ANTONY WORRALL THOMPSON
LIVING WITH SYNDROME X
THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN 'WHAT MEDICINE MAGAZINE'
Syndrome X has become something of a byword in some authoritative circles - you may have heard it mentioned recently in the press or on television. But what is it? - do I have it? - and how would I know if I did?
Syndrome X does sound like something from a science fiction movie or even the X-Files - but it actually refers to an accumulation of medical conditions, any three of which, taken together, form the diagnosis. These can include - poor blood sugar control, high blood pressure, and central obesity, which means a waist size of more than 94 cm (37 inches) for men and 82 cm (32 inches) in women; it can involve abnormal blood fats and what the professionals call 'sticky blood' with an increased tendency to form blood clots.
Each of these, in its own right, will increase the likelihood of heart disease; having more than one magnifies this risk considerably.
Syndrome X is also sometimes referred to as a 'metabolic syndrome' or 'insulin resistance syndrome'. Those of you who know someone or may actually have type 1 or type 2 diabetes will already have spotted the similarities - if left undetected, syndrome X can lead to the onset of full diabetes.
I hope that hasn't frightened you - because in reality, if you think you may be a candidate for something approaching this condition, then often a few lifestyle changes can help in a very positive way.
Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson, presenter of BBC's Saturday Kitchen and who frequently appears on Ready Steady Cook and Food and Drink, recently underwent a test for Syndrome X on live television and was diagnosed as suffering from this condition.
We met at his classy restaurant - 'The Notting Grill' set amongst the gentrified terraces in a part of London that still retains an air of quiet respectability.
He told me," We were making a programme called Food Junkies at Glasgow University Hospital. We produced three altogether: the first on fat, the second, I can't remember, and the third about the effect sugar has on our body. I didn't know the criteria for it, so I thought oh! I'll do it. Anyway, they couldn't get anyone else to volunteer to have a load of needles stuck in them!"
He described the two-hour test as something of a Heath Robinson affair, "In one arm they pumped glucose and insulin, they stuck my other arm in a hot oven - then every eight minutes they'd take a sample of blood, spin it in a centrifuge, and then plot some scientific data on my progress."
Antony, like the majority of us - that is, the 'male species' - thought himself a bit of a superhero when it came to his health. Until 'that one day' came along that made him start paying it the attention it deserved. "I hadn't at that time been to the doctor for about eight years, apart from the odd gash. I don't get coughs or colds other than the odd sniffle."
When the team in Glasgow pronounced their findings, Antony says he was in a state of shock. "I know the programme portrayed me eating a cream cake, but in reality, I'm not a lover of sweet things - okay, I have a bit of sugar in my tea, and I've a weakness for chocolate, but who hasn't? I suppose any woman reading this will understand when I said to my wife, 'I thought I was going to die', but she calmly took control, told me not to panic, and suggested a few realities that I'm now in the process of fulfilling. Still, it will take time to achieve."
Quite rightly, she suggested he listen to the advice given: to lose weight - not easy when you're surrounded by or talking about food for most of your waking hours; to get some exercise and ideally give up smoking. In retrospect, he says he was a typical candidate for the symptoms of syndrome X.
"I've got on pretty well with two of my tasks - or should I say recommendations, but I have to admit I'm finding 'not smoking' a bit of a challenge - so much so I'm concentrating my efforts on the other two for the time being. Funnily enough, taking exercise has proved easiest; the weight is coming off me bit by bit, but I don't want to look like I need ironing - I want my excess flesh to shrink with me rather than have big saggy jowls. If I can lose about one pound a week, I will be pleased."
He has a personal trainer who puts him through an exercise regime three times a week, "The trouble is as you build up muscle, you actually put weight on." He slapped the flat palm of his hand against his stomach; "Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to feel it", he said;" "but my stomach is really solid now - I've still got my belly because as I build up muscle, it pushes the fat out - there's some way to go yet. With a dodgy back, I have to be careful."
I asked whether he had changed his diet significantly since his diagnosis; "I've been eating organic food for some time now. I do put this down to being an irregular visitor to my doctor's surgery. I was tempted to do the Atkins diet but do my own version; suppose I could call it the AWT diet. I do believe processed carbohydrates are not necessary, particularly white sugar and white rice. They've had any goodness taken out - white bread is just a paste of flour and water; I can't see what goodness that provides other than a bit of fibre, and the way it's made is hideous."
Antony tends toward making his own food where possible. He won't eat cheap pasta, preferring to make his own. "I get bored with anything over half a dozen mouthfuls - I think it makes a nice starter but not as a main course."
He says the Government had made a big mistake fifteen years ago when they told us to eat more carbohydrates. "They said then that carbs' were important in your diet - which may be okay if you are active, but the vast majority of the British people are not active enough - so these carbohydrates turn to glucose, which turns to fat, affecting your sugar levels. Now, here we are, one of the most obese nations on the planet!"
Antony echos the growing perception - we are what we eat. Look around any supermarket, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to buy fresh produce, squeezed off the shelves by the burgeoning market in ready meals and something to cook quickly on the hoof. Perhaps we all need to learn to slow down before the sudden rush of indigestion does it for us. Maybe this ever-quickening world is just a conspiracy by the manufacturers of instant indigestion remedies to sell more products.
Antony grows many of his own vegetables and has been for some time. He corrected me when I referred to his allotment - "it's really a smallholding - I've begun eating seasonally now, and I know it's not enhanced by a load of chemicals. I keep asking the Government and the chief medical officer questions about the nation's health, but no one's interested in answering. It's becoming one of my little goals in life - stirring the pot."
He's incredibly passionate about the chemicals in our food. "The advice is to peel your apples before eating them, same with carrots - but nobody to my knowledge has researched the cocktail effect of our weekly diet. They may look at a lettuce and say that's safe, but in addition to the chemicals on your broccoli, grapes, or strawberries - nobody has done that; they're all different chemicals, and simple logic suggests it can't be good for us."
The test for syndrome X is lengthy and, unfortunately, costs more than the NHS is willing to pay. Traditional methods of diagnosing Type 2 diabetes don't show the onset of Syndrome X. In fact, two weeks after the television show, Antony went for his annual medical, which showed no blood abnormality. Spotting some of the symptoms will help you; these include increased thirst, wanting to pee more, especially at night, feeling more tired than usual, sudden weight loss, blurred vision and itching around the nether regions or recurrent thrush. However, many of these may not be apparent or even non-existent.
Estimates from the United States and Scandinavia suggest between 10% and 25% of the adult population show some degree of insulin resistance. Research does show that insulin resistance and symptoms of syndrome X will be improved by increasing your activity levels and eating a more healthy diet. The great news is that if successfully adopted, they're effective in reducing the risk of heart disease and developing type 2 diabetes.
Antony Worrall Thompson's excellent book 'Healthy Eating for Diabetes' is well worth its £12.99 price tag. Produced in association with dietician Azmina Govindji, they have worked their magic creating 100 delicious recipes. All will inspire those wishing to pursue a healthier diet regardless of any specific diabetic symptoms.
© Simon Lawrence.
Syndrome X has become something of a byword in some authoritative circles - you may have heard it mentioned recently in the press or on television. But what is it? - do I have it? - and how would I know if I did?
Syndrome X does sound like something from a science fiction movie or even the X-Files - but it actually refers to an accumulation of medical conditions, any three of which, taken together, form the diagnosis. These can include - poor blood sugar control, high blood pressure, and central obesity, which means a waist size of more than 94 cm (37 inches) for men and 82 cm (32 inches) in women; it can involve abnormal blood fats and what the professionals call 'sticky blood' with an increased tendency to form blood clots.
Each of these, in its own right, will increase the likelihood of heart disease; having more than one magnifies this risk considerably.
Syndrome X is also sometimes referred to as a 'metabolic syndrome' or 'insulin resistance syndrome'. Those of you who know someone or may actually have type 1 or type 2 diabetes will already have spotted the similarities - if left undetected, syndrome X can lead to the onset of full diabetes.
I hope that hasn't frightened you - because in reality, if you think you may be a candidate for something approaching this condition, then often a few lifestyle changes can help in a very positive way.
Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson, presenter of BBC's Saturday Kitchen and who frequently appears on Ready Steady Cook and Food and Drink, recently underwent a test for Syndrome X on live television and was diagnosed as suffering from this condition.
We met at his classy restaurant - 'The Notting Grill' set amongst the gentrified terraces in a part of London that still retains an air of quiet respectability.
He told me," We were making a programme called Food Junkies at Glasgow University Hospital. We produced three altogether: the first on fat, the second, I can't remember, and the third about the effect sugar has on our body. I didn't know the criteria for it, so I thought oh! I'll do it. Anyway, they couldn't get anyone else to volunteer to have a load of needles stuck in them!"
He described the two-hour test as something of a Heath Robinson affair, "In one arm they pumped glucose and insulin, they stuck my other arm in a hot oven - then every eight minutes they'd take a sample of blood, spin it in a centrifuge, and then plot some scientific data on my progress."
Antony, like the majority of us - that is, the 'male species' - thought himself a bit of a superhero when it came to his health. Until 'that one day' came along that made him start paying it the attention it deserved. "I hadn't at that time been to the doctor for about eight years, apart from the odd gash. I don't get coughs or colds other than the odd sniffle."
When the team in Glasgow pronounced their findings, Antony says he was in a state of shock. "I know the programme portrayed me eating a cream cake, but in reality, I'm not a lover of sweet things - okay, I have a bit of sugar in my tea, and I've a weakness for chocolate, but who hasn't? I suppose any woman reading this will understand when I said to my wife, 'I thought I was going to die', but she calmly took control, told me not to panic, and suggested a few realities that I'm now in the process of fulfilling. Still, it will take time to achieve."
Quite rightly, she suggested he listen to the advice given: to lose weight - not easy when you're surrounded by or talking about food for most of your waking hours; to get some exercise and ideally give up smoking. In retrospect, he says he was a typical candidate for the symptoms of syndrome X.
"I've got on pretty well with two of my tasks - or should I say recommendations, but I have to admit I'm finding 'not smoking' a bit of a challenge - so much so I'm concentrating my efforts on the other two for the time being. Funnily enough, taking exercise has proved easiest; the weight is coming off me bit by bit, but I don't want to look like I need ironing - I want my excess flesh to shrink with me rather than have big saggy jowls. If I can lose about one pound a week, I will be pleased."
He has a personal trainer who puts him through an exercise regime three times a week, "The trouble is as you build up muscle, you actually put weight on." He slapped the flat palm of his hand against his stomach; "Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to feel it", he said;" "but my stomach is really solid now - I've still got my belly because as I build up muscle, it pushes the fat out - there's some way to go yet. With a dodgy back, I have to be careful."
I asked whether he had changed his diet significantly since his diagnosis; "I've been eating organic food for some time now. I do put this down to being an irregular visitor to my doctor's surgery. I was tempted to do the Atkins diet but do my own version; suppose I could call it the AWT diet. I do believe processed carbohydrates are not necessary, particularly white sugar and white rice. They've had any goodness taken out - white bread is just a paste of flour and water; I can't see what goodness that provides other than a bit of fibre, and the way it's made is hideous."
Antony tends toward making his own food where possible. He won't eat cheap pasta, preferring to make his own. "I get bored with anything over half a dozen mouthfuls - I think it makes a nice starter but not as a main course."
He says the Government had made a big mistake fifteen years ago when they told us to eat more carbohydrates. "They said then that carbs' were important in your diet - which may be okay if you are active, but the vast majority of the British people are not active enough - so these carbohydrates turn to glucose, which turns to fat, affecting your sugar levels. Now, here we are, one of the most obese nations on the planet!"
Antony echos the growing perception - we are what we eat. Look around any supermarket, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to buy fresh produce, squeezed off the shelves by the burgeoning market in ready meals and something to cook quickly on the hoof. Perhaps we all need to learn to slow down before the sudden rush of indigestion does it for us. Maybe this ever-quickening world is just a conspiracy by the manufacturers of instant indigestion remedies to sell more products.
Antony grows many of his own vegetables and has been for some time. He corrected me when I referred to his allotment - "it's really a smallholding - I've begun eating seasonally now, and I know it's not enhanced by a load of chemicals. I keep asking the Government and the chief medical officer questions about the nation's health, but no one's interested in answering. It's becoming one of my little goals in life - stirring the pot."
He's incredibly passionate about the chemicals in our food. "The advice is to peel your apples before eating them, same with carrots - but nobody to my knowledge has researched the cocktail effect of our weekly diet. They may look at a lettuce and say that's safe, but in addition to the chemicals on your broccoli, grapes, or strawberries - nobody has done that; they're all different chemicals, and simple logic suggests it can't be good for us."
The test for syndrome X is lengthy and, unfortunately, costs more than the NHS is willing to pay. Traditional methods of diagnosing Type 2 diabetes don't show the onset of Syndrome X. In fact, two weeks after the television show, Antony went for his annual medical, which showed no blood abnormality. Spotting some of the symptoms will help you; these include increased thirst, wanting to pee more, especially at night, feeling more tired than usual, sudden weight loss, blurred vision and itching around the nether regions or recurrent thrush. However, many of these may not be apparent or even non-existent.
Estimates from the United States and Scandinavia suggest between 10% and 25% of the adult population show some degree of insulin resistance. Research does show that insulin resistance and symptoms of syndrome X will be improved by increasing your activity levels and eating a more healthy diet. The great news is that if successfully adopted, they're effective in reducing the risk of heart disease and developing type 2 diabetes.
Antony Worrall Thompson's excellent book 'Healthy Eating for Diabetes' is well worth its £12.99 price tag. Produced in association with dietician Azmina Govindji, they have worked their magic creating 100 delicious recipes. All will inspire those wishing to pursue a healthier diet regardless of any specific diabetic symptoms.
© Simon Lawrence.
