Metabolic syndrome is a condition that involves a group of metabolic abnormalities that may lead to the development of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. People with metabolic syndrome have an accumulation of abdominal fat (also known as central obesity, but many of us call it plain, old belly fat) as well as two of the following:
- High triglycerides
- Reduced “good” cholesterol (HDL)
- High blood pressure
- High blood sugar
This condition is also known as Syndrome X. About 76 million adults in the U.S. over the age of 20 have Syndrome X. The bright side is that diet and lifestyle factors can control and reverse each of the four indicators above, and lessen someone’s central obesity.
A recent study found that a low-fat, high-complex carbohydrate (whole grains, please!) diet supplemented with omega-3s resulted in lower blood lipid levels in people with metabolic syndrome than the same diet without the omega-3s.
Previously, a low-fat, high-complex carbohydrate diet was found to be beneficial for those with metabolic syndrome, except for one thing – it increased triglyceride levels. Since omega-3s are known to reduce triglyceride levels, adding them to this diet seemed a good idea. Time and good results have proven that they were right.