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Metabolic Syndrome and Plant-Based Diets

Plant-based diets appear to protect against metabolic syndrome, also known as syndrome X, which is characterized by the so-called “deadly quartet,” abdominal obesity, high fasting sugars, high triglycerides, and high blood pressure.

December 24, 2012 |
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Metabolic Syndrome and Plant-Based Diets, 5.0 out of 5 based on 3 ratings

Sources Cited

Rizzo NS, Sabaté J, Jaceldo-Siegl K, Fraser GE. Vegetarian dietary patterns are associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome: the adventist health study 2. Diabetes Care. 2011 May;34(5):1225-7.

Kaplan NM. The deadly quartet. Upper-body obesity, glucose intolerance, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypertension. Arch Intern Med. 1989 Jul;149(7):1514-20.

Rask-Madsen C, Ronald Kahn. Metabolic Syndrome and Insulin Resistance: Mechanisms and Consequences. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2012; 32: 2052-2059.

McCullough AJ. Epidemiology of the metabolic syndrome in the USA. J Dig Dis. 2011 Oct;12(5):333-40.

Acknowledgements

Images thanks to James Heilman, MD via Wikimedia Commons.

Transcript

Metabolic syndrome, also known as syndrome X, is a medical disorder, characterized by the so-called “deadly quartet,” abdominal obesity, high fasting sugars, high triglycerides, and high blood pressure, and it sets people up for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and heart disease. It’s been estimated to afflict about a quarter of the American population. How do we stop it; how do we prevent it. Well, if it’s all about obesity, the level of fat in the blood, and high blood pressure, then that seems like a job for plant-based nutrition. But we didn’t know for sure, though, until recently. Even after adjusting for lifestyle factors such as smoking and exercise, risk was highest in those eating nonvegetarian, intermediate for those eating semi-vegetarian, and lowest in those eating vegetarian, cutting the odds of having metabolic syndrome, by more than half.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Ashley Rhinehart, RN.

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Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

We see this same step-wise progression towards lower disease risk the more plant-based one's diet gets with high blood pressure, cataracts, diabetes, and obesity. So it's not all or nothing-- just adding more healthy plant foods to crowd out some of the animal and junk foods in the diet can offer significant protection. It does appear, though, that to maximize one's benefits one has to move towards maximizing the proportion of plants in the diet.

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  • iainwetherell

    Hi Michael – hope you are well.

    I wondered – since I have Prostate Cancer, am I best avoiding the Erythritol?

    Have a great Xmas!

  • www.cptips.com

    All vegetables are not equal.

    Livers of rats on a high fructose diet look much like the livers of alcoholics suggesting that fructose (fruit sugar) can overwhelm the normal metabolic machinery of this organ. It has been suggested that it is the lack of control (by insulin) of the movement of fructose into the liver cells that is a major factor in the development of the medical condition called Metabolic Syndrome. For an athlete, using fructose to supply energy during exercise (which will avoid its accumulation in the liver) is a positive, but the use of fructose as an alternative sugar in everyday living (it is fructose corn syrup that sweetens colas, for example) appears to have some health risks.

    • http://jolkapolkaskitchen.blogspot.com/ WholeFoodChomper

      Sure, sugar is bad and best to be either avoided or severely limited (watch Dr. G’s videos on sugar and artificial sweeteners). However, I don’t think it’s the fruit sugar (found in fruit) that is the main cause of Syndrome X in a quarter of the American population.

      • http://www.facebook.com/garrett.zuzik Gar Zuzik

        Well stated.
        I feel that, simply stated, the absence of fiber is a general indicator of a worse food compared to another, because it represents processing. People are willing to point to fruit, but overlook the”similar blood raising effect of animal proteins because it seems cheaper, is more satisfying and fits into the norm of society.

  • Rph1978

    One thing good about plant based diets is that they are low glycemic, anti-inflammatory and high in antioxidants. On a typical western diet,
    weight gain and accumulation of fat results in obesity and obese individuals
    tend to have low grade chronic inflammation. A diet high in saturated fat increases inflammation in the body whereas consumption of monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids improves the inflammatory profile in obese individuals.
    For obese and diabetic individuals, Barry Sears, PhD proposes an anti-inflammatory diet consisting of 150 grams of low glycemic carbohydrates daily achieved through a Mediterranean Diet, 100 grams protein daily from low fat chicken, fish or vegetarian diet(soybeans), and 50 grams of fats from monounsaturated and omega-3 sources. This diet provides 1450 calories daily which may be difficult for most to achieve without getting hungry therefore the higher protein content in the diet is necessary to stimulate the release of the satiety hormone from the gut.
    It’s important to choose foods according to the glycemic index even on a vegetarian diet as even fruits and vegetables can increase glycemic load which in turn increases production of inflammatory
    cytokines.

    1.Ros ´arioMonteiro and Isabel Azevedo, Chronic Inflammation in Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome, Mediators of Inflammation 2010
    2. Barry Sears, PhD, Anti-Inflammatory Diets for Obesity and Diabetes, J Am Coll Nutr August 2009 vol. 28 no. 4 Supplement 1 482S-491S
    3. Christian K. Roberts, Ph.D.,1,2,3 and Simin Liu, M.D., Sc.D, Effects of Glycemic Load on Metabolic Health and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology Volume 3, Issue 4, July 2009

  • blaine

    The elephant in the room is that 100 million people in the US already have diabetes or pre-diabetes and are already insulin resistant which means that a high carb, plant based diet will spike their blood sugar and exacerbate their conditions.

    Dr. Christopher Gardner (a committed vegetarian) conducted the Stanford A to Z diet comparison study and found that the best diet for insulin resistant people was an Atkins type, low carb, higher protein diet and that people who were insulin resistant could not stick with the Ornish vegetarian diet.

    I don’t doubt that a vegetarian diet will reduce the chances of developing insulin resistance but how about not advocating a high carb plant based diet that will harm the people who are already insulin resistant?

    1,500+ videos on this site and while I have not seen them all, it does seem this is and issue that should be addressed.

    PS: A vegan diet that eliminates all grains and legumes might work for someone who is insulin resistant but it is almost impossible to stick with it given the extremely limited options that are left.

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