A team of American and Italian neuroscientists has identified a cellular change in the brain that accompanies obesity. The findings could explain the body’s tendency to maintain undesirable weight levels, rather than an ideal weight, and identify possible targets for pharmacological efforts to address obesity.
I wish they would look for natural ways to overcome this and not just pharmacological means. We train our brains by how we think, what we eat, stress and what we believe. The brain then tries to give us what we want. This unfortunately is not always what is best for us.
Spacefill model of the Cholesterol molecule (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dr Greger says since we humans are not really carnivores we have evolved from plant-eating apes and have learned to produce all the cholesterol we need. We also can produce inflammation as needed (cut). Cats are carnivores and do not produce inflammation or cholesterol on their own but get it from their food, namely meat. If we eat animal products we get excessive cholesterol and the stuff that produces inflammation. Chicken and eggs are NOT safe. They produce inflammation and cholesterol in us. Inflammation can lead to cancer and cholesterol can lead to heart disease. The only way to completely avoid these excessive intakes is a strict vegan diet. Watch this important video.
There have been articles online about how Bacon might be good for you. Really! If you believe that I have a few eBay items to sell you. Come on, there might be a substance that has a positive affect on a ring worms life. It might even be true when they do the tests on a mouse and finally humans but there are many more bad things like cholesterol and saturated fat. If someone did a study and found arsenic has life extending substance would you take it? No of course not because it also has other substances that will kill you!
You must be very careful when you view articles and ads these days. They are geared to sell you something and to change any negative attitude you might have on that item. Look at the drug industry and how it is legal to be a billionaire on many people suffering. Yes some drugs we need but the drugs being sold today do more harm than good. Be a smart reader … look closely and ask a very simple question: “Who benefits from this ad or article?”
Many people I know have said to me, “I love bacon and I couldn’t live without it!”. The truth is you can’t live with it!
Anne Sture Tucker writes a BLOG that asks the question “how active are we in fighting disease in our bodies?” Do we just take it stride, eat what we want and then are surprised when we get a disease or do we take an active participation in disease fighting. This article gives 6 things to do to become more active in fighting disease. Most of these have been discussed in this BLOG as well. Read, educate yourself, take action and live a healthy life!
Dr. Greger’s video below, shows how eating more nuts and seeds which contain phytosterols will lower our bodies cholesterol levels. Basically our body takes a certain amount of cholesterol and absorbs it while flushing out the excess as waste. Phytosterols look chemically similar to cholesterol. In fact they fool the body into accepting them in place of cholesterol. They do not have any of the negative reactions that cholesterol has. If the body is absorbing some cholesterol and some phytosterols, there are less amounts of cholesterol being absorbed. More goes to waste.
We are getting more obese and disease is on the rise. There is a link between obesity and chronic illness. It probably is not the cause of it but is a contributing factor. According to Denice Ferko-Adams, Director Villanova University’s new MacDonald Center for Obesity Prevention and Education:
• 34% of American’s are obese
• 12 states had an obesity percentage over 30% in 2010
• 0 States had an obesity percentage over 30% in 2000
Why have we become such an obese country? Why is Europe trimming down? It is three things: diet, diet and diet! You are what you eat.
I have sisters, family and friends that have told me my BLOG and book has changed their lives for the better. They are more aware of how our bodies react to our environment and what disease is. Most admit they, deep down, always new eating lots of steak and potatoes and no vegetables was bad for them. They knew that their sweet tooth was going to cost them more than a big belly. We can change for the better. We can do easy exercises to get our bodies moving. We can reduce the animal fat and cholesterol in our diets. We can reduce the amount of sugary foods we consume. Small changes lead to bigger ones. Not only will you be rewarded with a better looking body but one that can fight disease better. Our choices are very clear you can a) be overweight and look bad, have many aliments, feel tired and run down, take a lot of drugs with side effects and end up with a poor quality of life in your last 15-20 years or b) look great with a body your proud of, take little or no drugs, feel energetic and happy, live to your fullest right up to the end. It’s your choice!