Do You Have Trouble Losing Weight?

A lot of people find it hard to lose weight. It seems that no matter what diet they try, it doesn't work, even though that diet works for others. There are many reasons for this but there is one factor that can break any weight loss program.

Inflammation is the villain. Not the inflammation that you experience with a scraped knee or a sprained ankle; this type of inflammation is an important part of the healing process. I'm talking about general body, "silent" inflammation - killer inflammation. Silent inflammation is destructive and at the core of many serious illnesses, including heart disease, stroke and autoimmune disease.
Silent Inflammation also affects important weight-regulating hormones. You have two main appetite regulation hormones, Ghrelin and Leptin. Ghrelin tells your brain when you are hungry and you need to eat. Leptin lets your brain know when you're full. But if your brain doesn't get the "I'm full" signal from Leptin, you will want to eat and eat. No matter what diet you try, it isn't going to work because you're never satisfied.

So how does this relate to inflammation? One of the most important inflammatory related substances in the body is hsCRP, or high sensitivity C-reactive protein. C-reactive protein is produced in the liver and the more inflamed you are, the more hsCRP the liver will make. The hsCRP attaches to Leptin, binding it up so that the Leptin can't cross the blood / brain barrier to tell your brain you are full. You are now "leptin resistant" and will have a harder time feeling full and satisfied after eating.
If you want to lower your hsCRP and "unbind" the Leptin, you must decrease your inflammation level. How do you do this?

• Cut the carbs - Sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup, and starch, especially refined grains and white potatoes are inflammatory foods. Avoid all of these for now to give your body a rest.


• Reduce stress - Emotional, mental and physical stress can all raise your hsCRP. Over-exercising is very hard on the body. I recommend Burst Training or moderate weight lifting rather than intense prolonged exercise


• Get enough sleep - Most adults need 7-8 hours of sleep. Teens need 8-10


• Support your adrenal glands - Reducing stress is important for this. There are also helpful herbal and nutritional supplements.


• Keep your insulin under control - Excess insulin is very inflammatory. Don't skip meals, avoid overeating, include adequate healthy proteins and fats - from grass fed meats and wild caught fish in your diet, and cut the refined and simple starches and sugars


• Take nutritional and herbal supplements to cool the inflammation. Turmeric, boswelia, resveratrol, garlic, ginger and cinnamon are among the helpful herbs.

It is a good idea to have your hsCRP level checked regularly. It's a very affordable test. Your hsCRP should be below 0.5, regardless of the range your lab considers normal. Once you get the hsCRP down to where it should be, you may find that you can finally lose that stubborn weight!

Dr. Vernon Redd is a chiropractic physician in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He also has Bachelor degrees in Biology and Speech Communications. He received his Doctorate of Chiropractic degree from the National University of Health Sciences, and has been offering holistic and alternative health care since 1979. For more information, please visit his website at http://www.docredd.com.

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