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It's almost bathing suit season again and this is another popular time of year where people are concerned about weight loss. Some people are so called "blessed" with the right genetics, but are genes really the only factor that controls our weight? Although we inherit our parents genes, we also inherit their lifestyle as well. We tend to eat the comfort foods we ate with our family as young children and have similar exercise patterns as our parents. If they were active people, we probably like to do those types of activities as adults.
There are several factors involved with weight loss and maintaining healthy weight and we'll be discussing some in this blog. There have been scientific studies that demonstrate the effect of the microbiome on weight management. In these studies they performed fecal transplants from thin mice into obese mice. The results showed that the obese mice lost weight just with the fecal transplant, but don't start asking your doctor for a fecal transplant. Studies have also shown that the microbiome can change dramatically within 24 hours. So, what exactly is the microbiome? It is the bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc that live in the digestive tract and help break down foods, make neurotransmitters and help detoxify as well as other functions such as affect our mood. Our society has gone from eating what I call "real" foods that were either grown by our families, raised on farms or prepared by our relatives. My childhood was surrounded by having large family gardens, canning tomatoes and jellies and getting meat from a local butcher or hunting. Concepts that are completely foreign now. We go to a store and are surrounded by processed, chemical laden foods that our bodies can't recognize if they are food or pathogen.
So, what's the first step in healthy weight management ? You guessed it! Start eating food that looks like food. Incorporate more lean proteins like grass fed beef, free range chicken, wild fish or if you're vegetarian or vegan incorporate legumes as a healthier protein. Eat 5-6 servings of vegetables and fruit per day. Try to incorporate more vegetables than fruit since vegetables are not as high in sugar. You want to make sure you're eating a variety of foods since it will help diversify the nutrients you absorb, but also avoid boredom. Also, incorporate foods in the cruciferous family as they help with detoxification of chemicals and hormones and help in the methylation cycle which has several functions. One of those functions help protect our DNA from damage (cancer) as well as make an important antioxidant called glutathione.
If you start with these basics you'll more than likely feel better and take some unwanted pounds off. For some people weight control involves more than what we mentioned already. Please feel free to call, text or email our office to see how we can help achieve a healthier you.