Obesity and being overweight constitutes the second leading cause of preventable death, after smoking, and are considered to be the most common nutritional disorders in the industrialized world today. According to the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Obesity, one in four children between the ages of two and five are overweight, and fifteen percent of Canadians are classified as obese according to the Canadian Community Health Survey (1990-2001).

Causes of Obesity:

Calories in versus calories out sums up the “simple” weight loss theory. There are many flaws in this theory – people exercise daily, eat salads, drink water and still do not lose weight, whereas others eat whatever they want, never exercise and never gain a pound. The key is your hormones. If you cannot battle your bulge, here are some hormonal factors that might be interfering with your health.

Low Thyroid: Your Thyroid controls you metabolism. Your metabolism is the chemical reaction that takes place inside your cells to create energy. You burn calories even when your body is at rest. If your Thyroid is low, then your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) will be affected. This means instead of burning up lots of fuel (food) and creating energy, your body will store the fuel as fat.

A TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) above 2 can cause this effect on your body. The best range for your TSH is between 0.5 and 2. Ask for a copy of your blood test so you always know your number.

Liver Function: If you have been dieting for years and were never told a healthy liver is essential for fat loss it isn’t any wonder you may not have reached your fat-loss goals. The liver is the most important organ in the body, filtering blood, processing and packaging hormones, removing toxins, metabolizing proteins and carbohydrates into energy, manufacturing cholesterol and breaking down fats, among hundreds of other vital functions.Excess weight around the middle, whites of the eyes that are dotted with fatty yellow bumps, fatty cysts and skin mottled with “age spots” are all signs of a congested liver, more commonly called a “fatty liver.” Clogged bile ducts, inadequate secretion of bile, not enough bile, or an overwhelmed or congested liver from too many prescription drugs, toxins or alcohol can all contribute to a fatty liver.

Estrogen, Insulin & Other Hormones: Too much estrogen (also called estrogen dominance) is one reason why women have a difficult time losing fat around the abdominal area. A decreased rate of estrogen excretion via liver detoxification contributes to what we commonly call “estrogen belly,” which is simply too much fat around the middle, promoted by too much estrogen due to faulty excretion of excess estrogens.Too much fat on our body also increases our estrogen levels as fat cells are a storage site for estrogen. Contributing to our fatness is the fact that fat cells also manufacture estrogen. This sets up a viscous cycle of too many fat cells manufacturing and storing too much estrogen which creates high levels of estrogen which maintains our increased fat.

Insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas, may be the main culprit contributing to our “fatness.” The standard excessively high carbohydrate, low protein diet is disrupting our body’s ability to regulate blood sugar adequately. When we have too much insulin being pumped out to reduce abnormally high blood sugar, we inevitably gain weight, become fat and our cells become very resistant to insulin and fat loss. Everyone who is overweight has insulin resistance and insulin resistance puts us at higher risk of heart disease, cancers and diabetes.

Chronic Stress
Another deadly aspect of high insulin is that it increases the secretion of cortisol, our stress hormone. High cortisol causes a corresponding drop in the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). DHEA helps to increase muscle mass, improve immune function, is a precursor to other hormones and has been called our anti-aging hormone. Most importantly for fat loss, we know that more muscle mass causes increased fat burning and a reduction in insulin. As we can see, high insulin promotes a very negative cascade of effects.Unrelenting chronic stress is another factor that promotes weight gain. New research performed at Laval University in Quebec shows that chronic stress causes our fat cells to become resistant to fat loss, especially fat cells around our abdomens. Cortisol activates fat cells – all fat cells – to store fat! But those that are called central fat cells, found mainly deep in the abdominal wall, have four times the cortisol receptors on their cell membranes.Each time you are stressed the cortisol-fat mechanism turns on and your body stores more fat to handle all the stress you are experiencing.

Star Nutrients for Weight Loss:

There are many nutrients you can take to help stimulate weight loss such as Conjugated Linolenic Acid (CLA) and Chirositol.

• · CLA: Studies have shown that people who take CLA, a fatty acid supplement that effectively increases lean muscle mass and enhances fat loss. In a 90-day, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study published in 2000 in theJournal of Nutrition, CLA users experienced fat loss with an average weight reduction of seven pounds and an increase in lean muscle. There was a 20 percent decrease in body fat. CLA also stops fat from coming back once dieting stops.

• · Chirositol: is a new nutrient for the treatment of insulin-resistant conditions including metabolic syndrome also called syndrome X, Type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, excess androgen-related conditions like male facial hair growth in women, belly fat and weight management. It has also been shown to reduce appetite and improve serotonin, our “happy” hormone. Reduced serotonin or poor metabolism of serotonin is linked to increased sugar cravings. So by modulating serotonin, chirositol helps control appetite.Chirositol is a molecule that mediates insulin activity. It is structurally similar to glucose. By mimicking insulin activity, it helps control blood glucose levels, glucose storage or disposal of glucose in the cell. And it will not cause hypoglycemia or low blood sugar in those with normal blood sugar levels.

Health Tips:

-If you are overweight – lose weight (Health Canada approved weight loss supplements green tea extract, CLA and Chirositol). Most of us gain 1.5 pounds in December. We can show and discuss the supplements that are approved and work.

-Start eating vegetables – take a large freezer bag and fill it with sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, carrots, etc. eat this every day.

-Stop smoking and take Niacin – NON flushing niacin which is inositol hexanicotinate which helps with the cravings

-If you are having low moods due to the lack of sunshine take Vitamin D and 5HTP

-To rev up your fat-burning furnace, eat protein for breakfast. This will increase your metabolism by 25 percent and that increase lasts for several hours.

-Quantity of food is given most of the credit for our weight woes; the quality of the food we eat plays an equally important role. Saturated fats, trans-fats, fake fats, aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, refined carbohydrates, processed meats and cheese, diet foods and sodas conspire to make us fat and disrupt our hormones. Eliminate all of these toxic foods.

-Keep insulin levels normal by eating small, protein-rich meals throughout the day and eliminating the white foods (white sugar, white flour, white rice, white pasta, white potatoes

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