Life is in the center of existence, and food is in the center of life. All living things are in pursuit of their sustenance to continue their lives. Failing this pursuit means the end of it all. Yet, it is not only the lack or scarcity of food, but also its abuse that is a major cause for disorders. Consuming food without any criteria of lawfulness, or with no heed to virtues like contentedness or gratitude, but with greed and wastefulness, leads to many health problems – mental and physical – at both individual and societal levels. Among these problems are many notorious eating disorders such as obesity, anorexia, and bulimia nervosa. Illnesses that relate to overeating, such as obesity, are now beginning to be considered as food addictions, even as a type of substance abuse, in some medical literature [1].

One serious consequence of eating and food addictions is a clinical condition that is called “metabolic syndrome” (MetS). Characterized by multiple cardiovascular disease risk factors such as obesity and high blood pressure, this syndrome has been recognized as a crucial public health problem worldwide. Characteristics such as geography, race, age and gender are influential in the frequency of the disease, which spreads daily as a pandemic that affects approximately 20-30% of the global adult population [2]. Among US adults aged 18 years or older, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome rose by more than 35% from 1988–1994 to 2007–2012, increasing from 25.3% to 34.2% [3].

First described by Dr. Gerald Reaven, MD, in 1988, metabolic syndrome is also referred to as “insulin resistance syndrome,” “deadly quartet,” and “civilization syndrome” [4]. In 2001, the Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP-ATP III) defined metabolic syndrome in adults as the combination of central obesity (waist circumference >102 cm in men, >88 cm in women), hypertriglyceridemia (>150 mg/dl), low HDL (<40 mg/dl in men, <50 mg/dl in women), hypertension (blood pressure> 130-85 mm-Hg), and hyperglycemia (fasting blood sugar >110 mg/dl). In 2005, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) published a global guideline describing different thresholds for different ethnic groups. According to this guideline, the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome should be based upon central obesity and high triglyceride, low HDL, high blood pressure, and high fasting glucose. The IDF also reported that the presence of at least two factors sufficed for diagnosing anyone as a patient of metabolic syndrome.

as one of the likely pathological findings in metabolic syndrome, central obesity is observed in one in three adults. Hypertension, another crucial factor, is generally acknowledged to be originating from insulin resistance in metabolic syndrome, but the actual features of its development mechanism still remains controversial. Global awareness about hypertension, its treatment, and how to control it is low, and there are significant differences in between people worldwide. A National Health Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 2011-2014 revealed that 34% of US adults aged 20 years and older are hypertensive and NHANES 2013-2014 data showed that 15.9% of these hypertensive adults are unaware they are hypertensive [5].

Dyslipidemia, which increases as a result of central obesity and insulin resistance in patients with metabolic syndrome, is characterized by low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides, the most crucial factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. In one study done in 2008, the average total cholesterol levels for American men and women were found to be 197 mg/dl [6].

The presence of overt diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance (fasting blood sugar above 110 mg/dl) indicates the first step of the diagnostic criteria of the metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance is not sought for further. People diagnosed with metabolic syndrome are 2.34 times more likely to contract diabetes [7]. A 2011 study conducted in America reported that roughly half of all adults have impaired glucose metabolism as a result of type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and prediabetes. Diabetes has been a prevalent global ailment similar to asthma, autoimmune diseases, and cancer [6].

Insulin resistance, which can be observed in metabolic syndrome, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by 2.35 times, deaths by cardiovascular disease by 2.40 times, risk of myocardial infarction by 1.99 times, and stroke by 2.27 times, as independent of other risk factors. However, the presence of metabolic syndrome, not obesity, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease [7]. Another significant result is that women with metabolic syndrome have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than men. Women are more likely to have central obesity than men, have a different cholesterol profile, and higher triglyceride levels that cause more coronary artery disease, while polycystic ovary syndrome, hormone support therapies, and pregnancy diabetes pose additional risk for women [8]. Fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, chronic kidney disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, gout, dementia, and decreased cognitive functions are more common in individuals with metabolic syndrome than the normal population [7].

Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome

Since metabolic syndrome is caused by environmental and genetic factors, and is appearing in people with increasing frequency, the best treatment approaches involve a well-regulated lifestyle, with the main objective being to prevent diabetes and cardiovascular diseases that cause fatal or disabling conditions. Weight loss that results from an appropriate nutrition and exercise program has a corrective effect on almost all disorders observed in metabolic syndrome.

In the treatment of metabolic syndrome, prevention of central obesity seems to be a priority solution. This can be achieved by a lifestyle planning that provides and maintains a 7-10% reduction in total body weight by limiting caloric intake and increasing physical activity. Even methods that increase weekly physical activity by 150-300 minutes and provide only a 5-7% reduction in body weight are considered sufficient to correct the metabolic syndrome. This has especially been reported to have a positive effect on lipid disorders, glucose intolerance, and hypertension, with a 58% reduction in the risk of diabetes with additional lifestyle changes [9].

Since a well-regulated diet is one of the focal points of life style change for people with metabolic syndrome, dietary models that are limited to saturated fats and cholesterol, rich in complex carbohydrates, based upon an abundant consumption of fruits and vegetables, and a restricted use of salt (for those with hypertension) are strongly recommended.

Even though the traditional Mediterranean diet is lauded as one of the vibrant treatment options in the prevention of coronary heart disease and metabolic syndrome, it is not sufficient to correct the metabolic syndrome unless the diet is in tandem with significant weight loss [10]. According to numerous studies, increasing the consumption of nutrients such as fish, vegetables, fruits, dried legumes, and unrefined grains that are rich in olive oil, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants reduce the risk of coronary diseases and death. It goes without saying, that smoking and alcohol use may increase cardiovascular, metabolic and hepatic complications in patients with metabolic syndrome.

Patients with metabolic syndrome should have their blood lipids checked annually, and should be determined to keep low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol lower than 100 mg/dL, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol higher than 40 mg/dL, and triglyceride levels lower than 150 mg/dL. Diabetic patients should set their blood pressure target as lower than 130/80 mm-Hg. Changes in lifestyle such as regular exercise and a controlled diet are extremely vital. The use of low-dose aspirin to prevent complications in patients with coronary artery disease is also among treatment recommendations.

The basic sustenance that is provided to us in the form of fruits, animals, grains, and other bounties is such a precious, rich and full-fledged treasure, for which we should be grateful for. However, gluttony and wastefulness pave the way for thanklessness, disease, and even conflicts with the wisdom in the universe.

Almost all living beings are engaged in the pursuit of sustenance and revolve around this goal. We humans have been equipped with the ability to taste and appreciate all kinds of food, and can draw an appreciation for the Divine through these gifts. Just as everything revolves around sustenance, thankfulness has been placed in the center of sustenance. That is, gratitude should be at the center of all sustenance. Through gratitude, we live healthier physical, spiritual, and mental lives.

Notes

1. Meule A, Rezori V, Blechert J. Food addiction and bulimia nervosa. Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2014;22:331–337.
2. Grundy SM. Metabolic syndrome pandemic. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2008; 28: 629-36.
3. Moore JX, Chaudhary N, Akinyemiju T. Metabolic Syndrome Prevalence by Race/Ethnicity and Sex in the United States, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–2012. Prev Chronic Dis 2017;14:160287
4. Alberti KG, Zimmet PZ. Definition, diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus and its complications. Part 1: diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus provisional report of a WHO consultation. Diabet Med 1998;15:539-53.
5. Alexander, Matthew R.; Eric H. Yang. “What is the prevalence of hypertension (high blood pressure) awareness of in the US?” https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/241381-overview#a2
6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Fact Sheet: National Estimates and General Information on Diabetes and Prediabetes in the United States, 2011. Atlanta, GA, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011.
7. Balcı M.K, Metabolik Sendrom, Türkiye Klinikleri J Med Sci 2008;28:102-106.
8. Mottillo S, Filion KB, Genest J, Joseph L, Pilote L, Poirier P. The metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Coll Cardiol 2010; 56: 1113-32
9. Knowler WC, Barrett-Connor E, Fowler SE, Hamman RF, Lachin JM, Walker EA, et al; Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med 2002; 346: 393-403
10. Carbonneau É1, Royer MM2, Richard C3, Couture P4, Desroches S5, Lemieux S6, Lamarche B7. Effects of the Mediterranean Diet before and after Weight Loss on Eating Behavioral Traits in Men with Metabolic Syndrome. Nutrients. 2017 Mar 19;9(3).

Research on hummingbirds (also known as nectar birds or Colibris), the smallest of the 9,800 bird species living today, has revealed remarkable facts. The world’s smallest birds are equipped with mind-blowing structures and functions that push all physiological and anatomical boundaries. The bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), considered to be the smallest bird in the world, is only 1.96-inch-long and weighs 0.06 ounces.

There are around 330-340 species of hummingbird and they live only in North and South America and the nearby oceanic islands. With their colorful feathers, they are some of the most beautiful birds.

How the hummingbird flies

A hummingbird flaps its wings so fast that the motion cannot be seen by the human eye but only detected through special cameras. The wings move at an incredible speed in a seemingly complex pattern, drawing circles back and forth 50 to 80 times per second, depending on the species. Under the genus Colibri, the horned Sungem (Heliactin bilophus) species flaps its wings 90 times per second; the purple amethyst Colibri (Calliphlox amethystina) flaps its 80 times per second. This speed increases up to 200 per second during a short spike while escaping from an enemy. Moving back and forth, the wings oscillate in the form of the figure 8 in the air. While in most other birds the movement of the wings produces the power to lift up and down, Hummingbirds, like helicopters, can perform movements such as hanging in the air or standing steadily as well as flying backward or rising in a vertical direction.

Figure 8

Metabolic rate and energy consumption

Flying requires a lot of energy. The amount of energy spent is related to the bird’s body size and flapping speed. In this regard, given that a colibri flaps its wings 80 times per second, it takes a great deal of energy to maintain such a rapid movement. The colibri’s chest muscles were perfectly created for flapping quickly and take up 40% of the hummingbird’s total body mass. Therefore, a colibri consumes more energy than other birds; it’s basically a fighter jet.

In order to meet this high energy demand, the amount of nectar a colibri consumes every day has to be equal to their body weight. Living at such a high metabolic rate requires a fine adjustment of food consumptions with precise calculations.

Such a high food intake requires a high metabolism – and thus, the need for oxygen increases dramatically. When the need for oxygen increases, there can be two kinds of conditions. Those animals with very large lungs can intake a lot of air at once. And those with smaller lungs can produce the required oxygen by breathing many times a minute. Colibri or Nectar birds are the ones that can breathe the most in one minute. The lungs of the world’s smallest birds breathe 250 times per minute to transfer oxygen to their hearts weighing a mere 0.003 ounces and beating 1,200 times per minute.

Toronto University’s Kenneth C. Welch Jr. studied the metabolism of hummingbirds for more than 10 years. He discovered that there is a relationship between the size of hummingbirds, energy efficiency, and oxygen consumption, and that larger hummingbirds are more efficient energy users than smaller ones. A hummingbird can take 2.44 cubic inches of oxygen per 0.03 ounces an hour. When a small weight is added to the bird, this amount increases to 3.66 cubic inches, and their tissues use oxygen very efficiently.

Energy requirements

A hummingbird’s metabolism is the fastest among all vertebrates. It needs to eat almost constantly to get the energy it needs to produce fuel for its breathtaking metabolism, which functions like a power plant. It receives nectar from 2,000 flowers every day. If we humans could work at this bird’s energy levels, we’d have to eat about 1,300 sandwiches a day to produce energy, and our body temperature would rise to 725 °F! Also, our hearts would have to beat 1,260 times per minute. Although nectar from flowers is the main fuel source driving the bird’s metabolic engines, it also occasionally eats insects, for protein needs.

During any given 30-minute period, hummingbirds burn the sugar they had taken in an hour ago. If we apply this rapid intake of sugar and the metabolic cycle in human beings, we would have to drink a large bottle of soda and burn the sugar in it every minute.

Unlike us, hummingbirds use both glucose and fructose from nectar in their intestines, circulatory systems, and muscle cells. However, we can support our bodies at urgent needs with an intake rate of 30% of glucose. Half of the nectar that hummingbirds take is glucose and half is fructose. In this modern age, high fructose derived from corn in our diets has paved the way for metabolic diseases and obesity – that is, people cannot metabolize high fructose.

Scientists are trying to determine how hummingbirds can process fructose. It is known that there is a carrier molecule different from glucose in fructose. This carrier is very rare in human muscle cells, but it is found in abundance in hummingbird’s muscle fibers; so we believe the mystery of how they utilize fructose so fast is about to be solved.

Hummingbirds have been equipped with mechanisms to increase the rapid introduction of nutrients such as fructose and glucose – which are basically small sugar molecules – or amino acids into their metabolisms. Their hearts and blood vessels work at a high speed to carry the sugar into their tissues as well as to transfer a lot of blood. In addition, a large number of capillaries have been implemented close to the muscle cells so that the blood can reach each and every cell.

Wing design

While humanity has not yet invented a machine that can move in a figure-8 pattern 80 times per second, including forward and backward, the ultra-flexibility of a hummingbird’s unique wing strokes demonstrates the special creation of its bones, muscles, and joints. The colibri’s brain and nervous system, which control these muscles and joints by transmitting signals, require infinite knowledge and power. The flexibility of the shoulder joint in the movement of the wings, which allows them to bend to extreme positions not found in other birds, gives us an idea of the wing’s unique design and architecture. Although biomimetic engineers have spent millions of dollars applying this complex system to technology, they have so far failed in their attempts to produce a similar machine.

Cooling the feathers due to the friction of the muscles and the tremendous movement of the wings is a problem in itself. While man-made machines need advanced cooling systems, the hummingbird has been created with a such a built-in system.

Unique tongue structure

Biologists from the University of Connecticut have discovered that hummingbirds’ tongues have a very special design and work like micro pumps. Tongues about twice the length of their beaks allow them to reach deep into flowers. The nectar is then pumped into the body in less than 1/20^th of a second. This occurs thousands of times each day. Tai-Hsi Fan and Margaret A. Rubega, who for a long time examined how hummingbirds stick their tongues 15 or 20 times a second into the tubular part of a flower, said that they “could not clearly understand how they drink the nectar.” In their latest study, they showed that it was only possible for the birds to hold nectar through two channels in their tongues. It was once thought that the physical rule of the upward movement of liquids in capillary tubes, even without suction, worked in the hummingbird’s nectar intake; but when special video recordings of the movement of their tongues were examined, it became evident that the tongue first compressed the nectar in a series of movements, then sprung up very quickly and the nectar was suddenly sprayed into the channels.

It would seem that both the hummingbirds and the flowers they need for sustenance were created in perfect harmony.

Red hummingbirds migrate from Alaska to Mexico every year. They can fly 56 miles per hour. Prior to this journey, they feed for one or two weeks to fill their fuel tanks, forming a layer of fat equal to half their body weight. Since these activities cause a lot of heat loss on the body surfaces, they cannot provide enough energy to stay active for more than 12 hours at a time. To counter this, they fall into a deep sleep every night for 12 hours. The energy storage, flight endurance, long-distance migration, and returning with the young ones are each complicated factors that their coming together to make this journey possible cannot simply be explained by blind chance.

Of course, the smallest bird in the world would have the smallest egg size: a mere 0.5 x 0.3 inches, for a total weight of 0.007 ounces. Considering that this wonderful bird’s design is embedded into this egg, which is about the size of the nail of our little finger, it can be understood how perfect a creation it is.

Hibernators are intensely active in summer. A part of that activity is building temporary burrows for summer use only. Ground squirrels, (Spermophilus citellus) for example, can build hundreds of such temporary shelters over a single summer, on average 15 shelters in a 10m2 area of open field. These shelters have only the one nest compartment, usally between 30 and 50cm below ground level. By contrast, their shelters for hibernation, sometimes as much as 3m below ground level, are intended for long, repeated use and contain a number of compartments-one for storing large quantites of food (usally dry seeds), one for use as a ‘toilet’, and a third for sleeping.

Before hibernation, animals prepare themselves for the hardship of the very long period of cold by storing up large amounts of fat in adipose tissue under the skin, up to some 40 % of total body weight. These fats are composed of fatty acids which typically have ten or fewer than ten carbon atoms and are consturcted with some double bonds between the carbon atoms of the chain and their esters with glycerides. These compounds provide the ideal energy source needed during hibernation because lipids yield twice the energy yielded by carbohydrates and proteins. Moreover, these fatty acids need very little oxygen in their degradation/conversion to energy.

Blood circulation and homeostasis during hibernation are not well understood. The animal steadies body temperature at around 2°C to 5°C: in mammals the body temperature remains about 1°C above environmental temperature. Usally, when body temperature falls to this level, metabolic rate is increased or the animal awakes, but during hibernation this does not happen. Metabolic rate at 5°C is usually 2-5% of the rate at normal body temperature. For example, the active heart rate of the genus Myotis of bats is between 500 and 700 beats per minute. During hibernation the rate goes down to 20 beats per minute at 5°C, and 8 beats at -7°C. Two consistent and characteristic changes are found in blood during hibernation: an increased production of herapin, which may be contributing to a reduction in the risk of blood clotting during very slow circulation, and an increase in serum magnesium, for which there is no explanation as yet.

Many different types of respiratory patterns have been observed during the state of hibernation. We will mention only one example here: The hedgehog, at a body temperature of 5°C, does not breathe at all for an amazing 56 minutes.

In controlled observations, it has been found that animals which hibernate show improved retention of learned behaviour compared to non-hibernating animals. Again, it is not at all clear why this should be so.

Hibernation is not a prolonged period of constant torpor. There are periodic arousals during winter caused by the accumulation of metabolic end products or having a full bladder. The awakening process is often assisted by shivering, especially when the body temperature is very low. Awakening is a costly process because it takes as much energy to wake up as it does to stay in hibernation for ten days. The ground squirrel, Spermophilus citellus gains around 150-200 g of fat before hibernation. That is more than enough for the energy being used up during sleep; the excess is needed for the wakening up intervals which occur fortnightly.

A number of hypotheses have sought to explain how hibernation is triggered-changes in weather and climate, temperature, humidity and change of diet are among the suggestions. Apart from these causes, a protein was isolated from the blood of a hibernator bear in the USA in the 1980s which, when injected into rats appeared to induce sleeping behaviour in summer. Today it remains uncertain if this protein is the only stimulator of hibernation. If it is, we still need to know what other conditions are related to the protein level and its effect and how the level of protein is maintained at the right level during the animal’s life cycle.

What is already securely known about hibernation establishes it as a truly amazing physiological phenomenon. It tells us that the body temperature of some hibernators will passively adjust ambient tempeature from between 2°C to 32°C without causing awakening. The inevitable question is what advantage such behaviour affords the hibernating animals. Some small animals, because of their high metabolic rates are faced with an acute need for a continuously available supply of food and water. Controlled investigations show that dormant animals at cool temperatures lose much less weight than the non-dormant ones. It has also been shown that small animals can survive for at least a hundred days on the energy derived from ten grams of fat. Hibernation is, in other words, a survival technique, an adaptation to the conditions of poor or non-existent food supply during the winter months.

That is, however, something of a mechanical explanation which, even as a mechanical explanation, is far from satisfactory. The secondary question immediately arises of why this particular adaptation and not another-why not migration, for example, to areas where winter does not affect food supply so drastically? There are many birds and other animals which take this option.

A more satisfying explanation must surely consider what adaptability itself is, how it relates to the variety of life-forms, to the individuation of species and kinds, and to the overwhelming intution (which must touch any truly objective observer) that, at levels of subtlety and intricacy which defy comprehension, the survival and provision of each and every living form is minutely arranged and co-ordinated to create a whole that is thoroughly interconnected. The value of that whole is manifested in many different aspects-beauty, variety, efficiency, the rich warmth of life. Is it not impossible to resist the impression of a wonderful generosity within and behind the world of living forms?