A 30% of the adult population worldwide get diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. Rising rates of recent years not only in adults but also to young people has alarmed the medical community.
The abdominal obesity, hypertension, decreased HDL cholesterol, elevated triglycerides and elevated sugar characterize the disease, with the consequent increased risk of heart disease. The genetic predisposition, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet and excessive stress play a major role in the development of the syndrome.
The results of a 5-year Spanish survey conducted on 5,800 people showed that people who followed a Mediterranean diet with increased consumption of extra virgin olive oil reduced abdominal fat and sugar levels in their blood, no longer fulfilling the metabolic syndrome criteria. The study showed that the good fats found in olive oil can reverse the symptoms of the syndrome.
Finaly, focusing on diabetic effects of metabolic syndrome, seems to dietary fat and especially monounsaturated which found in olive oil is the proper nutrition, by not raising the sugar or increases insulin secretion.