Metabolic syndrome contributes to a 2.5-fold increase in cardiovascular mortality and a 5-fold higher risk of developing diabetes. According to recent research studies, cardiovascular diseases will be the largest cause for disability and death in India.
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of disorders like high blood fasting sugar, high blood pressure, increased waist-hip ratio with potbelly, and abnormal cholesterol or triglycerides due to impaired metabolism. Long-term persistence of these conditions leads to further complications like stroke, renal damage, nervous disorders, and retinal issues.
Diabetes is the basic inability of the cells to utilise insulin, which is known as insulin resistance. Due to this, although the pancreas produces insulin, our cells are unable to use it for the uptake of glucose, and this leads to diabetics. Clinically, a fasting serum insulin level of more than 60 pmol/L is considered a state of insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance is a complex metabolic abnormality and a common concern in both prediabetics and diabetics. It affects the ability of peripheral tissues to use insulin, thus impairing peripheral glucose utilisation and resulting in the development of hyperglycaemia, etc. The main peripheral tissues involved are liver, skeletal muscles, and adipose tissue, as they are the main insulin sensitive sites. In insulin resistance, biochemical parameters such as blood glucose level, blood triglyceride level, and blood cholesterol level increases whereas blood HDL cholesterol level decreases, which in turn contributes to cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.
How does one get all these issues?
While metabolic syndrome is not infectious, it is completely dependent on the lifestyle of the individual. The wrong diet patterns, lack of physical activities, long term stress, late working hours without proper sleep, lack of adequate rest, environmental factors, and a slight influence from one’s genetic background, are all responsible. But to put it in a nutshell, at the end of the day, you are the one who decides about your health; you cannot fault your genetics!
How do I get back to a healthy life?
Short term relief is not the answer as the damages that have happened due to wrong lifestyle habits can only be reversed by making healthy lifestyle modifications. A perfect diet, a good amount of exercise or daily yoga & pranayama, all help in attaining physical and mental strength.
In this context, Naturopathy offers a drugless and non-invasive approach that will transform your life by awakening the healer within you. At Prakriti Shakti, CGH Earth’s Clinic of Natural Medicine, we treat lifestyle diseases such as diabetes with naturopathic treatments, dietary practices, lifestyle alterations, and yoga & meditation to manage and prevent hormonal and metabolic disorders. Our curative diabetes programmes are sustainable, holistic, and integrated, combining personalised naturopathy and yoga therapy, starting from 21 days onwards.
A few tips on how to live a diabetic-free life:
- Soak chia/basil seeds overnight in a glass of room temperature water. When you wake up, drink this water along with the soaked seeds on an empty stomach. Chia/Basil seeds are a good source of soluble fibre; hence this drink helps in reducing the glycaemic load as well as insulin spikes in the body.
- Make a juice with 2-3 raw amlas (Indian gooseberries) and one glass of room temperature water and have it early in the morning on an empty stomach. This juice is a good source of vitamin C and also acts as a laxative, which helps in riding the body of accumulated toxins.
- Replace cereals with a millet dish and then replace cereals with vegetables in the next meal. This helps in preventing and reversing diabetes.
- Keep yourself hydrated by drinking a minimum of 3 litres of water every day.
- Replace sweet fruits with citrus fruits and semi-ripened fruits.
- Count the natural colours in your diet. Follow a rainbow diet, which includes a minimum of 7 different colours of fruits and vegetables. This arms the body with enough phytochemicals.
- Sleep for 7 to 8 hours at night, as this enhances the possibility of reversing diabetes by around 30 percent.
- Strengthen the soleus muscle by walking or strength training. This is the single most important muscle to help glucose metabolism.
- Burn belly fat with yogic practices and kriyas.
- Keep the levels of vitamin D optimum by exposing yourself to sunlight.
- Apply cold packs on the abdomen for a short time to improve your metabolism and vitality. This therapy assists in increasing the circulation to the abdomen, which aids digestion.
Disclaimer
The sole purpose of this article is to provide information about naturopathy. This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any disease. If you have an acute or chronic health concern, please consult a naturopathy doctor who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively.
