The Cenegenics program is based on bio-identical hormone optimization, nutraceutical supplementation, exercise, and a balanced low glycemic diet.

It is designed to help reduce the symptoms related to the aging process in the areas of::

• Energy level
• Strength or endurance
• Body composition: muscle tone or body fat
• Sexual function
• Cognitive function: memory, focus, concentration, drive or mental outlook
• Exercise results or recovery

In addition it is designed to reduce the odds one will develop chronic illnesses that will reduce our quality of life.

Our program is particularly helpful in reversing the course of metabolic syndrome and the development of type 2 diabetes.

Don't let metabolic syndrome progress to type 2 diabetes

By Bryant Stamford • Special to The Courier-Journal • January 28, 2010

Last week, I cited some bleak statistics. Currently, there are approximately 24 million diabetics in the United States. Of these, 25 percent (approximately 6 million) have not been diagnosed and are unaware of their plight. Worse, we see the incidence of diabetes doubling in the next 25 years.

One reason is the current plague of a pre-diabetic condition called metabolic syndrome, which experts believe may afflict one-third or more of our adult population. Here's the connection.

Type 2 diabetes is an extreme form of insulin resistance. The cells resist attempts by insulin to move sugar (glucose) out of the blood. Metabolic syndrome is also a form of insulin resistance, but it has not yet reached extreme proportions.

Thus, it's a pre-diabetic stage, because the blood-sugar level is not yet high enough to be considered clinically significant. It's like a small leak in the roof that creates a water spot in the ceiling. There's minimal damage, but everyone knows if the problem is not addressed, it will get worse.

Unfortunately, unlike a leak in the roof, metabolic syndrome is too often ignored and allowed to advance and progress into full-blown type 2 diabetes. It all starts with too much body fat around the middle.

Deep body fat

Too much visceral body fat — fat that is stored deep in the abdominal region under the muscle layer — causes the cells of the body to resist the effects of insulin. When the cells resist insulin, it's natural for the body to produce more insulin and try to overcome the resistance, leading to excess insulin in the system (hyper-insulinemia). This creates its own set of problems, ultimately leading to high blood pressure. That's bad enough, but there's more.

When sugar accumulates in the bloodstream, it means it is not entering cells where it can be used as fuel. To compensate, the body mobilizes fats and dumps them into the bloodstream to be used as fuel, greatly increasing the concentration of fat (triglycerides) in the blood. This creates more problems, including reduced production of HDL, the good kind of cholesterol that helps prevent clogging of the arteries.

You can see the progression of health problems associated with metabolic syndrome — insulin resistance causes elevated blood sugar and excess insulin production, which causes high blood pressure, elevated blood fats and low HDL.

Ultimately, if these circumstances are ignored, and visceral fat increases, the degree of insulin resistance gets worse. Metabolic syndrome gets worse, in other words, reaching a point where the blood-sugar level is high enough to be considered diabetic. And, along the way, the risk of heart disease increases dramatically.

Take steps now

The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome requires recognition of a cluster of five factors: waist measurement, blood pressure, HDL, triglycerides and blood glucose. The trick is the levels for these five factors do not need to be excessively high to be problematic, and therefore they can escape detection when viewed in isolation.

See your doctor for a physical exam, and be sure to ask specifically about your risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

In the meantime, it's easy to check your waistline and your blood pressure. If your waist measurement is greater than 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women, and your blood pressure is at least 130/85 or higher, odds suggest you may be a candidate for metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is the road to type 2 diabetes. But, thankfully, it's not inevitable. Recent research findings indicated that preventive steps (weight loss and exercise) stopped metabolic syndrome from developing into diabetes in 58 percent of participants over three years.

Bryant Stamford is professor and chairman of the department of exercise science at Hanover College. To contact him, go to his Web site, professorstamford.com. Or write to “The Body Shop,” The Courier-Journal, P.O. Box 740031, Louisville, KY 40201-7431.