Join a discussion regarding Healthy Lifestyles, Healing Foods and Weight Loss

[Gerry Davies MD]

A Forum for the latest on Optimum Health and Weight Loss
Dr. Gerry Davies, owner of Lonjevity Superfood Café & Bar www.lonjevity.net

What’s causing our obesity epidemic?
It’s no secret that the majority of the population is now overweight and the trend is accelerating. The cause of the epidemic is now clear but the association with diabetes means there is a heavy price to pay, in pain and suffering and health care costs of chronic diseases. We are talking about much higher rates of heart attacks, strokes, hypertension, diabetes, many cancers, premature aging and all manner of associated diseases.

The connection between Obesity, Glucose Intolerance, Diabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome:
All these are variations of the same underlying condition and are linked by a common cause.
The metabolic syndrome is abdominal obesity, high blood sugar, disordered blood cholesterol and inflammation.
The skyrocketing incidence of diabetes really started after 1980. By 2005 there were 1.4 million new cases ayear, 18 million Americans had type 2 diabetes and 60 million were estimated to have the metabolic syndrome.
Data from the US FDA show that over the same time frame the per capita food consumption has been increasing as well and particularly high glycemic index (HGI) foods. These are High Fructose Corn Syrup, sugar, White Flour, Potatoes, refined corn and White Rice. By 2000 over 70% of the total 2,757 calories consumed per person each day was in the form of HGI foods.

The speed at which High Glycemic carbohydrates are digested and absorbed into the bloodstream determines how much fat is made and stored in the body.

We use no more than 20 grams per hour of glucose for energy. Put simply, if we eat a high glycemic meal like a large Pepsi, French fries and hamburger we could absorb 200 grams of glucose and what we don’t use for energy will be converted to fat.

The amount of glucose in blood and extracellular fluid is only 10 gm and the average American is putting 500 grams of glucose and fructose into their bodies each day.
A typical fast food meal will result in 250 grams (9 oz) of glucose being rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and cause a large increase in blood glucose. Excess Glucose is toxic and blood glucose concentration is under tight control by the action of insulin. Most of the glucose must be converted to triglycerides in the liver. Insulin also directs fat deposition in adipose tissue particularly in the liver itself and other parts of the abdomen. Inflammatory fats (Low Density Lipoproteins, LDL) are produced and anti-inflammatory High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) decrease.

To Summarize

1. Obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and their deadly complications are caused by eating and drinking refined carbohydrates which have now become the staple diet of modern industrial societies and provide over 70% of the calories consumed in the US.

What to do to lose weight and maintain your best health?

1. Be a High Glycemic Food detective and eliminate them as much as possible.
2. Instead consume a healing diet with fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, berries, meat, fish, dairy, eggs etc.
3. Exercise

[Gerry Davies MD]

Hi Lynn, would love to see you at the restaurant sometime. Any ideas or comments, just put them in here, let's get the dialogue going!

[Lynn Clement]

Great blog.....