by

Joseph

The stress caused by metabolic syndrome could interfere with your ability to partake in exercise. This is the theory proposed by Alistair V. Nunn and colleagues in a report published in the December 2010 issue of Nutrition & Metabolism.

According to the report, modern societies have created environments that promote metabolic syndrome a disease state characterized by diabetes mellitus, obesity, high concentrations of fat circulating in the bloodstream, and high blood pressure which are brought about through consumption of unhealthy foods and low activity level. This in turn, causes body inflammation which interfere's with the ability to engage in exercise.

These experts believe that environmental changes e.g calorie restriction and physical activity could reduce the effects of inflammation and thereby improve people's ability to exercise.

Can Everything Be Blamed On Inflammation?

Nunn's paper proposes an interesting relationship between inflammation and our state of health. Inflammation is a biological response to injury, often induced by infection or injury, whereby the body releases chemicals that cause pain, swelling and sensitivity.

Inflammation is also characteristic of auto-immune disease and some forms of mental illness. And it can have an immediate mental and physical effect. Injury and sickness have a tendency to restrict physical actitivity, you not only feel too ill to move about, you also become emotionally turned off by the thought of exercise. At least that's what these scientists assert.

They do make some good arguments. The scientific and medical literature have been talking about obesity as a state of chronic inflammation and its role in type II diabetes. I've read reports on the subject and the evidence seems incontrovertable.

For people with this condition, the release of tiny protein molecules called cytokines cause the affected cells to become insulin resistant thereby increasing the chances of becoming diabetic. Both of these are characteristics of metabolic syndrome. So, if the body could somehow reduce inflammation it might prevent metabolic syndrome and all of the medical problems and complications associated with it.

But then you get a catch-22 situation: physical inactivity increases inflammation and inflammation causes pain which often makes it too uncomfortable to exercise and the easiest way to alleviate the pain is to stay put. In the end a sedentary person remains sedentary thereby putting his/her health at risk. So, what can a person do about it?

How Can You Become Physically Active If You Just Don't Want To?

If a person has become accustomed to low physical activity, it can be very hard to start exercising. Aside from embarassment, physical exertion can be painful making it difficult to sustain for very long. Some experts believe that proper nutrition and increased consumption of plant based foods may help.

For example, Nunn points out that green tea increases exercise endurance in mice. It's also a fact that green tea is thermogenic (produces heat). If a person eats a healthy balance of thermogenic foods (nuts, lean protein, etc.) it will stimulate the body to burn fat naturally. And when you're burning fat cells it may reduce the inflammation in those cells.

So, it's a good idea to eat four to six meals every day, making sure that each meal consists of healthy fats, vegetables (or low glycemic index fruits), dairy and lean protein. Not only will it prevent you from overeating (because you'll always feel full), it will re-charge your metabolism and thus help you to burn fat. Plus you'll have plenty of energy to fuel your body while you're doing aerobic and strength training activities.

Nunn does mention something that I absolutely do not agree with. That would be calorie restriction. Fasting is not a healthy means of weight loss. When you skip a meal, the body thinks that it's starving and the next time you eat something, most of that energy will be stored away as fat, basically saving for a rainy day (starvation) which never comes.

To be fair, Nunn talks about partial starvation rather than prolonged starvation as a way to induce exercise, but why risk it? Some people could take that to extremes e.g. anorexia and bulimia which would put their health in great jeopardy. Instead of partial starvation, just make sure that your body spends more energy than it takes in.

By merely cutting your calories by five hundred calories per day, you will lose one pound of fat weight each week. And if you add in strength training and aerobic exercise, you could safely lose three or four pounds per week.

The thing to do is to start slowly, you didn't gain weight overnight, so it will take time to lose it. Jot down a list of activities that you enjoy.

Pick one or two of your favorites and make a promise to yourself to do those activities for a few minutes each day just to a feel for them.Then spend more time on them next week. As you gradually increase your level of activity, you'll find it easier to participate in the things that you like to do. You just have to make up your mind to do it.

Now, I'm going to turn it over to you. Do you believe that a obesity, diabetes, etc. actually prevent people from leading healthy lives? Tell us about it in the comments.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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Article Source

Nunn et al: Inflammatory modulation of exercise salience: using hormesis to return to a healthy lifestyle. Nutrition & Metabolism 2010 7:87

 "Vicious Cycle: Is Metabolic Syndrome Interfering With Your Ability To Exercise?" copyright 2011 Living Fit, Healthy and Happy_(SM). All Rights Reserved.

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