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| Syndrome X |  Syndrome X (also known as the X factor) was first reported in 1988 by Professor Gerald Reaven, an endocrinologist at California's Stanford University after twenty years of research. Since this first recognition the understanding of Syndrome X has come a long way.
Before the defining Syndrome X we need to elucidate the role of insulin in the body. When we consume carbohydrates which are fundamentally sugars, the glucose levels in our blood begin to go up. In reply to this, the pancreas gland releases insulin. The insulin takes the glucose and changes it into glycogen, which it keeps in the muscles and liver cells for expectations use as energy. When the muscles and the liver cells are occupied, the glucose is transformed into fat and stored in the fatty tissues.
Syndrome X is provoked when the body comes to become opposed to insulin and so higher and higher levels of insulin require to be made to have any outcome. So what are the causes of this insulin resistance? A diet high in refined carbohydrates like white flour, white bread, sugar, cakes and biscuits together with large amounts of trans fatty acids which are used to build up processed foods is one of the major causes of Syndrome X. Some other causes are the following: excess weight, hormonal imbalance, some genetic factors, shortage of exercise and some drugs.
When insulin resistance has happened, the eating of many amounts of refined carbohydrates triggers the discharge of higher and higher levels of insulin. The insulin does not work as efficiently as it used to. It is still able to deposit the glucose as fat, but not so competent of putting glucose into the muscles and liver cells to be used as energy. That’s why more glucose becomes fat and less is used up as energy.
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