The amount of glucose in the blood is controlled mainly by the hormones insulin and glucagon. Too much or too little of these hormones can cause blood sugar levels to fall too low (hypoglycemia) or rise too high (hyperglycemia).

The pancreas, a gland in the upper abdomen, produces insulin and glucagon. When blood sugar rises after a meal, the pancreas releases insulin. The insulin helps glucose enter body cells, lowering blood levels of glucose to the normal range. When blood sugar drops too low, the pancreas secretes glucagon. This signals the liver to convert stored sugars, glycogen, back into simple sugar and raises these levels in the blood.

There is no single test for insulin resistance syndrome, but measurements of weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose tolerance can give valuable indicators. One quick check that people can do at home is to measure their waist circumference.

Experts have found that men with 40-inch or more waists, and women with 35 plus-inch waists, are at a higher risk. Further, recent studies have shown that men over 70 years of age who are obese and carry much of their extra weight in the form of a “spare tire” around the waist have a higher risk of suffering a stroke than their more svelte peers.

A Swedish study found that men with the most abdominal fat were 65% more likely to suffer strokes than those with the smallest bulges.

The risk of stroke in relation to obesity and the size of an older man’s “spare tire” did not change when other risk factors, such as smoking, coronary heart disease and diabetes were considered.

“Experts have found that men with 40-inch or more waists,
and women with 35 plus-inch waists, are at a higher risk.”

Common sense dictates that people who eat a highfat, high-sugar “empty calorie” diet are likely to become overweight in later years. It's true that you are - or will be - what you eat.

In a study involving women, those who were classified as “empty calorie” eaters, i.e., “junk food junkies,” were 40% more likely to be overweight than those who ate a heart healthy diet, consisting of more fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk, and other low-fat and high-fiber foods.

The “light eaters,” or chronic dieters, tended to have fluctuating weights, and had a slightly higher risk of being overweight. Unfortunately, light eaters tend to cut back on calories, and eat an unbalanced diet deficient in many necessary nutrients.

Where to start? Let's first talk about why we eat what we do and the effects of specific food groups on brain function.

Cheeseburgers, sodas and other fatty and sugary foods have been known for years to contribute to obesity. Growing evidence suggests that the consumption of fats and fructose, the type of sugar found in fruits and in processed beverages such as sodas and juice drinks, affects the natural action of four important hormones. These are ghrelin, which is produced by the stomach to stimulate food intake, but also recedes when appetite is sated; insulin, produced by the pancreas to regulate the fat cells; leptin, produced by the fat cells to signal the brain the body is full; and cholecystokinin, or CCK, which is produced from the lower stomach and has as one of its functions to indicate fullness.

When you eat calorically-dense, high-sugar, high-fat foods, your body and your brain is less sensitive to CCK, and this is why you have to eat bigger meals in order to secrete enough CCK to turn off your appetite.

Studies show that too much fat in the diet is one of the causes of insulin resistance. The same appears to hold true for fructose. Sugars, like glucose, ignite insulin production, which then helps set off a biochemical chain reaction throughout the body that indicates fullness. Fructose, however, does not stimulate insulin production, and this is a crucial link to understanding why some people develop obesity.

If you drink beverages with lots of fructose, you're not triggering insulin secretion or leptin, because leptin is dependent on insulin production. Ghrelin levels are not dropping in the stomach, therefore the body is confused. By consuming fructose-heavy products, the body continues to take in calories, but the hormones are not able to tell the body it is full and to stop eating. For example, a 12-ounce soda contains about 25 grams of fructose. A 64- ounce soda, the "super-size" serving, contains 130 grams. In contrast, an apple contains 13 grams of fructose, a banana has 7 grams, and a peach contains 4 grams.

In a study out of Texas, 505 students in grades four through six had their diets analyzed for a week. Sweetened beverages made up 51% of the childrens' daily liquid intake. Kids with the highest consumption of sweetened drinks took in 330 calories more each day than those with the lowest intake. And students with the highest sweetened drink consumption consumed 62% less fruit than those with the lowest. Whole fruit provides several other needed nutrients, such as fiber and vitamins, that are not provided by fructose-heavy drinks. Thus, the moral is to eat your fructose (fruit), not drink it!

Your body controls the amount you eat through a neuro-hormonal feedback loop. If the brain and body do not receive certain signals that your appetite needs have been met, you will continue to eat and, in turn, your chances of obesity increase. This cycle raises one's risk for a number of dangerous ailments such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.

What to do:
1. Take your waist measurement; use this simple method to determine if you are at higher risk.

2. Reduce your intake of high fat meals.

3. Reduce dramatically your intake of fruit juices or beverages that say they are sweetened with fructose.

4. Any amount of activity is better than none, but try to exercise 4 to 6 times a week for 30 to 60 minutes
    each time.

5. Keep a daily diary of when and what you eat.

6. Bring the diary to the office and we will help you develop a balanced diet, exercise and supplement
    program to help control and reverse problem conditions.

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