The Missing Piece of the Weight Loss Puzzle?
‘Tis the season when we start reflecting on the past year and looking ahead to what the next year holds for us. Sometimes this involves making a list of goals, priorities, or (in my case) a list of hard things. For many, losing weight may top this list and for good reason. Weight loss or achieving a healthy weight comes with benefits like improving overall healthspan, better mobility, improved quality of sleep, increased libido, immune balance, reduced inflammation, even improved mood and cognitive function. So, given all these benefits of healthy weight loss, why is losing weight and keeping it off difficult for so many? There is certainly no lack of incentive, yet, obesity is still in the top 5 risk factors for death worldwide. Why does the U.S. still have the highest percentage of overweight or obese population, despite the billions that are spent on healthcare?
“Why does the U.S. still have the highest percentage of overweight or obese population, despite the billions that are spent on healthcare? ”
There are, in fact, many reasons for this but an email cannot begin to cover them all; so I’d like to highlight one area that most people may not think about when it comes to weight. This is the subject of toxicity or toxins. With over 84,000 chemicals on the market and about 1% actually tested for safety, environmental toxicity is fast becoming “the paradox of progress”. While many of these chemicals were haled during the Industrial Revolution and well into the mid-1900’s, we now know that they are directly connected with declining health factors.
Many countries have taken steps to regulate the use of these chemicals in manufacturing and agriculture. Now, if we compare the U.S. with a similarly prosperous Europe, while we may see many advantages of living in the U.S., we also see a much lower standard in some areas of food and agricultural practices in the U.S. For example, the mycotoxin (mold toxin) zearalenone, commonly found in food and feed crops like corn, oats, wheat and rice, is a known endocrine (hormone) disruptor and carcinogen. This mycotoxin is regulated in countries like Austria, France, Hungary, Romania and Russia, yet the U.S. has no upper limit for this. In fact, “Except for mandatory aflatoxin testing on U.S. corn exports-mycotoxin testing for domestically produced or imported foods and feed ingredients is not required by law. That is, testing for mycotoxins in grains that are not exported is voluntary, and contamination levels are not considered part of official grading standards for agricultural commodities.” Translation: Lower standards for domestic consumption.
“Most of these toxins, are lipophilic, meaning they are attracted to fat and accumulate in our fat tissue. ”
Why does this matter and what does it have to do with obesity? Well, a lot, if not most, of these toxins, are lipophilic, meaning they are attracted to fat and accumulate in our fat tissue. While this mechanism of accumulation can cause obesity, metabolic and hormonal disruption, and inflammation; our body fat is actually a relatively safe storage reservoir for these toxins, preventing them from damaging other vital organs.
https://diabetesjournals.org/diabetes/article/60/7/1838/14258/The-Paradox-of-Progress-Environmental-Disruption
This means that obesity can actually be PROTECTIVE in those with high levels of these chemicals, reducing all cause mortality?!
Therefore, when we attempt to lose weight, often these toxins get released from the fat cells, unintentionally re-toxifying the body and possibly harming vital organs like the liver and kidneys. Rapid weight loss is associated with increased risk for liver injury during which there is a large dump of these toxins that recirculate, putting the liver under stress. This is also why some people may experience symptoms like nausea, headaches, sleep disturbance, skin breakouts, GI distress when they try to lose weight.
Detoxing is an important part of weight loss
Knowing that toxic burden can be a significant barrier to weight loss should help shift our perspective and focus on losing weight, as well as why many weight loss plans may fail. By excluding a detoxification protocol, we run the risk of releasing toxins from their fat storage back into the body, causing increased inflammation and symptoms, causing a quick return to comfortable habits. So, if you’re planning on embarking on a weight loss program, be sure you’re including essential detox components such as:
Ø Sauna
Ø Liver supportive supplements
Ø Lymphatic support like dry brushing, massage, even breathwork
Ø Evaluate your environment, begin replacing what you can to lower toxic burden
Ø Detox Supportive supplements like activated charcoal and other binders
Healthy weight loss is not always a matter of will power; it’s also knowing and understanding the factors that drive unhealthy weight gain and how to address these factors. Functional nutrition therapy is a practice of identifying root causes behind patterns dysfunction and disease and then applying holistic and comprehensive solutions.
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