Metabolic Syndrome i.e. “Dysmetabolic” is a cluster of conditions including, abdominal obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated blood sugars and dyslipidemia (elevated unhealthy lipids and lower levels of healthy lipids). Presenting with symptoms of low energy, melancholy, brain fog, pain and irritable bowel. Prodromal conditions for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases. Metabolic Syndrome associated chronic illnesses are estimated to affect up to 40-50% of the world's population, primarily related to modifiable lifestyle risk factors. Modifiable risk factors including, overweight/obesity, sedentary lifestyle, consumption of fast processed foods and stress.
The pathophysiology, without getting too deep into the science, is the consumption of nutrient deficient processed foods combined with modern sedentary lifestyles which is disruptive to our adaptive homeostatic processes that are dependent on plant-based nutrition and movement. It is why we included a historical perspective in the program on how the healthy evolution of our relationship with nourishment and movement has been disrupted in the modern world. It is no fault of yours, to get past the guilt of “not taking care of ourselves.” Guilt is not a good motivator.
Central obesity is our body shunting high caloric, processed meals into visceral fat in our abdomen. Visceral adiposity is pathogenic and pro-inflammatory, further disrupting our adaptive homeostatic processes and driving chronic illnesses.
Another essential ecosystem that has been disrupted in the modern world with processed foods is the healthy symbiotic relationship with our gut microbiome. The microorganisms lining our GI tract that play a significant role in our gut health, digestion and metabolism are dependent on vegetable fiber for nutrition. Dysbiosis, driven by processed foods, is also disruptive to those adaptive homeostatic processes.
Not only how we interact with food and movement impacts adaptive homeostatic processes but also how we interact with our environment emotionally, impacts those essential homeostatic processes. Chronic stress is disruptive to adaptive homeostatic processes as well and is why we included a mindfulness practice component in our program.
Conventional medicine is competent in diagnosing and treating the symptoms of metabolic syndrome but stacking medications is not helpful in achieving wellness. Spending our “golden years” looking for our keys or sitting at the doctor’s office to get our scripts filled is not normal healthy aging. You can stent cardiovascular disease but you can’t stent dementia. Integrating plant-based nutrition and movement into our lifestyle is essential for healthy aging and achieving wellness.
Viably Wellness was designed to inspire a paradigm shift in our relationship with nourishment and movement from the externally guilt-driven “I should’ to a more internally driven self-compassionate choice to live one’s best life.
