Be Fit For Life
Newsletter Published Quarterly by WAEdwards: [email protected]
Tipping the Scales in Your Favor
Volume 06· Issue 03
·
SEPT 2011
What Is Metabolic Syndrome?
Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is the name for a group of risk factors
that raise your risk for coronary heart disease and other health problems,
such as diabetes and stroke. The term "metabolic" refers to the body’s
processing food for energy and tissue building nutrients. Risk factors are
traits, conditions, or habits that increase your chance of developing a disease.
Metabolic Risk Factors
Having three of more of these five risk factors qualifies you for having MetS:
1. Large Waistline This also is called abdominal obesity or "having an apple shape." Excess abdominal fat is
a greater risk factor for heart disease than excess fat in other parts of the body; i.e. hips and thighs.
2. High Triglyceride Level (or you're on medicine to treat high triglycerides). Triglycerides are a type of fat
found in the blood that is used as an energy source for prolonged activity.
3. Low HDL Cholesterol Level (or you're on medicine to treat low HDL cholesterol). HDL is called "good"
cholesterol because it helps remove cholesterol from your arteries. A low HDL cholesterol level raises your risk
for heart disease.
4. High Blood Pressure (or you're on medicine to treat high blood pressure). Blood pressure is the force of
blood pushing against the inside walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood. If this pressure rises and stays
high over time, it can damage your heart and lead to plaque buildup.
5. High Fasting Blood Sugar (or you're on medicine to treat high blood sugar). Mildly high blood sugar may be
an early sign of diabetes.
Your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke increases with the number of metabolic risk factors you have.
In general, a person who has metabolic syndrome is twice as likely to develop heart disease and five times as
likely to develop diabetes as someone who doesn't have metabolic syndrome. Having even one risk factor raises
your risk for heart disease. You should try to control every risk factor you can to reduce your risk.
reference: The Exercise Professional’s Guide to Optimizing Health, Jeffrey l. Roitman & Tom LaFontaine
How Can You Reduce the Risks of Getting MetS?
To reduce the risks of getting MetS you should focus on developing healthy lifestyle habits.
Obesity and inactivity are your enemy. Your body is very efficient at saving energy. To prevent obesity you
need to burn as many calories as you are able. Aerobic exercise is the best way to burn lots of calories. In
addition a great many of the immune system responses are stimulated by muscle activity.
Steps you can take to reduce your risk for MetS include:
1. Reducing your body fat. Obesity is a common characteristic of
someone who is sedentary. Stay as active as you possibly can. Stay
on your feet all day long. Don’t sit.
2. Walk everywhere. Aerobic exercise strengthens your heart
helping it to beat stronger and aerobic exercise can reduce high blood
pressure.
3. Reduce your total cholesterol and increase your HDL. HDL has
been shown to increase with moderate aerobic activity.
4. Avoid Snacking. When you feel bored or lacking energy you
should take a walk to boost your energy level. Exercise will increase
your energy. Sweets will cause you to energy slump and feel tired.
Daily activity is the key to continuing good health. Stay as active as possible all day long. At a minimum walk
10,000 steps 4-5 days of the week at a moderate rate, (moving at a speed that makes it difficult for you to talk),
and do some moderate to strenuous weight bearing activities 2 – 3 times a week for 10 to 30 minutes.
reference: The Exercise Professional’s Guide to Optimizing Health, Jeffrey l. Roitman & Tom LaFontaine
Figs Fueled the First Olympiads
As a token of honor, figs were used as a training
food by the early Olympic athletes, and figs were
also presented as laurels to the winners as the
first Olympic medals.
Just three figs provide a whopping 30 grams of
good carbohydrates along with a multitude of B
vitamins, calcium and potassium to help ensure
peak muscle function and optimal bone health.
Figs also are an excellent source of soluble pectin
fiber, shown to lower cholesterol and ultimately
reduce cardiovascular risk.
Fresh figs make delicious snacks. They are
great in green salads, fruit salads, or even pasta
salads. They can also be easily substituted in any
recipe calling for dates or raisins.
It is definite that a fig tree provided the first
clothing as noted in the Bible, “...the eyes of both
of them were opened, and they knew that they
were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together,
and made themselves aprons”, but there is room
for speculation that the forbidden fruit might have
been a fig, not an apple.
California Fig Advisory Board
Raspberry Fig Sauce
CURIOSITY CORNER
Send in your questions and we
will answer them in future issues.
Q?
A!
Why is it dangerous to eat too much sugar?
Sugar digests into your blood stream so quickly that
your body starts to get ready for it as soon as you taste
sweet. The body gets ready for action. Getting ready
involves releasing hormones that allow you to use the
energy from the sugar. Insulin is a key hormone for aiding
the muscle to burn energy. Lots of insulin is needed if you
are working hard and burning energy. Little insulin is
needed if you are sitting doing nothing. Too much sugar
results in too much insulin. Too much insulin is damaging
to the walls of the arteries of the heart and to all other
muscle fibers. The other muscle fibers can ignore the
insulin and when they do you become insulin resistant.
The arteries can’t. Eating too much sugar can lead to
serious disease such as Coronary Artery Disease, Type 2
Diabetes, fatty liver and kidney disease, and Obesity.
Some studies are now showing that artificially sweetened
foods and drinks will cause the same insulin response as
sugars.
The Plank is an Excellent Simple Core Exercise
A fig sauce makes a great addition for
grilled tofu, chicken or pork loin.
5 ounces dried Calimyrna figs, stemmed,
quartered (about 1 cup)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 10-ounce package frozen raspberries, no sugar
added, thawed
Combine first 3 ingredients in heavy small
saucepan. Stir over medium heat and simmer
until figs are tender and liquid is reduced to thick
syrup, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Add
raspberries and simmer until thickened to sauce
consistency, stirring occasionally, about 5
minutes. Cool. (Can be made 1 day ahead.
Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature
before serving.)
Few exercise routines are as simple to perform yet yield
such great results as the plank. When performed correctly
the plank will engage all of the muscles of the abdominal
area and the spinal erector muscles.
Brace yourself on your forearms with your shoulders
rolled backwards. While keeping your back in a natural
curve of the upper torso and lower back suck in your
abdominal muscles tight. Squeeze your butt cheeks
together hard as you hold the position for as long as
possible. Repeat several times until fatigued.
WAEdwards Health Fitness Professionals
ACSM Health Fitness Specialists
Ace Certified Personal Trainers & Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Coaches
ACSM CERTIFIED
Rise to the Challenge – Be Fit For Life
visit our web site at: http://www.waedwards.net
WAEdwards, Modesto, CA · 209-521-0689 · [email protected]