Obesity can be a great personal challenge and has become a national epidemic that will impact the future of healthcare.
The difficulty of controlling this epidemic is just beginning to be understood. It is not a simple problem that will be solved for us by some plan or government program, but it is a complicated individual problem that will involve many individual and personal decisions.
Understanding the causes of obesity, although there are many common threads, will involve an individual understanding of our physiology, the role of stress and our emotions, and an awareness of our personal mindset ('energy blocks' or self image levels).
Physiology and Obesity: So far, most of the general attention in combating obesity has been directed to diet and exercise. There is no doubt that, if we take in more calories than we burn up, we will gain weight. The kind of food that we eat makes a huge difference. Low glycemic eating will need to incorporated into any sensible weight loss program, because this helps to keep blood insulin levels down and helps to prevent the metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome, with the associated high insulin levels, is the caused of a great majority of chronic diseases that are plaguing us. One of the great values of exercise is to bring these insulin levels down. To keep the cells in our body functioning properly, we need good natural fats. We also need to avoid artificial sweeteners and the various taste enhancers notably MSGs, because they raise insulin levels and are toxic to our cells.
Role of stress and emotions in obesity: Stress and the resulting emotions cause a hormone, called cortisol, to be secreted from our adrenal glands. Cortisol also raises insulin levels. If this stress is prolonged, the adrenal gland "poops out" and can no longer produce this hormone and adrenal insufficiency results. The adrenal gland and the thyroid gland have an involved interrelationship. Imbalance of the normal function of these glands has a huge impact on our wellness.
Since stress is part of any life style, we have to learn how to manage it. First we need to recognize it. We need to learn to avoid stress when we have a choice, and learn to manage it when we can't avoid it. Getting enough sleep is very important, both to give our bodies a chance to heal and because lack of sleep is one of the factors that also increases our insulin levels.
Mindset (energy imbalance): Although this has been long recognized when we study the problem of controlling obesity, it has been difficult to deal with because it is so individualized. It involves the images that we have of ourselves. It frequently involves personal hang-ups that can be long suppressed and may no longer even be on a conscious level. I have been impressed by the concept of EFT as a way to address this problem. Check it out at http://www.emofree.com/newcomer.htm
Walther Meyer MD., CMD.
Nutrimed@tds.net