out and put into an extract due to its potency. This is one of the reasons that coffee can so be so healthful for some men and several studies have shown its ability to put the brakes on Metabolic Syndrome. [33]

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22) European Heart Journal, Advance Access published online on January 23, 2008, "Work stress and coronary heart disease: what are the mechanisms?", Received 1 August 2007; revised 14 November 2007; accepted 22 November 2007.

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24) Obesity Reviews,Jul 2008,9(4)340-354(15)

25) J of Clin Endocrin & Metab, Nedeltcheva, A.V. , published online ahead of print, June 30, 2009

26) Amer J of Clin Nutr, March 2005, 81(3):611-614, "Short-term administration of dark chocolate is followed by a significant increase in insulin sensitivity and a decrease in blood pressure in healthy persons"

27) Perez-Pozo S, et al "Excessive fructose intake raises blood pressure in humans" AHA BPRC 2009; Abstract P127

28) J Endocrin Invest, Jun 2007,30(6):451-8; Journal Andrology, 2009, 30:10-22

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30) Diabetes, Published online before print March 31, 2010, "Pro-inflammatory CD11c+CD206+ adipose tissue macrophages are associated with insulin resistance in human obesity"

31)  Sciencealert.com, "Meddling Fat Causes Diabetes", Aug. 16, 2010

32) Diabetes Care, Nov 2010, 33(11):2477-2483, "Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes" 

33) Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, Jun 2007, 76(3):383–389, "Habitual coffee but not green tea consumption is inversely associated with metabolicsyndrome: An epidemiological study in a general Japanese population"