Alrighty now, Tell me..

 

How do you feel about the term “Metabolic Syndrome”? Kinda catchy isn’t it? Says a lot in 2 words. I feel like the adoption of this “syndrome” was the first step towards pulling many SEPARATE diagnoses into one category. A step toward bringing the commonality of a few major disease states into the mainstream. I am going to go out on a limb and say that soon some cool term for the underlying inflammatory process of all of the inclusive diseases within the syndrome will be popular. It may even get an ICD-10 code that will be rejected for the first year its released. 

Only time will tell.  But for now, I am going to continue down the path of keeping you, my fellow NPs, informed on the core to all of these trendy syndromes.

 

The core is obesity and inflammation.

 

Master those 2 things and you master the keys to health. Your life will get so much easier when you focus on managing obesity and inflammation. The rest will just fall into place.

 

My goal is to have you putting it all into action in your clinical practice to make a difference in as many people as possible.

 

So, what is Metabolic Syndrome? 

 

Metabolic Syndrome is a group of conditions and or risk factors that tend to occur together and collectively can increase one’s risk of developing diabetes, heart attack and/or stroke. You must have 3 of the 5 risky conditions to be given the Metabolic Syndrome diagnosis. The 5 conditions are Increased waist circumference, elevated triglycerides, low HDL, hypertension and impaired fasting glucose. Let’s break down all of these conditions and why the identification and treatment is important.

 

1.      Increased Waist Circumference means an increase in adipose in the abdominal region. Increased adipose is associated with an increased risk for diabetes. Increased adipose cells are related to an increase in inflammation.  That inflammation is considered a stress to the body. In episode 14 I talked all about what is being secreted from the adipose cells... go back and check that out at nphealthinterventions.com/14

 

 

2.      Hypertriglyceridemia is associated with an increased risk of fatty liver, which ….we discussed in the last episode, is associated with insulin resistance , which is associated with an increased risk for diabetes and an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

 

3.      Low HDL- Low HDL is associated with APO A impairment. APO-A is a lipoprotein. Low APO- A and Low HDL are both associated with an increase in inflammation and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Here’s one of my crazy analogies for patients..I like to refer to HDL as the “Teflon on the arteries”. Preventing the buildup of plaque inside the arteries. If HDL is low everything is sticking to those arteries. If you’ve ever scrubbed a pan that has lost half it’s Teflon coating you KNOW how awful that is.

 

4.      Hypertension- is of course well known to an contribute to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke and is associated with a multitude of commodities. Contributing factors to hypertension include obesity, vascular congestion, increased sodium intake, smoking, family history and list goes on.

*A little fun fact for you.. Adipose secretes angiotensin. Angiotensin is involved in hypertension. Think about those ARBs we prescribe. Now think connections.

 

5.      Impaired Fasting Glucose, which indicates an impaired insulin response, which is associated with an increased risk for diabetes, and increased triglycerides, which as we have already discussed in episode 18, is associated with an increased risk for fatty liver disease and an increase in inflammation.

 

Are you seeing the pattern with all the options you can select from to give the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome? All can be prevented and modified by lifestyle modifications. All go hand in hand and share those core components of inflammation and obesity. By helping your patients lose weight and make even a few changes in their everyday lives you can make one heck of an impact on overall health. And when you support that even small changes have a big impact the patient will be more likely to succeed with those changes and not feel so overwhelmed.

 

Heart Disease is still the #1 cause of death in the US, despite all of our medical advances. And it doesn’t have to be. We need to do our part and put some lifestyle discussion and education into EVERY visit with our patients.

When you think Metabolic Syndrome…think obesity and inflammation.

Now… I have exciting news! I will be doing a New and Improved Program Launch in December 2020! December 8 to be exact. The Wellness and Weight Management Course is getting even better! And even getting a new name. Master Obesity in Your Clinical Practice. It includes more information, more bonuses, more action items for your practice AND a Private Facebook group for course members. That means more valuable time with ME!!! Yay! I will be able to offer more support to more practitioners that way. So, I hope you believe me the I say, I listened! I took your feedback and questions and revamped. Stay tuned to keep up to date.  And to those who have already taken my course, don’t worry, you will get any new updates sent to you!

You can find more of me and what I’m up to on healthinterventions.net,  Facebook and Instagram!

Have a great week! May it be filled with many Health Interventions!