Metabolic Health VS Metabolic Syndrome

Learn the Metrics and Correlate Your Present Physical Health to That which only 12% of Americans Enjoy.

To Be, or not to Be: That is an important question for us to ponder.

Our habits drive our daily activities. Many of those activities are spun from the subconscious mind, looking for momentarily pleasure. Awareness of how our activities today affect our future selves tomorrow is often forgotten. Enjoying a rich and abundant life depends on finding a sound balance between body, mind, and spirit.

No activities and no dreams can be accomplished in life without a body. Let’s differentiate between metabolic health and metabolic syndrome. These states are essential to the operating system of the body.

The body is the house in which we live. Like bricks build a foundation for a house, cells are the basic building blocks of the body. Our body, an organism, is made up of more than 50 trillion cells that handle the metabolic operations. The word metabolic is related to the metabolism and the chemical processes that take place on the cellular level. These chemical processes are requirements of the body to sustain life.

When we go for a physical, the doctor will order blood tests to see how we are doing at the cellular level. Based on the results of these tests, also called biomarkers, she can predict the state of our health. Cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels are among important biomarkers. Blood pressure and the size of our midline are also important metabolic indicators.

After reading the American Heart Association (AHA) 2022 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update Fact Sheet, I feel compelled to enlighten you about metabolic health, what it is and what it is not. As a retired critical nurse, I know that everyone is not aware of this. If you can understand that basic health starts at the cellular level, and how bio markers are far more indicative of true health than body weight, you are on your way to become health literate.

Aiming to become health literate, acquiring new knowledge and develop critical thinking skills, you can help yourself to better understand the operating system of the body. Then you can go on to help others.

Health is an abstract concept that is difficult to define because it means different things to different people. The World Health Organization (WHO) formulated a definition back in 1948. That definition was welcomed because it included the physical, mental, and social aspects of health, and not just the absence of disease.

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

That statement sounds good and looks good on paper, but few can live up to such a lofty state of complete mental, physical, and social wellbeing.

That definition is not helpful, evidenced by the fact that every 34 seconds, one person in the US dies from cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in America. CVD is related to diseases and conditions of the heart and vascular system, the blood vessels.

The quality of the intima, the lining of the blood vessels, is highly influenced by the effect of high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Inflammation, fatty streaks, and plaque buildup are effects that may reduce the size of the blood vessel lumen and impede blood flow to the brain, the heart, and the extremities.

Between 2015 and 2018, 126.9 million American adults suffered from some sort of CVD. Certainly, people are not sick because they want to be, but rather because they don’t know how and what makes the metabolism operate and run optimally. Of course, we know that health is more than the sum of some blood test results, but we need to be aware that the effect of our daily habits can make us or break us. Having this vital information can positively influence the choices we make, bypassing instant pleasure fixes.

A long time ago, as a young nursing student, I was eager to learn about pathology and diseases of the human body. But before learning about what could be wrong, we first had to learn the anatomy and physiology of a healthy body. We had to know the proper operating system so that we could differentiate between normal and abnormal functions. The same holds true for blood tests and biomarkers. We need to know our own, and we need to be aware of ideal lab results so that we can act as informed health advocates in our own lives.

Metabolic health is a favorable condition that is shared by ONLY 12% of the American population. Having ideal measurements for the following five criteria: blood sugar, blood pressure, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL), and waist circumference, without taking medications, is termed metabolic health. To make this easy to remember, think that metabolic health is about having our ABCs in order.

1. A is for A1C, hemoglobin A1C. This blood test measures the percentage of glucose that attached to your red blood cells, hemoglobin, during the last three months. The norm is less than 5.7. Fasting blood sugar is also a number that your health care provider looks at and that ideal number is less than 100. Both blood glucose tests are indicative of diabetes and prediabetes if the numbers are too high. Keep in mind, most risk factors can be reduced with improved daily diet and exercise habits.
2. Another A is for abdominal girth, or waist circumference. The ideal is less than 40 inches for men and less than a 35-inch waistline for women. Of course, we did not decide to be born with a pear shaped or an apple shaped body. The point here is about having less visceral adipose tissue around our internal organs.
3. B is for blood pressure. That number, or guidance for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, is lower than it used to be. Less pressure on the artery walls is better than high. Systolic pressure, less than 120 mmHg is preferred, along with a diastolic blood pressure less than 80 mmHg. Generally, it is understood that an adult over 65 has a higher blood pressure than someone half his age.
4. C is for Cholesterol. Guideline for metabolic health is also having a high-density lipoprotein (HDL) over 50 if you are female, and over 40 if you are a man. HDL is the good (think H for healthy) cholesterol that helps get rid of the bad LDL cholesterol (think L for lousy).
5. Another C is Triglycerides, which are not really cholesterol, but blood fats that are measured along with our regular cholesterol screen. They are included in a lipid panel. Triglycerides come from excess food and drink intake. When we take in more calories than we need, triglycerides are stored for later use. The ideal value of triglycerides should be less than 150 mg/dl. Consistent high triglycerides and high blood sugar are correlated with insulin resistance, which is the corner stone in the Metabolic Syndrome.

Metabolic Syndrome is a diagnose given a person who is out of range with three or more of the above five risk factors.

• Abdominal obesity, waist circumference over 40 inches for men, over 35 inches for women.
• Abnormal blood sugar levels, A1C over 5.7 and fasting blood sugar over 100, OR you are currently taking medications for high blood sugar.
• Blood pressure that is 130/85 mmHg and higher OR you are taking medications for high blood pressure.
• Cholesterol, HDL, the good one is too low, less than 40 mg/dl for men and less than 50 mg/dl for women, OR you are taking medicine for low HDL.
• Triglycerides over 150 mg/dl OR you are taking medicine for high triglycerides.

Because these criteria are out of range, they become risk factors. The more risk factors we have, the higher is our risk for cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke. Metabolic Syndrome affects 34% of the American population and this condition is growing globally. Nobody walks around with a “null risk contract” in their back pocket, but a person diagnosed with the metabolic syndrome has an increased chance of developing serious cardiovascular events, like a heart attack and a stroke. Here are five powerful suggestions to mitigate cardiovascular disease.

1. Know that your life can never be replaced by anyone, ever. Keep your body in sound working order and know Your biomarkers. Learn what ideal numbers are and keep them in mind. Also, keep your future self in mind.
2. If you are prescribed medications to keep your numbers in line, take them as ordered. With better self-management, you may be able to reduce the dosages or get off the meds all together. Work closely with your health care provider on your metabolic goals. If you take no medications, kudos to you. Keep up the good work and help others if you can.
3. Fruit and vegetables provide powerful antioxidants that can neutralize the free radicals that mess up the intima of the blood vessels. Attempt to eat at least three fruits and three vegetable servings every day. Fruit and vegetables make us feel better in body, mind, and spirit.
4. You, and you alone hold the key to your mind. Direct your thoughts in a direction that serves you. You, and you alone, are responsible for the choices you make. Acquire the proper information that you need in order to make informed choices. Again, keep your future self in mind regarding daily small decisions.
5. Count your blessings, all of them. Stay close to the essence of who you are, your spirit, and enjoy your unique attributes, those that provide personal joy and meaning. Even better, share them with others if you can.
   

“We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny.
But what we put into it is ours.”
-Dag Hammarskjold

At age 72, I am in the lucky 12% group. Not only am I a nurse, having learned the pros and the cons in both health theory and practice. I am also the daughter of a father who died from a heart attack at age 41, and a mother who had a debilitating stroke at age 64. Through my own trials and tribulations, I learned and figured out a lifestyle that works for me.

Remember, it is never too late to change the direction of our life. If you are 100, wanting to live to be 110 years old, you have a good reason. Moving towards metabolic health, and away from the metabolic syndrome is a choice, your choice. And, with that choice, ladies, and gentlemen, comes a “no regret” guarantee.

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🇳🇴Annelie Holmene Pelaez believes that we all have something to teach each other. Her contribution is to help adults over age 65 to gain better health and more happiness in body, mind, and spirit. Her expertise is based on her Norwegian background, experience in critical care nursing, and meditation practice. In her book, Say Yes To a Better Life, she explains that mindfulness nurtured by meditation and health literacy is the key to sustaining a healthy, self-actualized life, as well as inner peace and confidence. For questions , more information, or to purchase her book, reach her at www.northboundspry.com.