Dr. Mercola December 27 2007 39,167 views
"it seems to me that obese people tend to live a sedentary lifestyle and eat foods high in calories, low in nutrients and foods & drinks that also shift the body toward an acidic state"
This seems to be a prevalent belief that is usually coupled with the presumption that if the obese people had chosen a "better" lifestyle rather than a "lazy" one, then they wouldn't be in the state they're in. I would like to challenge the presumption by saying that there is probably already a dis-ease (the ROOT cause) in these people that leads them to a sedentary lifestyle and lousy diet rather than the lifestyle and diet leading to the dis-ease. It's easy to lay blame on these people and I think they blame themselves.
I suspect it is a combination of factors (genetic? environmental? etc) that lead to the initial dis-ease but would LOVE to be able to figure out why my son had/has such low energy and food cravings (and an overweight tendency) while my three daughters are regular/high energy, no cravings, and slim.
I am a nutritionist and have worked with obese people. These people are active, want to be healthy and do everything they have been told to do to lose weight. And there lies the problem. They have been given bad advice. Obesity is a much more complex issue then "calories in, calories out". For example, I am seeing an incredible rise in the amount of hypothyroidism (low thyroid) out there, but in most cases due to autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto's disease) where the body is attacking the thyroid. These people have a terrible time losing weight. But there often is a strong dietary connection - in this case gluten intolerance. Once they get off gluten (and are strict about this) the thyroid antibodies often drastically come down. Doctors can check for thyroid antibodies. Another probem associated with weight loss resistance is high blood insulin levels (as Dr. Mercola has said). With this issue, you could be running hard on a treadmill for hours and lose nothing. High blood insulin levels encourage the body to hang onto fat. A third issue is toxicity. Fat soluble toxins (like those from petrochemicals) are stashed into fat cells to protect the vulnerable parts of the body. You would not want to go on a fast fat burning program if this is your problem as you could unleash a lot of toxicity into the bloodstream too quickly. Identifying an individual's unique biochemical challenges and working at this level is the best way to lose weight (if needed) and to be healthy.
I agree with your comments but would add that the huge amount of soy in the American diet also contributes to obesity and thyroid disorders.
Hi, I tried to pm you but it won't let me unless i'm a friend. My question is, i'm looking into training as a dietitian (hope to specialize in celiac if possible) and was just wondering what course / qualification you had to take to work as a nutritionist? I realise if you're in the states it may be a bit different, but you never know it might help!
thanks
I think there is a lot of discrimination against fat people like there still is to a lesser extent toward fats in the diet.
You still have lots of health care people touting a "low fat" diet when anyone who has actually studied the subject knows better. If you want to see bones deteriorating, look at studies of young women and older women who are bulemic or anorexic, even borderline cases. Many years of starving themselves keeps many nutrients from reaching healthy bones, which begin to look like swiss cheese as they get older. The "experts" have to have something to blame for poor health care and big pharma needing to make giant profits, while ignoring all the sugars and high glycemic starches going into foods these days. So let's all blame the fatties.