Search results for metabolic syndrome

No time like a present: heart disease, metabolic syndrome and weight

Posted by Liz on Mar 26, 2012 in aging, diabetes, exercise, heart disease | 0 comments

Want to give yourself the gift of a lifetime? Aim for a healthy weight before you hit menopause.

We’ve discussed it time and again on Flashfree; weight gain and menopause go hand in hand like a horse and carriage. And with that weight gains comes an increased risk for developing heart disease, diabetes and the dreaded metabolic syndrome. However, researchers from the University of Ottawa are reporting that entering full menopause with a healthy body mass index (BMI) actually confers protection.

In the study (which appeared online a few weeks ago in the journal Menopause), researchers evaluated and observed 102 premenopausal women for body composition and changes in their cardiovascular health profiles. The women, all of whom were between 47 and 55 years of age, did not smoke, had a BMI between 20 and 29 and had had a stable weight for at least 6 months before the study started, were followed for five years. Each year, the researchers gauged if they had entered menopause, measured body composition (i.e. total fat mass, trunk fat mass and total fat free mass), waist size, the degree of  abdominal fat and took blood to examine glucose, insulin and blood fat levels.

The study’s lead researcher, Dr. Denis Prud-homme explains that by simply observing the women and not imposing any structured interventions (e.g. diet or exercise) they were able to assess changes within a more naturalistic environment. At the study’s end, they discovered that despite significant increases in fat mass, visceral abdominal fat, blood glucose and cholesterol levels, most of which were the natural result of hormone fluctuations and aging, the women did not appear to have any declines in their heart or metabolic profiles that would indicate an increased risk for disease. Dr. Prud-homme says that a possible explanation might be that “even if the area of visceral fat is increased, it is still under the critical threshold associated with cardio-metabolic deterioration.” In other words, by maintaing a healthy lifestyle and BMI premenopausally, these women were able to change their risk equations once they fully entered menopause.

The bottom line is that the present you give yourself now will last long into your later years. Exercise. Eat right. And pay attention to your health.

No time like the present. For a present. Give yourself one.

Wednesday Bubble: Testosterone and the metabolic syndrome

Posted by Liz on Nov 12, 2008 in heart disease | 4 comments

Today’s Bubble features a pretty interesting research finding: contrary to what experts have previously believed about the relationship between estrogen and the metabolic syndome evidence continues to accrue that testosterone may ultimately be identified as the culprit. I wrote about this in an earlier post and there are some interesting stats about risk, etc. (You may recall that metabolic syndrome describes the cluster of heart disease risk factors that include overweight, high blood pressure and blood sugar levels, high blood fats levels and low HDL-cholesterol.)

In the current study, published in the early online edition of the Menopause Journal, researchers evaluated 257 cases of metabolic syndrome found in a group of 1862 women enrolled in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation.

They found that the ratio of testosterone to estrogen during the menopausal transition, rather than changes in each individual hormone, was an important factor in determining which who would develop the metabolic syndrome. What’s more, faster increases in this ratio over time also increased risk.

What this brings to mind is the question of whether or not it is wise to use testosterone to improve sexual dysfunction during menopause? I’m going to be addressing this in a future post.

Newsflash! Two a day diet drinks habit might be harming your heart!

Posted by Liz on Mar 31, 2014 in heart disease | 0 comments

Are you a fan of diet drinks? Do you consume them because they help to keep overeating at bay? Newsflash: you may want to reconsider how diet drinks are actually affecting your health.

Ironically, despite their promise to help you lose weight (and in turn, become healthier) previous studies have linked diet drink consumption to weight gain and an increased risk for metabolic syndrome. Now, researchers presenting at the American College of Cardiology Annual Meeting report that postmenopausal women who consume two or more diet drinks daily may up their risk for cardiovascular disease by as much as 30%. What’s more, the data suggest that the risk from dying from a heart-related event (e.g. heart attack or stroke) might be upped by as much as 50%.

Dr. Ankur Vyas of the University of Iowa evaluated reported dietary habits by almost 60,000 women from the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study, who at the study’s start, had no signs of preexisting heart disease. While the majority consumed up to three diet drinks a month, about 5% of the women reported drinking two or more daily. And of these women, 8.5% developed heart disease or a composite of different events such as a heart attack or stroke.

The researchers note that increases in these events also occurred in the other groups but in fewer women, so for all intents and purposes, the upped risk is a modest one. Still, even when they factored in other things that might cause heart disease such as BMI, smoking or high cholesterol, women who drank the most diet beverages still had a greater likelihood of developing a heart related event or dying from such event.

It’s too early to say for certain whether or not these findings will bear out closer scrutiny. And, increasingly, experts recommend that people choose the real deal over artificial. However, sugar sweetened beverages may soon be blacklisted across the board.  Word to the wise: water trumps diet drinks every time.

Dairy. Do? Or, Don’t?

Posted by Liz on Jan 6, 2014 in diet | 0 comments

It’s a new year, we’re past the holidays and those resolutions to eat better may be confusing. Where do you start? And what should you give up first? Sugar? Grain products? Fats?

Whoa! Hold on there, because what I’m about to share may rock your world when it comes to thinking about fats.

When I think about fatty foods, one of the first things I think about are dairy products. Yet, research shows that dairy intake is below the recommended level,  despite well-established recommendations and of course, their contribution to bone health. What’s more, it appears that eating dairy products may actually lower the risk for metabolic syndrome — the constellation of conditions such as obesity, glucose intolerance, high blood pressure and high cholesterol — that together lead to diabetes, coronary artery disease and stroke. A scary related fact is that metabolic syndrome affects more than a third of women after the age of 55, and has been linked with hormonal changes that occur during menopause (check out the metabolic syndrome posts in the Archives).

In a review in the January online edition of Maturitas, Canadian researchers share a few important facts about dairy products and why you may want to reconsider their role in your diet:

• Obesity. Contrary to popular belief, eating dairy may actually protect against weight gain. While this appears to be counterintuitive, research has shown that dairy may have a beneficial effect on the way that the body breaks down sugar and converts it to fat for storage, and instead, promote the breakdown of fats. Calcium also appears to help the body break down large fat molecules so that the fat is more readily available for energy. And, whey protein appears to help preserve muscle, while lactose and dairy proteins may boost the feeling of fullness. What’s more, eating dairy may actually help reduce that tire around your midsection. However, like any dietary rule of thumb, too much is too much. Dairy intake should be limited to two to three servings a day and products should be consumed along with a balanced diet.
• Blood sugar. While the evidence is still being teased out, dairy may help to keep blood sugar levels in check by preventing insulin sensitivity, that is, balancing the way that insulin is produced and the cells’ reaction to it (when cells lose their sensitivity to insulin, diabetes results).
• Fat in, fat out. Dairy products have long been linked to saturated fat, which has been shown to increase the risk for heart disease. Yet, in moderation, whole fat dairy may actually help balance cholesterol and blood fats levels and even boost good cholesterol – HDL – levels. Still, this is not a free pass for eating all the whole dairy products that your heart desires; everything in moderation. In other words, if your daily intake includes a serving of whole dairy, you need to compensate elsewhere in your diet.
• Blood pressure. Data suggest that consumption of 3 servings a day of low-fat dairy products may actually reduce the risk of high blood pressure by roughly 16%. The best choices appear to be ‘fluid dairy’ (i.e. milk and yogurt) rather than cheese. While researchers are uncertain how dairy yields a protective effect on blood pressure, it may be due to their action on the cells that line blood and lymphatic vessels. Among their various function, these cells, better known as the endothelium, help keep the blood pressure in check.
• Inflammation. Increasingly, low grade inflammation in the body is being linked to disease. In fact, it is considered a key factor in the development and progression of metabolic syndrome. Certain components in dairy may actually reduce blood markers of oxidative stress and inflammation.

I asked my friend and colleague, and registered dietician/nutritionist extraordinaire Danielle Omar  to weigh in on dairy and whether there is any advantage to using low fat versus full fat products. She says that she’s  “not a huge fan of fat free dairy products, especially skim milk. The fat in milk helps with the absorption of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) and other nutrients that can only be assimilated into the body when eaten with fat,” adding that it’s likely that “choosing more fat free vs whole fat dairy will cause weight gain over time.” The reason? People tend to eat more low- versus full-fat dairy before they are satisfied. Moreover, some of the low-fat dairy products are very high in sugar and without fat to slow digestion can cause insulin spikes/hunger crashes —  can lead to overeating. Danielle also says that “people tend to overeat low-fat foods because they think they are being “healthy.”

Dairy? Do! Just be certain to balance it out with other healthy items in your diet.

The gift of a lifetime…

Posted by Liz on Apr 22, 2013 in heart disease, weight gain | 0 comments

I’ve been on a bit of a personal rage lately – a rage about weight gain and the ‘pause.

No time like the present to give yourselves the gift of a lifetime: aim for a healthy weight before you hit menopause.

We’ve discussed it time and again on Flashfree; weight gain and menopause go hand in hand like a horse and carriage. And with that weight gains comes an increased risk for developing heart disease, diabetes and the dreaded metabolic syndrome. However, last year, researchers from the University of Ottawa reported that entering full menopause with a healthy body mass index (BMI) actually confers protection.

In the study (which appeared online in the journal Menopause), researchers evaluated and observed 102 premenopausal women for body composition and changes in their cardiovascular health profiles. The women, all of whom were between 47 and 55 years of age, did not smoke, had a BMI between 20 and 29 and had had a stable weight for at least 6 months before the study started, were followed for five years. Each year, the researchers gauged if they had entered menopause, measured body composition (i.e. total fat mass, trunk fat mass and total fat free mass), waist size, the degree of  abdominal fat and took blood to examine glucose, insulin and blood fat levels.

The study’s lead researcher, Dr. Denis Prud-homme explains that by simply observing the women and not imposing any structured interventions (e.g. diet or exercise) they were able to assess changes within a more naturalistic environment. At the study’s end, they discovered that despite significant increases in fat mass, visceral abdominal fat, blood glucose and cholesterol levels, most of which were the natural result of hormone fluctuations and aging, the women did not appear to have any declines in their heart or metabolic profiles that would indicate an increased risk for disease. Dr. Prud-homme says that a possible explanation might be that “even if the area of visceral fat is increased, it is still under the critical threshold associated with cardio-metabolic deterioration.” In other words, by maintaing a healthy lifestyle and BMI premenopausally, these women were able to change their risk equations once they fully entered menopause.

The bottom line is that the present you give yourself now will last long into your later years. Exercise. Eat right. And pay attention to your health.

No time like the present. For a present. Give yourself one.