There's no doubt that many of our lifestyle habits and dietary patterns powerfully influence our health; often, adversely. Metabolic syndrome is a combination of many "famous" risk factors. This includes hypertension, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, promthrombotic state, abdominal obesity and a few others. The American Heart Association has a great web page explaining metabolic syndrome.
Most health professionals acknowledge that metabolic syndrome is a consequence of poor lifestyle decisions and can be prevented by following common sense health principles. But like many diseases, scientists are studying the origins and pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome. As it turns out, the 'seeds' of metabolic syndrome may actually be sown during embryonic development.
This paper states that "nutritional, hormonal, and metabolic environment afforded by the mother may permanently program differentiating target tissues of the offspring toward the development of metabolic syndrome/PCOS phenotype in adult life."
Stated differently, this simply means that a pregnant woman's health habits, including her diet, have the potential to radically affect her baby's health even as an adult! This is something I've written about before. It shows that the 9 months of intrauterine development may be the most important months of a human being's life. If you didn't get a chance to read it yet, check out this piece from TIME magazine a few weeks ago. It does a great job in discussing the most important months of your life.
Most health professionals acknowledge that metabolic syndrome is a consequence of poor lifestyle decisions and can be prevented by following common sense health principles. But like many diseases, scientists are studying the origins and pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome. As it turns out, the 'seeds' of metabolic syndrome may actually be sown during embryonic development. This paper states that "nutritional, hormonal, and metabolic environment afforded by the mother may permanently program differentiating target tissues of the offspring toward the development of metabolic syndrome/PCOS phenotype in adult life."
Stated differently, this simply means that a pregnant woman's health habits, including her diet, have the potential to radically affect her baby's health even as an adult! This is something I've written about before. It shows that the 9 months of intrauterine development may be the most important months of a human being's life. If you didn't get a chance to read it yet, check out this piece from TIME magazine a few weeks ago. It does a great job in discussing the most important months of your life.
Over 50 million Americans are affected by metabolic syndrome. Wouldn't it be great if we could cut that number in half in a single generation? Pregnant women, please take care of yourself.
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