Metabolic syndrome is the medical term for a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. Abdominal obesity, high LDL cholesterol and blood fats, and high blood pressure are all linked to insulin resistance (which can lead to diabetes), which is why this meal plan will look to address these issues.
The ingredients in the three meals are all balanced when it comes to macronutrients. You will find that they all have a good source of protein and fat, as well as carbohydrates that have a high amount of dietary fibre, and that these three groups are in balance (simply explained this means that there is not one macronutrients group that is overrepresented compared to the others).
When a meal is balanced, it means that digestion takes longer in the body, and thus the release of glucose into the blood stream can happen in a slower fashion, rather than cause sugar spikes. The slow release of sugars will over time help the body reduce its production of insulin and the body will also get back its insulin sensitivity. Similarly, if someone is not yet considered to have insulin resistance, this meal plan can help them reduce the risk of developing it in the future.
Insulin resistance means that the cells in the body are less responsive to insulin than they should be. This is not ideal, seeing as insulin resistance is linked with metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Another benefit of a slower digestion in the body is that you can feel fuller for longer, which can help with snacking in between meals, and indeed help control portion sizes. As one of the clinical manifestations of insulin resistance is abdominal obesity, this is an important factor.
IMPORTANT!
As this is an introduction to the meal plans, there is only one recipe listed. For any purchased meal plans, you will get a whole week's worth of recipes that all support the same symptoms.
Breakfast - Overnight oats with chia seeds, cinnamon, cacao and almonds
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup of rolled oats
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 3 tbsp coconut yoghurt
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)
- ½ ts cinnamon
- 1/3 cup milk (or plant milk if you wish, I normally use coconut milk)
- ½ tbsp maple syrup
- Pinch of salt
- 1 – 1 ½ tbsp flaked almonds to top the porridge with in the morning
Method:
Mix all ingredients together in a tub, put the lid on and stick in the fridge. It will be ready to eat in the morning. If you feel that the porridge is a bit stodgy in the morning, simply add a little more milk and stir. You can also quickly heat this porridge in a pan if you’d rather eat it warm. Remember to add the almonds on top before serving.
Benefits of the ingredients
Oats, which have a low glycaemic index, are high in beta-glucan, a soluble fibre. Fibre helps the body digest food more slowly, which means that the sugar from the oats are released into the body more slowly, thus avoiding a sugar spike, which can result in more insulin being pumped out into the bloodstream. Beta-glucan can also bind to LDL cholesterol and transport it out of the digestive tract and prevent the cholesterol from being re-absorbed into the bloodstream (Pinnock, 2017). A review from 2013 of human studies investigating the post-prandial blood-glucose lowering ability of oat and barley food products found that “intact cooked or fermented grains containing at least 3 g β-glucan per meal is sufficient to significantly lower glycaemic response.” This is important for a person diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome includes high blood pressure, and a randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial looking at the effects of consuming oats, suggested foods containing beta-glucan from oats have a beneficial effect on carbohydrate metabolism, and on blood pressure in obese subjects.
Oats also have a considerable higher concentration of protein compared to other cereals, which further helps to balance the sugar uptake in the body’s cells. Oats are loaded with vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B9, as well as magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, iron, zinc and copper. Vitamin Bs are useful for improving energy levels.
Magnesium and manganese can help regulate blood sugar levels and help maintain a healthy blood pressure. A review by Mario Barbagallo and Ligia J Dominguez from 2015 concludes that “oral magnesium supplements appear to be useful in persons with DM2 to restore Mg deficiencies, to improve insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and systemic inflammation.” Magnesium is also involved in the regulation of insulin signalling. A deficiency in magnesium in the body can worsen the insulin resistance. Therefore, adding more magnesium rich food to the diet, can show great benefits.
Chia seeds are very high in dietary fibre, with 37.7g per 100g, which helps slow digestion and aids the glycaemic response of the body. Furthermore, they are high in protein, calcium, phosphorus, manganese, zinc and omega 3 (ALA), the latter which can help to lower LDL cholesterol. Chia seeds are also considered a seed with high antioxidant capacity (Martínez-Cruz et al 2014), which is important due to the susceptibility of LDL cholesterol to oxidise, leading to inflammation in the body. Adding chia seeds to the overnight oats will also help balance the macronutrients of the meal due to their high protein (they are a complete protein, as they contain all nine essential amino acids that the body cannot synthesize) and fat content. Finally, chia seeds have shown to increase satiety and reduce postprandial glycemia (Vuksan et al 2017).
Cinnamon provides dietary fibre, and it is also high in several minerals, such as calcium and manganese. However, as the intake in the recipe above is very low, the potential effect of cinnamon on the body is most likely also going to be low. There have been a few studies looking at the effect of cinnamon on glucose metabolism in the body, and there is a suggestion that cinnamon help make cells more responsive to insulin signalling. The findings however seem to differ. A study by Khan et al from 2003 showed that cinnamon intake reduced blood serum triglycerides, cholesterol, and LDL significantly in type 2 diabetes individuals, whereas other studies show that there is no effect. A review by Rafehi et al from 2011 concludes that it is premature to suggest the use of cinnamon supplementation based on the evidence, but also that further investigation is warranted. A study published in Diabetes Care in 2007 concludes that the effects of cinnamon differs by population. What has however been discovered, is that cinnamon has an anti-inflammatory effect (Schink et al 2018).
Cocoa powder, or raw cacao, is high in dietary fibre and protein, as well as polyphenols, and several minerals, such as magnesium. Due to its rich antioxidant content, it is a powerful anti-inflammatory food, which can help reduce the oxidation of cholesterol. Cocoa has long been known to be beneficial to the body and a study from 2005 showed that polyphenol-rich dark chocolate decreases blood pressure and improves insulin sensitivity. The intake of cocoa in the above recipe is relatively low, which means that although 100g cocoa gives you eg 125% of the daily value needed of magnesium, one tablespoon of cocoa only weighs a little over 7g.
Almonds are high in unsaturated fats, but also very high in dietary fibre (12.2g per 100g), as well as protein and a host of vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin E, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus, copper and manganese. A systematic review of almond consumption and its effect on risk factors for cardiovascular disease from 2019 showed that almonds (amongst other things) decreased total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, blood pressure and BMI (body mass index) (Lee-Bravatti e al 2019). The amount of almond in this recipe is relatively low, however the beneficial effects should still be present.