Never have heard of Syndrome X before?  Most people haven’t heard of this very common condition.  Also known as Metabolic Syndrome, Syndrome X refers to a group of conditions that indicates a pre-diabetic state, as well as a possibility of heart disease and stroke in the future.

Syndrome X occurs when a person’s body stops using sugar properly, becoming insulin resistant. Indicators that you may have this include weight gain (especially around the middle), feeling tired, mental fog, muscle weakness, cravings for stimulants or sugar and mild depression.

Reversing Syndrome X

The good news is that this condition can be reversed through diet, supplementation and exercise.  The emphasis is on diet of course. Real food, with little or no sugar, is the only solution to long term health.

According to Dr. Lustig, professor of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco, sugar acts as a liver toxin.  But the liver isn’t the only organ to be affected by sugar.  Organs can become insulin resistant, and when they do, they develop their own metabolic disease.  Insulin resistance of the liver results in type 2 diabetes.  A person with insulin resistance of the brain can end up with Alzheimer’s disease.  Insulin resistance of the kidney leads to chronic renal disease, and on and on it goes.

The average person consumes almost 20 teaspoons of sugar a day!  One quarter to one third of the American population is either diabetic or prediabetic, and another quarter has high blood pressure.  Insulin resistance is the key factor in all these health issues.

Exercise

Contrary to popular opinion, exercise will not help you lose weight.  It will, however, help you build muscle and improve insulin resistance. Try to incorporate 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise to lower your metabolic disease markers.

A Sick Population

80% of obese people have metabolic disease and 40% of normal weight people.  The bottom line is that about half of the American population is sick.  Giving up sugar and processed food along with regular exercise can completely turn this situation around. You don’t have to die sick.

To your Health!

Peter Gillham