| Inflamation cause weight gain | | Print | |
| Written by Narelle Stegehuis | ||||||||
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We often think of inflammation as a result of injury due to sprains, strains, cuts and grazes, insect bites and stings, which produce localised pain, swelling, redness and heat. However, when inflammation is happening internally it is not so easy to detect. What we do know though, is that inflammation is a key driver of many chronic, degenerative conditions. You may not even be aware that you are inflamed. You may think that those aches and pains that you feel when you wake up in the morning are a sign of old age but pain is your body's way of telling you that you are inflamed. Almost all chronic pain is a result of inflammation - including arthritis and other joint, back and muscle problems, digestive disorders like irritable bowel disease and many types of headaches. Chronic diseases such as dementia, fatigue, heart disease, obesity, arthritis, asthma, depression and autoimmune disease may appear unrelated, but they all share the common underlying state of inflammation. What causes inflammation? Many elements of our modern lifestyles can perpetuate and exacerbate inflammation, including:
Toxicity is a major cause of inflammation in our modern, industrialised society. A healthy body has mechanisms for eliminating toxins naturally. However, these mechanisms were designed before our society became industrialised and polluted. Chemicals are routinely incorporated into products in our homes, food has become more processed and food production relies on pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. In today's modern world it is not surprising that over the years you are likely to absorb more toxins than you can easily get rid of. Eventually your detoxification pathways can become overwhelmed. As a safety mechanism, toxins that cannot be eliminated are stored in fat cells. As more toxins are ingested, more fat cells are added to store them, causing weight gain. Eventually the fat cells can become unstable and toxins start leaking into the blood. This can set up an inflammatory response to clean up the ‘foreign bodies'. Inflammation causes you to eat more! Leptin is the hormone responsible for helping regulate appetite and energy production. If the body is in balance and everything working as it should, when a person eats enough, leptin is released from fatty tissues. Leptin receptors in the brain are stimulated to limit food intake and increase metabolism to use up the food consumed, thus preserving a balance between energy consumed and energy used, maintaining an optimal weight. However, when a body becomes inflamed, chemicals are released by the fatty tissues to control the inflammation. Studies conducted at Harvard Medical School suggest the chemicals which help to control the inflammation can have a disrupting effect on leptin. This leads to leptin resistance which means the leptin receptors in the brain are not accepting the messages properly. Therefore the balance between energy consumed and energy used is disrupted, appetite is no longer regulated and metabolism slows. The same study showed the same effect on insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar. The body's chemicals which control inflammation have a disrupting effect on insulin causing insulin resistance. This is why there is a strong correlation between being overweight and insulin resistance. A number of studies have shown that obese individuals have high levels of leptin but it is no longer effective. High levels of this hormone are a problem because they further increase inflammation, interfering with the entry of glucose into the cells and with the body's insulin response. This may, in turn, lead to insulin resistance and more fat storage. When you have an increase in fat storage, this will then heighten the inflammatory response and so the vicious cycle continues. Symptoms to look out for:
Food has the power to produce or reduce inflammation Fruits, vegetables and good fats from fish and nuts all help to reduce inflammation, whilst other foods can increase inflammation. Inflammatory foods include high sugar foods, heavily processed foods that are high in colours, flavours and other artificial ingredients and foods that are high in certain fats, such as many processed and fast foods.
Steps to overcoming chronic inflammation and eliminate toxins
Effective natural anti-inflammatory and pain relief options One in four Australians and New Zealanders are currently using pain medications, making these the most commonly used medications in Australia and New Zealand. There are many pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories that are immensely effective in alleviating pain and inflammation. However, some may cause adverse side effects and people are still in chronic pain; their medication is not providing adequate relief. Fortunately nature has provided us with many remarkable herbs which have been used traditionally for centuries to treat acute pain and inflammation. Some of these are:
The combination of hops, rosemary, and olive leaf can also provide excellent long-term anti-inflammatory relief for chronic pain and inflammation. This combination may assist in relieving the pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis and rheumatism, and is safe to take long term. Modern formulations containing these ingredients can be rapid in their action, often reducing symptoms within a few days. There are many natural herbal and homeopathic treatments to help you detoxify and overcome inflammation. These should only be undertaken with the help of a qualified practitioner who can take your individual circumstances into consideration. Some herbs may be contraindicated if taking certain pharmaceutical medications or if sensitive to salicylates. A naturopath can develop a supplement program designed to help you detoxify, overcome inflammation and lose weight naturally and safely. Finally you will be able to break the weight gain - inflammation - toxicity cycle! Narelle Stegehuis, CEO of Mass Attack is a practicing naturopath with over 30,000 hrs of in-clinic experience. Specializing in the natural treatment of women's hormonal imbalances, she has a trained eye for hormonal weight gain. Uniquely, for patient convenience, her programs are offered via the internet. She is both an accomplished writer and recipient of the Australian Naturopathic Excellence Award. To find out if your hormones are causing your symptoms, visit http://www.massattack.com.au/INFLAMMATION_Test.html
Current Drug Targets Inflammation and Allergy. 2005 Jun;4(3):281-6. Macrophages in inflammation. Fujiwara N, Kobayashi K.
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