Obesity

 

Symptoms of Obesity

About eighty million people in North America are overweight. Studies indicate that this is a life-long problem for ninety-five percent of these people. Well over half of them are women who want an ‘ideal' figure and experiment with different diets, obsess about food, punish themselves with starvation or reward themselves with food. Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, compulsive overeating and dieting are too often a consequence of an obsessive approach to weight control.

A weight problem occurs when excess pounds affect health. There are often musculoskeletal problems that affect the feet, knees, ankles, hips and lower back. Obesity, combined with a sedentary lifestyle, commonly leads to circulatory disturbances, including water retention around the ankles and susceptibility to varicose veins. Increased sugars and fats circulating in the blood also raise the risk of illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. Men with pot-bellies are more prone to heart problems. High blood pressure is very common and brings its own complications.

Skin conditions occur because of increased perspiration and skin folding, which encourage bacterial and fungal growth. Other common afflictions are gall-bladder problems, hernias, kidney problems and pneumonia. Furthermore, people who are overweight are more likely to suffer from injuries, infertility and surgical complications. Gross obesity can lead to Pickwickian syndrome, a very rare condition which causes severe breathing difficulties, excessive sleepiness and even coma. There are many psychological problems that occur with increasing weight and size, including poor self-image, problems with sexuality, lack of vitality and incentive, and sometimes depression.

Obesity Causes

Quite often, excess weight is the result of genetics. Metabolism is highly individual and the concept of an ideal weight according to height is erroneous. Dieting puts the body and emotions through immense turmoil, and the body strives to maintain a constant weight. Dieting will cause weight loss in the short term, but actually promotes weight gain in the long term, since it makes the body store fat more efficiently after the diet. Normal regulatory mechanisms for appetite can be destroyed by harmful diets. Whether it is an 800-calorie diet, a doctor-supervised diet with special injections, the no carbohydrate diet, a hospital-directed program, a weight loss clinic with a ‘system,' a liquid meal replacement program or any number of calorie-counting meal plans, the result is always the same. Fast weight loss in the first few weeks but eventually all is gained back and then some.

More serious weight problems usually stem from long-term lack of exercise. Changing these behaviors will bring lasting results. However, by itself, exercise is an ineffective way to lose weight.

Often, overeating is related to complex food addictions, where food is used to fulfill emotional needs or as a coping mechanism. Only rarely is obesity related to an actual physical disorder, such as the hormonal changes from an underactive thyroid or Cushing's syndrome. Many medications increase appetite or change metabolism, including cortisone and contraceptive pills. Sudden weight gain is often due to excess water retention, which is common with kidney failure, heart failure and PMS. Weight gain during pregnancy is absolutely normal and necessary to provide extra reserves for the child. The weight is normally lost again, without dieting, within months of the birth.

Obesity Nutrition

Weight problems are associated more with what people eat, rather than how much they eat. Studies indicate that you can eat all you want and still lose weight as long as you eat less fat and eliminate sugar and simple carbohydrates. Other studies indicate that hidden food allergies may play a role in suppressing metabolism. The most likely food allergens are milk, wheat, corn, eggs, chocolate and yeast. Eliminating these food allergies may be crucial to weight control for some individuals.

The body needs certain nutrients to burn off extra fat. A deficiency in these nutrients can actually cause weight gain. Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) is needed to burn fats. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is needed to mobilize stored fats. Vitamin E doubles fat utilization and lecithin helps burn fats, as do the essential fatty acids. The best weight loss diet is one while being low in calories, provides these essential nutrients.

Just reducing calories is not the answer, nor is fasting. Skipping meals slows metabolism. Drastically lowering caloric intake lowers the metabolism and the body goes into a starvation mode, whereby it starts storing fat and burning off the carbohydrate in muscles. With each cycle of dieting, the net result is an increase of body fat relative to muscle mass. This is why most dieting causes fat gain in the long run. Losing weight effectively requires increasing the metabolic rate by stimulating the body to burn fat instead of lean tissue. There also needs to be a way to enhance waste elimination, enzyme activity and hormone function, especially that of the thyroid, adrenals and pituitary. Eat regular meals, make healthy food and beverage choices, correct nutrient deficiencies or metabolic imbalances, and have a positive mental attitude.

Whole grains and vegetables, both of which are rich in complex carbohydrates, are important. Use vegetable proteins like beans, plain baked potatoes, lentils and tofu to replace animal proteins, sweets, white-flour products, and processed and junk foods, which are full of fat and cause obesity. Cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts are good vegetables for a weight loss diet because they are low in calories but satisfy hunger. Other good low-calorie vegetable choices are green peppers, celery, cucumber, lettuce, onions, radishes, spinach and turnips. Corn, green peas and yams contain more sugar and should be eaten less often.

Fats should not be completely eliminated from a weight loss diet. Saturated fats from red meat, and hydrogenated fats, such as margarine and shortening found in most commercially prepared foods, should definitely be avoided. However, some fats actually help the body lose weight. The essential fatty acids found in nuts and seeds and in unrefined, cold-pressed nut and seed oils like flax seed, walnut or pumpkin seed oil help metabolize stored fats. Flax seeds absorb thirty times their weight in water and will provide a feeling of fullness. Similarly, the oil of fatty fish like salmon or mackerel can actually help the body burn excess fat. Butter and whole milk which is unpasteurized and unhomogenized can also be consumed in moderation, since they are a good source of fat-soluble vitamins.

Enzymes speed up metabolism and boost the immune system. Fresh pressed juices of leafy green vegetables, wheatgrass and green barley will supply enzymes, chlorophyll, vitamins and minerals. Enzyme-rich, fresh, raw fruits are a valuable part of a weight loss program. Cherries satisfy hunger yet contain almost no calories from fat or protein and are low in salt. Eating nothing but cherries several days a week has a very beneficial effect on the metabolism. The high base-mineral content counteracts the damage of a white-sugar, white flour and meat diet. The amount of cherries can be determined by the appetite; usually three to five pounds a day is consumed. Guavas are low in calories and very rich in vitamin C. Apples, cantaloupe, watermelon and grapefruit are other nutritious low-calorie fruits. The whole fruits provide important liquid and fiber. Dried fruits or fruit juices are concentrated sources of sugars.

A weight loss diet includes plenty of foods rich in fiber. Water-soluble fiber like gum arabic, oat fiber, psyllium or pectin (found in apples and other fruits) is best. Fiber is an appetite suppressant, swelling to form bulk in the stomach, and binds with bile, to prevent the reabsorption of fats.

Drink at least six to eight glasses of water a day. Liquid is needed to help eliminate waste. Drinking water also reduces the desire to snack.

Obesity Nutritional Supplements

Certain vitamins, minerals and amino acids are important cofactors in the manufacture of neurotransmitters, thyroid hormone, growth hormone and adrenal hormones. These include vitamin B complex, vitamin C, zinc, copper, iodine, selenium, chromium, manganese, glycine, methionine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, arginine and ornithine.

Besides the obvious benefit of following a healthy diet and lifestyle, certain nutrients will help burn fat efficiently.

All the B vitamins, as well as lecithin, are essential for healthy weight loss. B complex vitamins help produce energy and relieve stress and depression. Lecithin enables fats, such as cholesterol, to be liquified and expelled from the body. Kelp should be added to the diet to ensure full function of the thyroid gland and to speed metabolism if it is abnormally low. Overweight people tend to have low essential fatty acid levels and supplementation is important. Do not cut all fats out of the diet; the essential fatty acids available in unrefined, cold-pressed oils must be included, since these are needed for many body functions. Evening primrose and flax seed oil are excellent sources of essential fatty acids. In addition, these oils actually help reduce excess weight without dieting. Take a green food supplement such as spirulina before meals to prevent overeating. Medicinal clay binds fat and eliminates it from the digestive system. Drink it an hour before or immediately after meals. Do not overdo it.

Daily dosages:

Vitamin B complex, 50 mg three times daily

Lecithin, 3 tbsp.

Kelp, 1 tbsp.

Evening primrose oil, two 500 mg capsules three times daily

Green food supplements, 1 tbsp.

Medicinal clay, 1 tsp. stirred into a glass of water

Amino acid complex, 500 mg twice daily

Multimineral complex with iron, 2 capsules at bedtime.

Obesity Herbal Remedies

Most herbal preparations sold in health food stores are designed to reduce weight by eliminating water, while the person limits calorie intake. The following herbal teas help metabolize and reduce fat.

Combine 1 tbsp. of yarrow and 1 tbsp. of seaweed. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp. of this mix, steep for eight minutes, strain and drink 1 cup three times daily for one to two weeks.

Other slimming herbs often included in herbal tea mixtures include kelp, chickweed, dandelion, sage, hawthorn berries, licorice root, papaya leaves, anise, wormwood, black alder bark, lovage and saffron.

Obesity Homeopathy

An experienced homeopath can provide a more comprehensive evaluation of symptoms and offer treatment to achieve lasting results.

Obesity Tissue Salts

Tissue salts are not applicable for treating obesity.

Obesity External/Physical Therapies

Nothing is better than regular exercise to lose weight. Walk, jog, swim, hike.

Massage stimulates the skin and lymphatic system to eliminate toxins and water retained in the fat.

Healthy weight reduction should be no more than two to four pounds per week.

Obesity Other Suggestions

Weight problems are often directly related to deeper mental, emotional and social stresses. Although supplemental vitamins, minerals, amino acids and herbs are of great help to many overweight people, they will not, by themselves, offset poor eating habits, a sedentary lifestyle and deep-seated emotional problems. The help of a psychotherapist and/or a natural health care practitionist may be required.

There is no easy solution to a weight problem, but a healthy active lifestyle, positive attitude and good eating habits form an excellent foundation. Find activities that you enjoy and that rejuvenate you. Walk briskly every day for twenty minutes, take the stairs instead of the elevator, cut television time down to five hours or less each week.

Find a support group to help change habits and addictive behavior.

The bathroom scale may be deceptive. Only twenty percent of the population conforms to the averages on standard height-weight charts. Unless you know your exact frame size, muscular development and other important variables, these charts will mislead you about your optimal weight. In other words, carefully consider whether your weight problem is the result of big bones, well-developed muscles, excess water retention or too much fat. Body weight is the sum of lean tissue, fat tissue and water, and optimal health requires a proper balance of these. Having the ‘right' weight according to height-weight charts does not guarantee this balance.

Obesity Available Brand Name Products

Nutritional Supplements

Bromelain (Albi)

HMB (E.A.S.)

Flax Oil (Flora)

Flax-O-Mega 1000 mg (Flora)

Udo's Choice: Ultimate Oil Blend (Flora)

Udo's Choice: Ultimate Oil Blend Capsules (Flora)

Bentonite Clay, Hydrated (Inno-Vite)

N-Acetyl L-Carnitine (Klaire Laboratories)

Chromium Chelate (Natural Factors)

Citri-Plus Super Shape (Natural Factors)

Coenzyme Q10 (Natural Factors)

Flax Seed Oil 1000 mg (Natural Factors)

Flax Seed Oil Liquid (Natural Factors)

Hi Potency Multi (Natural Factors)

Megazyme (Natural Factors)

Super Multi Plus (Natural Factors)

Tri-Lipotropics (Natural Factors)

Ultra Multi Plus (Natural Factors)

Ultra Prim Evening Primrose Oil

(Natural Factors)

Wild Salmon Oil (Natural Factors)

Designer Protein (Next Nutrition)

Super Once A Day (Quest Vitamins)

DHEA (Scandinavian Naturals)

Soydiet Program (Scandinavian Naturals)

Other Nutritional Supplements

Royal Jelly (Natural Factors)

Herbal Remedies

KLB-5 (Albi)

Dr. Dunner Sambu Kit (Flora)

Medicinal Tea: Reducing (Flora)

Green Magma (Green Foods)

Greens+ (Greens+)

Enriching Green Factors (Natural Factors)

Hawthorn Tincture (Natural Factors)

Panax Ginseng C.A. Meyer Extract (Natural Factors)

Swedish Bitters-Extra Strength (Natural Factors)

Chickweed (Nature's Herbs)

Chlorella, Better (Nature's Herbs)

Ginseng-Power, Siberian (Nature's Herbs)

Hawthorn Phytosome (Nature's Herbs)

Kelp (Norwegian) Combination (Nature's Herbs)

Licorice Phytosome (Nature's Herbs)

Skinny (SK) Formula (Nature's Herbs)

Yarrow Flowers (Nature's Herbs)

Nu-Body (Nu Life)

Spirulina Pacifica (Nutrex Inc.)

Green Tea (Uncle Lee's)

Herbal D-Tox 12-Day Kit (Wild Rose)

Homeopathy

Bach Flower Remedies (Bach-Karooch Ltd.)

External Therapies

Cypress Oil (Karooch Essential Oils)

Fennel Oil (Karooch Essential Oils)

Geranium Oil (Karooch Essential Oils)

Lemon Oil (Karooch Essential Oils)

Rosemary Oil (Karooch Essential Oils)