Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that can occur together including high blood pressure, high body fat in the mid abdominal area, high blood sugar, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels. Having one or more of these conditions does not mean that you have metabolic syndrome. However, the more of these conditions you have the greater your risk for developing serious health complications such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The longer metabolic syndrome goes unnoticed, the more difficult it may become to reverse.
With the increasing rates of sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy food choices, people are at higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome. In Canada, it is increasingly common with one in five Canadians suffering from metabolic syndrome. It is named a syndrome because the symptoms usually occur together and what can cause them has been attributed to increased stress levels, being overweight, aging and inactivity. These factors in turn start a chain reaction that can lead to high blood pressure, accumulation of fat in the abdominal area and increased cholesterol levels where the proportion of the bad cholesterol (LDL) is higher than the protective or good cholesterol (HDL).
The good news is that once identified, metabolic syndrome can be managed, and its complications prevented with appropriate intervention. To help identify whether you have metabolic syndrome, the following is assessed by your health care provider: blood pressure measurement, weight and waist measurements and a blood test in a fasted state which will assess your blood glucose levels and your lipid profile to looks for abnormalities in your levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. If your results indicate you have or are at risk for metabolic syndrome, the first step usually involves lifestyles changes, such as a weight management plan, to delay or even prevent serious health effects.
At KGK Science, we are currently conducting a study looking at how to prevent metabolic syndrome naturally with the use of OLIGOPIN®. The investigational supplement, Oligopin®, is a French Maritime Pine Bark Extract obtained from the pine tree Pinus Pinaster and in some studies has reduced cardiovascular disease risk factors.
We are looking for non-smoking healthy women and men aged 18 to 55 years who currently have three or more of the following markers for metabolic syndrome and are not receiving any treatment:
- Abdominal obesity (a waist circumference of 40 inches or more in men and 35 inches or more in women). Waist circumference is measured halfway between the top of the hip and the bottom of the rib cage.
- High blood pressure
- High glucose, insulin levels (you may not know this, but we can test for it)
- High triglyceride levels (you may not know this, but we can test for it)
- Low HDL cholesterol: this is the good cholesterol (you may not know this, but we can test for it)
Participating in one of our studies makes you a Health Hero taking part in innovative research! We take steps to ensure our study participants are treated with the utmost levels of respect and confidentiality.
Additional study information will be determined upon online screening to see if this study is right for you. Participants will be compensated $600 for their time and are required to attend four study visits over a period of 3 months.
If you are interested in participating in this metabolic syndrome study, you can complete our online screening questions.