Speaker 1: Metabolic syndrome is a serious health condition that affects about 23% of adult. And that number is on the rise, and the underlying causes are related to inactivity, unhealthy eating, and increased stress. Dr. Erica Steele from Holistic Family Practice is here to explain more. Dr. Steele, thanks for being here.
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course.
Speaker 1: All right, so I was reading through the notes. Yeah. What is Metabolic syndrome? I’ve never heard of it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so it’s
a collection of risk factors. Okay. Right. So hypertension, high glucose level, not diabetes or pre-diabetes, but like a. Uh, typically speaking, so hypertension, the up course waistline is increased 40 inches in men, 35, uh, in women.
So it’s just a collection of symptoms that, um, unfortunately have certain diagnoses in them, but also lead you to other greater risk.
Speaker 1: What are the causes of metabolic syndrome?
Speaker 2: I think a lot of times it’s inactivity and especially our western culture. Okay. You know, we’re so focused on our careers. We’re so focused on family and getting this done and our to-do list and everything else that we really forget and neglect ourselves and our health.
So what happens is, is let’s say we stress too much. We don’t drink enough water. We’re eating on the go, you know, quick, fast, in a hurry. Um, all of these things add up and then the body just breaks down over time. So it’s really related. Style.
Speaker 1: Right. So, and what I’m hearing is anybody susceptible to this cluster of system?
Speaker 2: Yes. Sometimes yes, truly, and especially more in the developed countries. Like when I did my master’s degree, it was interesting, like they studied these, you know, unin, you know, uh, um, these non developed countries, right? And as they grew more into a western culture, all of a sudden they started to developing these conditions. So it’s really more a combination of our lifestyle here.
Speaker 1: Is there a way that it starts? We were talking before the show and you said the effects just kind of snowball. It starts with one thing. Yeah. Then moves to another because you react to your first symptom.
Speaker 2: Exactly. I really think stress is the number one because that’s the you a lot of times sleep goes when we’re stressed.
Mm-hmm. a lot of times. Then waters. Drops down, then our food drops down. We’re eating on the go, quick, fast, in a hurry. You know, all of these things just add up over time. It’s, I don’t think anybody says, You know, I’m really gonna neglect myself today, .
Speaker 1: Yes.
Speaker 2: You know? Right. But reality is, is that in any given moment where they’re choosing health or choosing disease, and a lot of us are very unconscious cuz we have so many obligations that we’re forgetting to choose our health.
Speaker 1: How do you choose health? What is your advice there for people who are on the go, who are busy to make sure that they don’t fall? To these symptoms?
Speaker 2: Yeah,
I think it’s really just these slow changes. Like everybody’s like real quick, like, okay, this bad diet, or now I’m gonna join the gym, even though I’ve been sitting on the couch, like everybody’s into the extremes.
That’s very much our western culture, right? And so it’s really the small incremental changes. So even just right now, we could take. Breaths, right, to lower our stress level, right? We could drink water, we could be conscious of that. You know, we look at the balances and then slowly over time, those lifestyle habits build.
Um, especially, you know, preparation and planning of our meals ahead of time. You know, I tend to like to do that on a day to day basis rather than doing this one big meal prep day. And really it’s about finding. For you, cuz what works for me may not necessarily work for you, but it’s in the discovery.
That’s really all the fun.
Speaker 1: I don’t think people give stress enough credit in what it can do to your overall health and how it does start snowballing. If you’re stressed, the next thing comes up.
Speaker 2: Oh, it’s truly, we dismiss it all the time be. And also too, there’s a lot of shame attached to. Emotional health as well.
Yeah. Especially this, it’s like suck it up, be tough, be strong, keep powering through. And so we neglect ourselves because we don’t feel safe enough to express how we feel. And so we internalize that and then it creates this internal struggle happening.
Speaker 1: Okay. Dr. Shield, where can we go to get more information?
Speaker 2: So our website, holistic family practice va.com. We also, uh, have two metabolic health programs to really help people jumpstart. We have one that’s an eight week program and one that’s a 12 week program as well. So, yeah.
Speaker 1: Okay. Well, Dr. Steel, thank you so much for being here. We always appreciate all of your information.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
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