Weight Loss & Metabolism: Symptoms, Root Causes, and Natural Treatment

Dr. Stengler: Are you one of the 50% of Americans that has metabolic syndrome, and as a result you're gaining weight even though you think you're doing the right things with your diet and exercise? It can increase your risk of stroke, heart disease, dementia, and high blood pressure. So let's get into what metabolic syndrome is. Metabolic syndrome really is characterized by insulin resistance — it's also known as syndrome X. With this condition, you have elevated levels of insulin, and that's causing disruption in the body chemistry. It puts on weight, especially in the abdomen, causes your lipids to go up, and can lead to high blood pressure and fatigue.

More specifically, in terms of how to diagnose it, you usually need three or more of the following items to be imbalanced. First, in men, your waistline measured around the belly button is 40 inches or more in circumference; for women, that'd be 35 inches or more. Blood pressure is usually elevated. Fasting glucose is greater than 100 milligrams per deciliter. Your HDL is usually less than 40 milligrams per deciliter for men, or under 50 for women. The triglyceride-to-HDL ratio is greater than three. So if you have elevated glucose levels, you're putting on weight, and you have lipid imbalances, there's a good chance you have metabolic syndrome. On lab tests, there are some other biomarkers — the small, dense LDL particles could be imbalanced, you could have elevated uric acid levels, an elevation in inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein, and the hormones of metabolism such as adiponectin and leptin being out of balance.

So what's the best way to address metabolic syndrome? First, you need a diet that controls your carbohydrates. You need to get rid of the simple, high-glycemic carbohydrates, with diets such as a paleo diet, a modified Mediterranean diet, or a modified keto diet. You need to get out the bad grains and refined wheat products — you can see videos on my YouTube channel on why American bread and grain products are very problematic when it comes to inflammation and blood sugar levels. You need to eat quality protein sources and get in a high-fiber diet. What's also very helpful is high-intensity interval training — that's the type of training where you'd cycle very vigorously for up to 60 seconds and then cycle more moderately for one to two minutes, and repeat this, building up to about 15 minutes, two to three times a week. Studies show that can be very significant in improving metabolic syndrome, done in combination with improving your diet.

I'm a big fan of the herb berberine. Berberine has been shown in several studies to be comparable to drugs like metformin in lowering insulin and blood sugar levels, which gives you the advantage of helping get that insulin resistance under control. Smaller amounts of chromium can be very good, and using fiber supplements, especially soluble fiber, can be very effective as well. So when you change the carbohydrates in your diet, get the quality protein sources, the good fats, and the high fiber, and do more intense training like high-intensity interval training along with a few key supplements, you can make dramatic changes in your metabolic syndrome. Many studies have been done where people doing combination programs — the dietary changes and the high-intensity interval training, even without the supplements — see significant impacts on their weight, body fat percentages, lipid levels, and glucose levels within 2 to 3 months. I hope you found this video helpful, and look for more videos on my YouTube channel. Until next time, I wish you well.

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