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EmpowHer:
Most know that insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas that helps regulate our blood sugar levels, the storage of our calories and can increase the storage of our fat.
I am hoping you can explain what is insulin-resistant metabolic syndrome. I know your book discusses it. I know your book discusses it and how does that relate to a women’s overall heart health?
Dr. Nieca Goldberg:
Well, one of the chemicals that is secreted by glands all over our body and it’s very interesting that they often affect areas of our body that are really remote from the glands from where they are secreted.
One of the issues is insulin -- a very important hormone as you mentioned -- works with the regulation of our blood sugar. However, when you are overweight and particularly when you gain weight around the middle, your blood sugar regulation gets a little more complicated.
Although you may have very high levels of insulin, the cells in the body seem unresponsive to the insulin’s action because they’re so overloaded with sugar. So insulin resistance is a condition where despite having enough insulin you’re not able to metabolize sugar properly.
And people with this condition are in a higher risk for heart attacks, are likely to have high blood pressure as well as low levels of good cholesterol, the HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides, a very important risk factor in women.
Triglycerides are blood factors measured in the standard cholesterol path and have been found for many years to increase women’s heart disease risk even more or so than it does in men.
EmpowHer:
I mean it’s pretty unbelievable.
Dr. Nieca Goldberg:
… And that’s why it’s really important that women know all the facts so that they can discuss with their doctor, their own individual risk for heart disease, but a very simple thing that you can do to help improve your insulin sensitivity is regular aerobic exercise because aerobic exercise improves the cell sensitivity to insulin.
In addition, you need to watch out for those simple carbohydrates. Years ago, pretty popular in the 80s, everyone was focused on eating low cholesterol food and when they ate low cholesterol foods, what they were eating were a lot of carbohydrates. I think what you know now is … you really need to cut down on the white flowered food and instead focus on complex carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables and whole grain products.
So this combination can help improve your insulin sensitivity and I might add that many times people have insulin resistance but don’t yet have an elevated blood sugar but are still at risk for heart disease and the one clue to the fact that you may be insulin resistant is that you tend to be apple shaped and gain weight around the middle.
EmpowHer:
Okay, oh that’s really interesting. I never thought about that connection.
Nieca Goldberg M.D., cardiologist, author of the award winning book "Women Are Not Small Men: Life Saving Strategies for Preventing and Healing Heart Disease," recently started her own practice "Total Heart Care" in Manhattan. She is the former Chief of the Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention Center at Lenox Hill Hospital and a national spokesperson for the American Heart Association.
During her time at Lenox Hill, Dr. Goldberg founded the "Women's Heart Program" the only cardiac rehabilitation and prevention program for women in New York City.
In addition, she holds the positions of Co-Medical Director of the 92nd Street Y Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine.