CAUSE OF OBESITY
THE THIRD CAUSE OF OBESITY:
A SCIENTIFIC JOURNEY
WE ' VE ALWAYS known the first two causes of obesity:
EATING.
American diets are rich in carbohydrates, fats and calories. We can all agree on that. We are eating more than we need to, and we are choosing unhealthy options.
EXERCISE.
We have cars, remote controls, handheld computers that we call phones and automation. We don ' t have to walk as far as we used to, we don ' t have to work hard to get things done and we are always looking for easier ways to carry out tasks.
The third cause of obesity, on the other hand, has only just recently been discovered:
THE ORGANISMS THAT LIVE INSIDE OF US.
Every person is one being with one genetic code. But we have over 100 trillion bacteria that live inside of our bodies that have vastly more genetic coding than we do. Each of us is actually carrying about three pounds of live diverse bacteria inside his or her body at any given time.
What is amazing is that scientists have recently discovered that these bacteria help shape the size of our bodies. And they also play a key role in the development of some diseases, from auto-immune diseases to various cancers. Scientists have been investigating and studying the impact that these bacteria have on the human body. This research has led to an interesting discovery.
There is an uncommon, serious medical condition that results from excessive antibiotic use known as pseudomembranous colitis. It is a condition whereby a person who has taken a wide variety of antibiotics to kill bad bacteria also kills off beneficial bacteria. At any given time, we have beneficial bacteria in our body as well as harmful bacteria. And they are constantly keeping each other in check. When the beneficial bacteria are killed off, harmful bacteria have an opportunity to overgrow. Pseudomembranous colitis occurs as a result of an overgrowth of the bacteria Clostridium difficile, which is a germ that cannot be killed by antibiotics.
One effective treatment is to transfer the feces of a healthy donor to the colon of the person who has the antibiotic-related disease. The healthy person’ s bacteria will now grow rapidly inside of the diseased gastrointestinal tract. When this happens, balance is restored and the pseudomembranous colitis goes away.
But what scientists observed was remarkable. If the diseased person was thin and the healthy donor was obese, the donee became obese. The same held true for the opposite. If the diseased person was obese and the healthy donor was thin, the donee became thin.
Currently, scientists are trying to figure out how they can beneficially alter gastrointestinal bacteria and potentially cure obesity. In the meantime, there are a few things that you can do right now that will promote the growth of healthy bacteria and reduce those bacteria that cause weight gain.
1: Take probiotic supplements. Science has shown that taking a variety of probiotics on a consistent basis for several months helps aid in weight loss. We have chosen to carry one of Ortho Molecular
Products’ probiotics lines as our probiotic of choice. That was what we prescribed for Kristy, and she lost twenty-three pounds in two months.“ I started to see progress within the first two weeks,” she said, noting that she also cut down on sugary foods and switched to a low-fat diet. Deborah was also prescribed this probiotic regime:“[ I ] was down five pounds before my first weigh-in [.]” She has reduced the sugar in her diet, too, and she is carefully watching her carb intake.
2: Make a vegetable smoothie every day. We generally don ' t get enough soluble, indigestible, fermentable fiber in our diet. But this specific type of fiber that is not digestible by us is digestible by our healthy bacteria that promote leanness. An easy way to get enough greens is to blend them up and drink them.
SCAN HERE FOR OUR SMOOTHIE RECIPE!
3: Intermittent fasting. Our gastrointestinal tract needs a rest from time to time. Intermittent fasting, which might last 16 hours a day, or 24 – 48 hours a week, is not only healthy, but will also make you feel better, more energetic, and help you lose weight. Intermittent fasting promotes the growth of good bacteria.
SCAN HERE FOR DR. MOK ' S REVIEW OF THE 5:2 DIET!
8 WINTER 2017