HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS AND IMPROVING BODY COMPOSITION (PART II)
What Causes Us to Gain Weight?
Most people would say “eating too much,” and/or “not exercising,” and although those reasons are contributory to weight gain, they are not the whole story. There are many people who exercise and do not overeat, yet their weight keeps increasing - or they are not losing the way they expect to. So why is this?
1) EATING THE WRONG KINDS OF FOODS, rather than eating too much, is frequently the cause of weight gain. For example, no matter how much celery a person eats, he or she will not gain weight from overeating celery. The wrong kinds of foods are the foods that lead to fat storage, rather than energy utilization: foods that are addictive such as fast foods, for example, or processed foods containing additives and preservatives that can cause hormonal disruption and weight gain. Other foods leading to fat storage and excessive weight gain are dietary sugars and grains, consumed in excess.
2) INSULIN RESISTANCE is a major contributor to weight gain and a pre-diabetic state. Ultimately, while all food breaks down into glucose, carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta and sugar do so at a much faster rate. When our food is broken down our pancreas secretes insulin. Insulin is a hormone that binds with the glucose in the bloodstream to carry it to our cells for energy production. Inside the cell are insulin receptors. They meet the insulin-glucose compound at the cell wall and transport it into the cell for energy. BUT, if there is too much sugar/carb consumption, the pancreas pumps out more and more insulin, and then the receptors inside the cell become overwhelmed – i.e. resistant. It’s like a telemarketer calling all the time; after awhile, you just stop answering the phone. Consequently, the glucose does not get into the cell for energy, but rather gets stored as fat, or increases in the blood stream resulting in high blood sugar, weight gain, and diabetes. Diabetes often leads to cardiovascular disease, brain degeneration and neuropathies. Most experts in the field now agree that the main cause of weight gain and diabetes is excessive carbohydrate consumption - not fat.
Incidentally, many people think it’s OK, or even healthier to use artificial sweeteners, like the ones in the little pink and blue packets, instead of sugar. In fact these artificial sweeteners can lead to weight gain as much as, if not more than sugar! There have been several studies revealing that artificial sweeteners such as these are endocrine (hormone) disruptors. They alter the hormone insulin’s ability to transport glucose into the cell for energy usage; that is to say, they can cause Insulin Resistance.
3) LEPTIN RESISTANCE - Leptin is a hormone made by our fat cells. When we have eaten enough it signals our brain to let us know that we are satiated. However, if a person has too many fat cells, and therefore too much leptin, the brain becomes leptin resistant, meaning it no longer receives the information that we are full, and so we keep eating! This is a very challenging problem, but treatable.
3) GUT MICROBIOTA imbalances - We have more microbes in our digestive system than cells in our bodies, and more genetic material in all those bugs than in the entire human genome. A study regarding obese and overweight people revealed that individuals who had more of the Firmicutes type bacteria had a greater tendency to gain weight and be heavier, while those having more of the Bacteriodetes bacteria were slimmer and did not gain weight as easily. I always ask my patients about their gut function. This is important because, as a doctor, I need to explore as many reasons for weight gain and difficulty losing weight as possible, in addition to other health issues. Symptoms like constipation, diarrhea, bloating, belching, heartburn, acid reflux, fatigue, depression and brain fog are signs of an unhealthy gut. This means that attention must be paid to restoring gut health in order for a person to utilize nutrients, eliminate toxins, and have an overall healthier metabolism - in addition to losing weight!
4) HORMONE IMBALANCE can be another cause of weight gain. Cortisol is a hormone produced by one’s adrenal glands as a natural response to stress. Among its many functions, cortisol helps regulate blood sugar. Too much or too little cortisol will cause a dysregulation in blood sugar balance. This can lead to increased fat storage, especially around the abdomen. Abdominal fat is called angry fat. It is inflammatory and can lead to diabetes, as well as other inflammatory diseases. Since cortisol imbalance happens when there is excessive stress, one way to combat that - and weight gain - is by a variety of stress reduction methods: meditation, exercise, sleeping enough, and being with loved ones.
Another hormonal imbalance involved with weight gain is Estrogen Dominance. Estrogen is produced in both men and women, so it’s important for everyone to have normal, healthy levels of estrogen. The problem with high estrogen levels comes primarily from our environment; human made estrogens called xenoestrogens, or foreign estrogens, are in pesticides and plastics predominantly, as well as birth control pills, IUDs, and even paper store receipts! Estrogen imbalance, too much or too little, can also lead to weight gain, and again, more specifically around our abdomens.
TO RECAP: Causes of weight gain and/or difficulty losing weight can be the result of too much carbohydrate and sugar consumption leading to insulin resistance, other hormone imbalances such as leptin, cortisol, or estrogen, gut bacterial imbalance, and overall eating too much of the wrong kinds of food: fast food, fried food, gluten, processed foods, and food laden with pesticides.
Stay Tuned for Part III - THE FIX!