Methods for detecting risks for and/or causes of metabolic syndrome or hyperferritinemia in accordance with several embodiments can include the step of measuring the level of heptadecanoic acid in a blood sample of a subject. The methods of several embodiments can further include the step of deeming the subject as having or being at risk of metabolic syndrome if the amount of heptadecanoic acid is below 0.4% of all fatty acids in the sera or plasma. The methods for treating metabolic syndrome or hyperferritinemia according to several embodiments can also include the step of administering a daily dose of heptadecanoic acid to a subject suffering from metabolic syndrome or hyperferritinemia for a period of time from three weeks to twenty-four weeks, wherein the minimum daily dose comprises about 3 mg per lb (or 6 mg per kg) of body weight.
