Scientific and reasonable diet is the basis for controlling multiple cardiovascular disease risk factors, and most patients with metabolic syndrome have excessive caloric intake as well as unreasonable dietary structure.
The basic ideas of diet adjustment include: on the one hand, adjusting the imbalance of total dietary calorie intake, and on the other hand, adjusting the unreasonable dietary structure.
Adjustment measures of total dietary calorie intake
We recommend patients to reduce the total calorie intake of the diet throughout the day so that it is lower than the energy consumption of the organism, so that part of the body’s calorie demand is obtained through fat oxidation and the purpose of gradually reducing excessive body fat is achieved. However, too low a caloric intake leads to the body using a large amount of fat in the short term, which can increase the burden on the liver to develop a fatty liver and is not easily adhered to, so in general, patients are advised to adopt a moderate reduction in calories. The recommended moderate to low calorie diet for weight reduction: 1000-1200 kcal/day for women and 1200-1600 kcal/day for men. Very low calorie diet (i.e. calorie intake less than 800 kcal throughout the day) is not recommended.
Calories of common diets
The amount of calories provided by different foods with the same weight is often different, such as a can of cola (355 ml) has about 144 kcal, which is equivalent to the calories of one or two steamed buns or two eggs, and it takes 40 minutes of walking to consume these calories. This saying illustrates the importance of controlling the calories in your diet. The calorie content of vegetables and fruits per unit weight is small, for example, the calorie content of 2 taels of vegetables is generally 22 kcal, while the average calorie content of 2 taels of common fruits such as apples and pears is 45 kcal.
Measures to adjust the structure of the diet
It is also important to improve the dietary structure of patients with metabolic syndrome. In principle, the diet should be low in fat, moderate in quality protein and high in dietary fiber; the ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fat should be 60-65%, 15-20% and 25%, and the proportion of vegetables and fruits in the diet should be increased. Low-fat means limiting cholesterol and fat, the daily cholesterol intake should be less than 200 mg. Considering the weight loss plan of patients with metabolic syndrome, we recommend that the fat calories should be controlled at 25% to 30% of the total energy intake.
The balanced dietary pagoda recommended by the Chinese Nutrition Society is as follows.
Patients with metabolic syndrome with abnormal glucose regulation should avoid eating large amounts of foods with high glycemic index. It has been pointed out that for people with high insulin secretion, a diet with low glucose load (glucose load = glycemic index * total carbohydrates) will be more beneficial for weight loss, while for people with normal insulin secretion, this difference in weight loss is not significant, however, regardless of high or normal insulin secretion levels, reducing glucose load in food is useful for improving hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-cholesterolemia Both have a role.
Effect of foods with different glycemic indices on glucose levels
Foods with high glycemic index stay in the gastrointestinal tract for a short period of time, and the level of glucose converted from food in the blood rises rapidly after meals, so that insulin secretion fluctuates greatly in the short term, while foods with low glycemic index have little effect on insulin because they stay in the gastrointestinal tract for a long time. After consuming a large amount of foods with high glycemic index, the body’s postprandial blood glucose level increases rapidly within a short period of time, invariably causing the already damaged pancreatic islet function to further decline.
What are the foods with low glycemic index?
Coarse grains mostly belong to the low glycemic index food, while the production of too fine food generally has a high glycemic index. Fish, nuts, beans, various low-starch vegetables and fruits have a low glycemic index, while refined cereals, starchy vegetables, fruits and candies are high glycemic index foods, and green leafy vegetables are generally low glycemic index foods.
Several popular weight loss diets
The more popular weight loss diets are: Atkins (Atkins) diet, Zone (Zone) diet, Ornish (Ornish) diet, Mediterranean diet and so on. Among them, the Atkins diet refers to less than 100 grams of carbohydrates per day, or even no carbohydrates, and high fat and protein content, belonging to the low-carbon diet category. The Zone Diet is a balanced diet in which carbohydrates, fats and proteins account for 40%, 30% and 30% of total energy intake, respectively.
The Eunice diet is a predominantly vegetarian diet in which only 10% of the total caloric intake comes from fat. The Mediterranean diet is also a nutritionally balanced diet, characterized by a total energy intake of 50-60% carbohydrates, 15-20% proteins and less than 30% total fats, with a key emphasis on increasing the composition of vegetables and fruits, whole grains and olive oil, for example, requiring at least 250 to 300 grams of fruits, 125 to 150 grams of vegetables, nuts such as walnuts 25 to 50 grams, and 400 grams of whole grains such as rice, corn wheat or beans.
From the various diets described above, it can be seen that in order to lose weight, it is crucial to adjust the composition and quantity of various nutrients in the diet.
Effectiveness of weight loss diets
Regarding the effectiveness of weight loss diets, current research findings are that for weight loss and improvement of certain lipid indicators (e.g. triglycerides and HDL cholesterol), a low-carb (high-fat/ or high-protein) diet is more effective in the short term, especially for those premenopausal obese or overweight women, but the long-term effectiveness and safety of this diet cannot be conclusively determined at this time.
On the other hand, the key to dietary weight loss also lies in the ease of adherence to the recipe to the end, some vegetarian recipes such as the Eunice diet is more difficult to adhere to, some studies have shown that no matter which diet is applied, there are some effects on weight loss and prevention of cardiovascular disease, but the size of the effect is related to the level of compliance with dietary interventions, that is, adherence to achieve better results.
Recipes for weight loss in patients with metabolic syndrome
Patients with metabolic syndrome are overweight or obese, and to lose weight, they need to “eat less”, “eat less” is not simply starving, but to reduce the caloric intake in the diet, but also to ensure the daily nutritional needs of the body, so the reasonable selection and combination of food is very important Therefore, it is very important to choose and match the right food. The following are several recipes designed for lightly active people of different ages and genders to choose from.
(1) Middle-aged male with metabolic syndrome.
Daily calories 1400 kcal Daily food quantity: Staple food: 250 g High protein food: 100 g lean meat, half or one egg, 50 g soy products, 250 ml dairy Vegetables: 500 g Fruit: 200 g Vegetable oil: 20 g Salt: 5 g Example of recipe.
Breakfast: 1 bag of milk (about 250 ml), 1 tael of buns or bread, 2 taels of shredded lettuce with sesame oil
Chinese food: 2 taels of rice, 1 portion of dried celery (1 tael of dried aromatic vegetables and 4 taels of celery), 1 portion of braised pork ribs (1 tael of meat), cucumber slices and egg soup Extra meal: 4 taels of pears or grapes
Dinner: 2 taels of pancakes, seaweed and winter melon soup, 4 taels of vegetarian fried zucchini, 1 tael of sliced fish.
(2) Middle-aged women with metabolic syndrome.
Daily calories 1200 kcal Daily food quantity: Main food: 175g High protein food: 100g lean meat, half or 1 egg, 50g tofu, 250ml dairy Vegetables: 500g Fruit: 200g Vegetable oil: 20g Salt: 5g
Example of recipe.
Breakfast: half a bag of milk (about 150 ml), half a tael of buns or bread, half or one egg, 2 taels of shredded cucumber with sesame oil. Additional meal: 1 cup of yogurt, about 100 ml.
Chinese food: 2 taels of rice, 1 shredded pork fried tofu (1 tael of lean pork and 1 tael of tofu), 4 taels of dried shrimp fried greens tomato soup Extra meal: 1 banana or 4 taels of apple
Dinner: 1 tael of steamed cake, spinach soup, 1 tael of stir-fried shrimp, 4 taels of cold broccoli (3) Elderly men
Patients with metabolic syndrome.
1200 kcal per day
Daily food quantity.
Staple food: 200 grams High protein food: 100 grams of lean meat, half or 1 egg, 100 grams of soy products, 250 ml of soy milk
Vegetables: 500 grams
Fruits: 150g
Vegetable oil: 15 grams
Salt: 4-5 grams
Recipe example.
Breakfast: 1 bag of soymilk (about 250 ml), 1 tael of soybean bread, 2 taels of cold shredded skunk cabbage
Chinese food: 1 tael of white and corn noodle cake, 1 portion of fried cabbage and tofu with pork (1 tael of lean pork, 1 tael of tofu and 4 taels of cabbage), tomato and egg noodle soup (1 tael of noodle and half of egg) Additional meal: 3 taels of rutabaga or apple or pear
Dinner: cornmeal paste cake 1 tael, vegetarian mixed vegetables 1 tael, meatball boiled winter melon soup (lean pork 1 tael, winter melon 2 taels), fried bitter melon 2 taels.
(4) Elderly female patients with metabolic syndrome.
1000 kcal per day
Daily food quantity.
Main food: 150 grams
High protein food: 50 grams of lean meat, half or one egg, 50 grams of tofu, 250 ml of milk or soy milk
Vegetables: 500 grams
Fruits: 100g
Vegetable oil: 15 grams
Salt: 4-5 grams
Recipe examples.
Breakfast: cereal porridge (half a tael), half a tael of burrito, 1 steamed egg custard, 2 taels of cold tomatoes Additional meal: 1 cup of skimmed yogurt about 100 ml
Chinese food: lazy dragon (meat rolls) 1 two, casserole tofu 1 (1 two tofu), stir-fried bean sprouts 4 two, spinach soup Extra meal: grapefruit 2 two or half an apple (2 two)
Dinner: corn porridge (half a tael), half a tael of flower rolls, 1 tael of steamed grass carp, 4 taels of fried oilseed vegetable moss
About weight loss – metabolic syndrome related health care knowledge
The fundamental measure to reduce the risk factors of cardiovascular disease is lifestyle modification, including weight reduction, diet adjustment, smoking cessation, increasing physical activity, etc. The most important link is weight reduction. In overweight and obese people, applying various measures to reduce weight will improve a variety of metabolic abnormalities, such as lowering blood pressure, improving insulin sensitivity, lowering triglyceride levels, and increasing HDL cholesterol levels.
Weight loss goals
All patients with metabolic syndrome need to lose weight. This is done primarily through dietary modification and increased physical activity, with medications used to reduce weight if necessary. Studies have shown that it is difficult to bring obese individuals down to a normal weight range over time. To reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, a lasting weight loss of at least 5% to 15% is required. Both the U.S. Cholesterol Education Program Guidelines III and the International Diabetes Federation for metabolic syndrome suggest a weight loss of approximately 7-10% or 5-10% of the original body weight within 6 months to 1 year.
Diet for weight loss
Weight loss through dietary modification is achieved by controlling total caloric intake, reducing salt, total cholesterol, and saturated fatty acid intake, and increasing vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. For people with a body mass index of 25 ≤ 30 kg/m2, a low-calorie diet of 1000-1600 kcal/day, averaging 1200 kcal (5021 kJ), is generally given to keep weight in the right range.
It has been suggested that the foods that are most effective for weight loss should meet three criteria.
(1) Low carbohydrate content;
(2) Low glycemic index;
(3) nutrient-rich. According to this criterion, the most suitable food for weight loss are: meat, fish, eggs, vegetable oils and nuts, followed by beans, green leafy vegetables, low-sugar fruits such as cherries and grapefruit, and high-fiber whole grains such as oats.
Fish, especially deep-sea fish, beans, especially soybeans (but people suffering from gout and hyperuricemia should be careful to eat less), fresh vegetables such as broccoli and fruits such as cherries are better foods for weight loss.
Physical activity for weight loss
The method of physical exercise varies from person to person, we advocate that “it is good to move, and it is best to be persistent”, specifically, it is best to have at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity at least 5 days a week, such as brisk walking, cycling, floor scrubbing, dancing, etc.. For the general population, exercise does not have to be restricted to a fixed time, aerobic exercise is recommended, while for some middle-aged and elderly people, especially those with cardiovascular disease risk factors and cardiovascular disease patients, it is not advisable to do a larger amount of physical exercise in the morning.
Weight-reducing drugs
Weight-reducing drugs such as sibutramine can inhibit norepinephrine and 5-hydroxytryptamine reuptake, reducing food intake and weight loss. Orlistat, which reduces body fat absorption by inhibiting pancreatic lipase in the gastrointestinal tract. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only two diet pills, but despite this, there are many authoritative academic journals and experts point out that taking drugs to lose weight is a dangerous way to lose weight, with side effects such as brain damage, heart valve malformations, and even fatal consequences.
There is another drug – the cannabinoid receptor antagonist rimonabant, which studies have shown to be more effective in reducing weight, especially abdominal obesity, and not only that, it also improves blood sugar and blood lipid levels, but should also be observed for side effects that may cause depression.