The Case Of Syndrome X by Namita Nayyar

Before you make a decision of whether to follow a low fat diet with lots of carbohydrates or a diet high in poly- and monounsaturatted fats with fewer carbohydrates ,there are certain factors that need to be understood . Prior to your decision go in for a lab test to determine your level of LDL- Cholestrol, HDL- cholestrol ,trigycerides,blood sugar and insulin . Get these checked up by your family physician . If your blood pressure is fine and your blood level of these substances are within normal you don't need to worry about the portions of fat or carbohydrates you eat . The more out of range you are of these parameters , the more likely you are to have Syndrome X.

Abnormalities in glucose and lipid (blood fats) metabolism, obesity, and high blood pressure occur together. In fact, this cluster of abnormalities is known as a syndrome, going by a variety of names, including Syndrome X, the Deadly Quartet, and the Insulin Resistance Syndrome. Syndrome X. is a new term for a cluster of conditions, that, when occurring together, may indicate a predisposition to diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Insulin is the hormone responsible for getting energy, in the form of glucose, or blood sugar, into our cells. A woman who is insulin-resistant has cells that respond sluggishly to the action of insulin. Following a meal, this woman will have elevated glucose circulating in the blood, signaling yet more insulin to be released from the pancreas until the glucose is taken up by the cells.

When insulin resistance, or reduced insulin sensistivy, exists, the body attempts to overcome this resistance by secreting more insulin from the pancreas. This compensatory state of hyperinsulinemia (high insulin levels in the blood) is felt to be a marker for the syndrome. The development of Type II, or non-insulin dependent, diabetes occurs when the pancreas fails to sustain this increase insulin secretion. It is not clear how insulin resistance contributes to the presence of high blood pressure, but it is clear that the high insulin levels resulting from insulin resistance contribute to abnormalites in blood lipids—cholesterol and triglycerides.

The syndrome is typically characterized by varying degrees of glucose intolerance, abnormal cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, and upper body obesity, all independent risk factors for cardiac disease. If one includes along with the classic four features the commonly associated conditions of aging, sedentary lifestyle, stress, smoking, and a dose of genetic susceptibility, then a deadly web of increased cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels) disease risk is woven

Treatment for the described metabolic syndrome therefore aims at treating all of: the features of the syndrome that exist in a given woman.

The first step, then, is to identify the risk for the insulin resistance syndrome—women who are overweight, those who have a parent or sibling with Type II diabetes, women who had diabetes which occurred during pregnancy are more succeptable .

General recommendations :

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BIO:

Namita Nayyar is a President & fitness trainer,Women Fitness(http://www.womenfitness.net) with a sound background of Normal & therapeutic Nutrition

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