Metabolic Syndrome: What You Need
to Know
Alarmingly the prevalence of metabolic
syndrome has increased to over 41% in the United States. Metabolic syndrome is
a cluster of conditions that increase a person’s risk of Heart Disease, Stroke
and Type 2 Diabetes. These conditions include abdominal obesity, high blood
pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol. A
person is diagnosed with metabolic syndrome if they have 3 or more of these 5
risk factors. Lifestyle modifications are critical to mitigating the health
impacts associated with Metabolic syndrome.
I realize this is a lot to digest all at once; thus I am going break up each of the risk factors into their own blog and provide specific tips to reduce your risk for each of the conditions individually. Let’s start with Hypertension (or High Blood pressure).
Lifestyle Modifications to
Reduce High Blood Pressure:
✅ SODIUM- Watch your sodium (salt) intake.
Try using fresh herbs for flavoring instead of the saltshaker. Read the
Nutrition Facts Labels-you may be surprised how much sodium is in your salad
dressing, condiments and sauces. Processed foods also tend to be higher in
sodium. The daily goal for most Americans is less than 2000 mg sodium per day.
✅ POTASSIUM - Focus on eating more fruits and vegetables. They contain potassium which works with your body to lower blood pressure. Excellent sources of potassium include kiwi, avocado, banana, tomato, cantaloupe, spinach, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, lima beans, lentils, yogurt and coconut water.
✅ STRESS- Practice healthy outlets
for stress relief. This may include exercise, journaling, music therapy, aromatherapy, meditation, yoga breathing
techniques- find what works for you!
✅ WHOLE FOODS- Choose more whole foods: Vegetables, fruit, lean proteins. Choose less processed foods. This helps to reduce sodium and other ingredients that can contribute to inflammation.
✅ HEALTHY WEIGHT- Losing weight even as
little as 5-10 pounds, if you are overweight, can also help improve blood pressure
Recipe of the Month: Kiwi Yogurt Bowl
Ingredients:
1 kiwi peeled & sliced
2 T pumpkins seeds (pepitas)
1T chia seeds, hemp hearts or ground flax
seeds
1 T natural almond butter or peanut butter
Dash of Cinnamon
Instructions:
Scoop yogurt into a bowl. Top with kiwi, pumpkin seeds, chia/flax seeds
and nut butter, Sprinkle with cinnamon. Enjoy 😊
Katie's Kitchen
Below are suggestions for how to find the ingredients to make the above recipe.
I LOVE this Smucker's Natural Peanut butter because it comes in a glass jar! It is available at Meijer & Target. Other brands to try: Kirkland (Costco), Trader Joe's & Kozee. The most important thing to look at when buying nut butter is the ingredient list. Choose a product that only has 2 ingredients-peanuts and salt. Same for other nut butters like almond butter. Switching to a natural nut butter helps you to avoid the added sugars & hydrogenated oils in traditional nut butter. You will need to stir the nut butter when you first open it. Store in the fridge after opening.
These sprouted pumpkin seeds are deliciously addictive! They are great on yogurt bowls, salads and avocado toast. Plus they have 8 grams of protein and 197 mg potassium in a 1/4 cup serving!
Click Here to purchase on Amazon
Hemp Hearts add flavor and crunch to your yogurt bowls. They can also be added to smoothies, salads or in oatmeal. Each Tablespoon contains 111 mg potassium 3 grams protein and 4 grams Omega 3 Fatty acids (which are good for your heart!).
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