You think to yourself, “How did this happen to me?” You are in your 40’s. You are at the doctor’s office, and she is telling you that you suffer from Syndrome X. You’re not even sure you heard the doctor correctly. Syndrome X? It sounds like a superhero. She proceeds to tell you more about this Syndrome X. It’s definitely not a superhero – more like a super killer.

You are not alone. The incidence of Syndrome X, also known as Metabolic Syndrome or Insulin Resistance Syndrome, is increasing each year. According to the American Heart Association, 20-25 percent of adults in the United States have this syndrome.

Now you are thinking that there must have been some warning signs. There were. They came on slowly. You became paunchy around the middle, kind of like a potbelly. You figured you were just getting older. Some of the other warning signs were fatigue, feeling lousy, irritability, sleepiness after eating, blurry vision, and dizziness, all of which you just chalked up to a long day at work.

We need to look more closely at the symptoms of Syndrome X. Metabolic Syndrome is identified by the presence of three or more of the following components:

- Central obesity as measured by waist circumference (an indication of fat tissue in and around the abdomen)

Men — Greater than or equal to 40 inches

Women — Greater than or equal to 35 inches
- Fasting blood triglycerides (fat) greater than or equal to 150 mg/dL
- Blood HDL (high density lipoproteins – “good”) cholesterol:

Men — Less than 40 mg/dL

Women — Less than 50 mg/dL
- Blood pressure greater than or equal to 130/85 mm Hg
- Fasting glucose greater than or equal to 100 mg/dL
(insulin /glucose intolerance-diabetes)

Obesity/Triglycerides & Cholesterol Obesity is a growing issue in our society. According to the Mayo Clinic, about one in three American adults is considered to be obese, childhood obesity is at an all-time high, and more than 300,000 deaths annually are linked to obesity. You must change your lifestyle and begin to lose weight. Educating our children about nutrition and the proper way to eat is the best way to avoid obesity and the suffering from elevated cholesterol and triglycerides (fatty deposits in the blood vessels) and other complications of this disease and the greatest gift a parent can give a child.

Hypertension Elevated blood pressure, i.e. blood pressure measuring greater than 140/90 mm Hg (millimeters per mercury), is known as hypertension. It can lead to heart attack, stroke and/or kidney disease. The best way to prevent hypertension is to begin monitoring your blood pressure in your early 20’s. Visiting your doctor or purchasing and using a home blood pressure kit can easily provide you a baseline measurement of your blood pressure. Reducing sodium (salt) intake is often an effective way to reduce blood pressure.

Diabetes Diabetes is a disease in which the body either does not produce or does not properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is necessary for the body to be able to convert sugar into energy. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce insulin; type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or else the cells ignore the insulin that is produced. Many people know about diabetes through the marketing efforts of pharmaceutical companies. Yet the incidence of this disease continues to grow each year. In 2005, 1.5 million new cases were diagnosed in people aged 20 or older in the United States. There were a total of 20.8 million adults and children, or 7.0% of the population, with diabetes in that same year.

Only a few of the commercials on television or radio ever really talk about the pain associated with this disease. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), heart disease death rates and the risk of stroke are two to four times higher than in those without diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy, caused by the effect of diabetes on the blood vessels in the eyes, causes 12,000-24,000 new cases of blindness each year and is the leading cause of new cases in adults aged 20-74. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, resulting in the need for kidney transplant or dialysis. About 73% of adults with diabetes suffer from hypertension. About 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage. The results of this damage include impaired sensation or pain in the feet or hands, digestive problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, increased sweating, dizziness, and other nerve problems. Diabetic nerve disease is a major contributing cause of lower-extremity amputations, which occur ten times more often in people with diabetes than in those without the disease. Men with diabetes are twice as likely to experience sexual dysfunction as men without diabetes. Clearly, there are many consequences of diabetes that are much more painful and severe than not being able to eat cake or cookies. (Reference from www.diabetes.org).

The question is, NOW WHAT? If you want to live a life with less pain, if you want to live longer, life as you know it must change immediately. Not tomorrow, not next month, not after Christmas, but NOW. Although there is a genetic predisposition toward this syndrome, it is also undermined by poor nutritional/lifestyle habits.

Syndrome X is actually our kryptonite. Just as kryptonite can kill Superman, Syndrome X can kill us.

To thwart this enemy you should do the following:

Educate yourself as quickly as possible and as thoroughly as possible about hypertension (high blood pressure), triglycerides, good cholesterol (HDL), bad cholesterol (LDL), and diabetes (insulin resistance).

See your doctor immediately. Have a complete physical examination, including fasting blood work. He/she might recommend a complete cardiac (heart) evaluation with a cardiologist. You should also know whether your family history includes stroke, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, etc. Remember that the more you can share with your doctor, the better he/she can make a proper diagnosis and recommendations. Depending upon the results of your blood work, your doctor might recommend medication. Do not use the medication as an excuse not to change poor eating and exercising habits. Medications are not a substitute for good habits, but a treatment to manage and reduce the symptoms of this syndrome.

DON’T start a diet. DO start a permanent lifestyle change. It will not be fun, but it is better than suffering pain and/or experiencing an early death. Your lifestyle change is NOT about looking good. It IS about staying alive. If you change your nutrition lifestyle to manage this condition, you will surely lose weight. The best way to control your insulin or glucose levels is to eat foods that rate low on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a ranking system for carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on blood glucose levels.

Start an exercise program. If you have not exercised in the last ten years, you will need some guidance. The science of exercise has changed, and you will need assistance to begin properly. Unless your local gym/health club has personal trainers with exercise physiology degrees, I would not recommend that you start there. Many hospitals incorporate cardiac rehab. The supervision/monitoring and the ability to learn proper exercise techniques that they provide make them an excellent choice for beginning your program. Once you become comfortable around the equipment, you can join your local gym/health club.

Life is not a merry-go-round. We only get a chance to go around once. Yes, we all arrive at the same destination, but it matters how we get there. A good lifestyle will hopefully allow us to arrive later rather than sooner. Become a superhero and harness the power within to change your life and live longer.