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May 8 ·
Inflammation and Metabolic Syndrome
A well-known trait of the typical Western diet is the excess consumption of sugar-laden beverages, heavily processed foods, and modern wheat and animal products. What appears on the outside as weight gain can be a much more serious health problem within. Simply put, cells respond to a poor quality, sugar-laden diet by activating various pro-inflammatory signaling pathways. This can lead to a chronic low-grade systemic inflammation in certain tissues preventing these tissues from functioning as they should. For example, excess fat especially in the stomach area, known as abdominal obesity, increases the risk of health problems such as heart disease. A large waist circumference typically goes hand in hand with other risk factors which are often linked:
1) High triglycerides – a type of fat found in the blood.
2) Elevated fasting blood sugar level greater than 100 mg/dl.
3) High blood pressure determined as 130/85 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or above.
4) Reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level.
More to come soon on Metabolic Syndrome.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) provides a great explanation of Metabolic Syndrome:
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/metabolic-syndrome
For a technical understanding of chronic inflammation, obesity, and Metabolic Syndrome, go to: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2913796/
Reference: Catrysse, Leen and Van Loo, Geert (2017, February 22). Inflammation and the Metabolic Syndrome: The Tissue-Specific Functions of NF-κB Retrieved from https://www.cell.com
