The Functional Medicine Approach To Metabolic Syndrome - South Bay Wellness

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a collective term for a group of conditions, including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess weight around the midsection and high cholesterol  that can raise your chance of developing heart disease and other health problems like diabetes.

What is Metabolic Syndrome?

While metabolic syndrome is a disorder that is caused by a group conditions, we believe it’s mainly tied to the obesity epidemic. In some cases, individuals who are at a healthy weight can still have metabolic syndrome. But there are five specific factors that can put you at risk:

  • Having a large waistline (more than 35-inch circumference for women and more than 40 for men)
  • Low levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol
  • High triglyceride levels
  • High levels of blood sugar
  • High blood pressure
Even though you may not “feel” any symptoms, an additional risk factor to keep in mind is your body shape. Where you “wear” your fat matters: If you look more like an apple than a pear, your risk of developing metabolic syndrome is greater.

Carrying weight around your middle is an indication of excess visceral fat, a key risk factor for the development of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even certain cancers.

The good news is that metabolic syndrome can be reversed even if you have a genetic disposition or close relatives who have had diabetes or heart disease. Since your risk for metabolic syndrome increases with age, it is critical to understand how your  lifestyle habits impact your risk as early as possible. We also recommend proper testing to see where your inflammation markers stand.

The Conventional Approach To Metabolic Syndrome

The conventional approach to addressing metabolic syndrome is typically “lose weight and exercise” which is cookie-cutter advice that most people just ignore or do incorrectly. Sadly, most conventional doctors have received little to no training in nutrition and fitness – which means they are ill-equipped at guiding you on a plan that will reduce your risk factors.

Unfortunately, the conventional approach does little to help you deal with gut health issues and inflammation that also play a role in metabolic syndrome.

What about a DIY approach? Sadly, most of the “healthy” eating  information circulating on the Internet isn’t correct and can actually worsen your risk for metabolic syndrome for many reasons.

First, most of these plans are high in hidden sugars and carbohydrates, include foods that are inflammatory in other ways, and may not be right for your unique nutritional needs or biological make-up.

This is why you see people losing weight on diet plans that don’t work for you. If you already have some of the risk factors or have metabolic syndrome, losing weight can also be incredibly challenging for reasons I cover in the weight loss section.

The Functional Approach to Metabolic Syndrome

Functional medicine is “whole body” medicine – meaning we treat the entire body and teach our clients the correct way to achieve balance through lifestyle, nutrition and targeted, medical supplementation.

This is why functional medicine really shines when it comes to working with chronic illnesses and disorders like metabolic syndrome that need attention in many systems in your body – from insulin, to metabolic hormones and your digestive health.

One of the reasons we are so successful at working with clients with metabolic syndrome is that we also deal with deeper issues that keep your metabolism from functioning properly.

This includes dealing with general inflammation (that are typically high in clients with metabolic syndrome). When the body is very inflamed, your hormonal balance (insulin, cortisol, thyroid etc) is oftentimes off as well – impacting your ability to lose weight.

People with chronic inflammation have high levels of stress hormones like cortisol that don’t “shut off” – that can cause intense fat and sugar cravings that keep them in the vicious cycle of steady weight gain. Your gut health (also called your gut biome) is also a huge consideration: Many people have gut issues like bacterial infections, parasites or gut dysbiosis that can put their immune system in high alert and throw their entire bodies off.

Weight Loss

Weight loss can be important part of healing metabolic syndrome. But it also has to be done the correct way, with an anti-inflammatory diet that helps to balance your hormones and gut health.

Many people don’t realize that even a modest 5% reduction of their body weight positively impacts blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol/triglycerides. That being said, most people who already have metabolic syndrome have an incredibly hard time losing weight due their their insulin issues and other challenges that they are unaware of. This is why it is so important to work with a functional medicine practitioner who can create the right weight loss protocol that can also meet any nutritional deficiencies you have while rebalancing the gut.

Learn About Our Approach

Take The First Step On Your

Journey Back To Health

Perhaps you have questions you’d like to ask before you make a decision to become a client. Sign up for our free programs to determine if partnering with South Bay Wellness is right for you.

Learn About Our Approach