The Problem of Stubborn Weight Gain

by Elora Gabriel

In the fall issue, we promised to write an article on the problem of weight loss. We have been researching this issue and have some thoughts to offer, but we have not come up with any simple answers to the epidemic of obesity which is plaguing the American public. We will offer a few thoughts on the subject however. These ideas are aimed at those people who are already exercising, eating a correct diet, and otherwise taking care of their health. It is in these cases that some unexplained factor or factors are causing an inability to lose weight.

THYROID. Sometimes weight gain is related to low thyroid function and a sluggish metabolism. While we carry several weight loss products, we have often remarked that we've had more customers lose more weight (sometimes large amounts, such as 20-40 pounds) from taking Thyodine, than from any of our weight loss products. We would be the first to admit that not every overweight person loses weight on this product. Here is a letter from a happy customer in Henryville, PA, however:

"I am 58 years old and in 1996 I weighed 188 pounds (I am 5'4" tall). All of a sudden I started gaining weight, even though I eat very nutritiously and like the proverbial bird. When I got up to 150 pounds I was unbelievably frustrated. I went on the Atkins diet and while my husband lost weight, I continued to gain. I spent 5 days a week for 8 months at Curves... still continued to gain. I begged for a thyroid test, finally they did and of course said everything was normal. Last spring on Mother's Day I weighed in at 172 pounds... I was so miserable, uncomfortable and embarrassed! Well about that time I found about this product on the Internet. I think God for that day! I have lost 34 pounds and have not done anything different other than to take this fantastic product. Thank you so much - you truly changed my life!"

YEAST AND FUNGUS. We have also had reports from some customers that they lost weight after taking Syclovir, an anti-yeast and anti-fungal product. The reason behind this, we believe, is that yeast and fungus overgrowth can severely compromise hormonal balance, including thyroid function, all of which influences the metabolism. Yeast and fungus in the body can also adversely affect blood sugar, and blood sugar problems can certainly contribute to weight gain. Here is a letter from a customer in Oregon:

"I would like you to know that I have gone down from a 2X or size 22 to a 16 since starting the [grain free] diet of Dr. Mercola and taking Syclovir. I am so happy. When I arrived in Oregon my pants were falling off and I didn't know how much I lost, until finally about 2 weeks ago I went into a store and asked the saleswoman what size she thought I would be? I was surprised to see I was a size 16 jeans. I was on cloud nine. I know I will reach my goal of a size 9. I do exercise daily too. I want to add that even thyroid supplements didn't help me lose weight until I used Syclovir."

Several of our staff members found that we had less hunger and less carbohydrate cravings when taking Syclovir, and our blood sugar was better balanced. Again, we emphasize that there is no one solution for every person who has a stubborn weight problem.

TOXICITY. I believe that another cause for weight gain is toxicity. We don't have to belabor the fact of how polluted our world is today. There are several weight loss/detoxifying products on the market, such as Isagenix, which claim a high success rate for weight loss simply due to their ability to detoxify the cells and the organs of elimination. Here is a quote from the Isagenix website at www.isagenix.com:

"Chemicals and toxins accumulate in fat tissue. The more chemicals and toxins, the more fat the body manufactures. Have you ever tried to lose weight only to be disappointed? Well, perhaps now you know the reason why! Most diets, lotions, pills, potions, and powders use unhealthy and potentially dangerous ingredients, such as ma huang, ephedra, and caffeine that promise fast weight loss. Yes, but the weight loss is primarily water and lean muscle. Minimal fat is lost because these products do not address the cleansing of the system.

Without proper cleansing the lost lean muscle and water return as fat, thus people are actually fatter versions of their prior selves. Chemicals and toxins are bound within fat tissue, and only specifically blended nutrients can contribute to releasing the chemicals from fat. Excess fat will literally melt away at an alarming yet safe and effective pace. This is the healthy alternative to nutritionally deficient, disappointing and potentially deadly diets."

We do not carry Isagenix products at this time, but would be delighted to hear from anyone who has tried them. We also feel that there are many other good ways to detoxify the body. Doing a regular liver flush is a good idea if you can tolerate it (some very ill or sensitive people cannot). Heavy metals can be removed by chelation therapy or oral products such as Metal-Free (see www.metal-free.com or call 877-804-3258.) Colonic irrigations can help to remove waste deposits stored in the colon. We believe that Isagenix is correct in that cleansing also needs to take place on the cellular level.

Further on this topic, Jim Haszinger from World Health Mall writes: "Fat cells hold onto fat because drugs and toxins are held there, and they [the fat cells] protect the body from their harmful effects. This includes a person who is very acidic because these acids are held in fat cells. Also a person cannot lose weight if the liver is congested."

THE PROBLEMS OF ACIDOSIS, STRESS, AND EXCESS CORTISOL. To apparently digress for a moment, we agree that an acid constitution will cause a multitude of health problems. There are many ways to alkalize the body. Greens powder such as Green Magma or alfalfa juice powder are very alkalizing. Some people use an alkalizing water filter. Others add alkalizing drops such as the AlkaLife to their water. We offer Acid Redux from NOW foods as a simple and cost-effective supplement to reduce acidity in the body. Acid Redux is only $10.00 for 90 lozenges.

One cause of acidosis in the body is stress. An article written by Susan E. Brown, PHD, and Russell Jaffe, MD, states: "In contemporary Western society, stress-induced acidosis is more the rule than the exception... The excess acid load promoting metabolic acidosis is acquired by [several factors including] maladaptation to stress (distress-induced excess cortisol)."

Let us now move to the connection between stress and weight gain. Most people today have a high stress level. This can cause chronically high cortisol which is known to cause weight gain, particularly around the waist. Excess cortisol has become quite common, and can be detected through saliva hormone testing. Cortisol is the "stress hormone" and is released in the body during times of stress. However, following the stressful event, cortisol levels can remain elevated over a long period of time. Tension from your morning commute could keep your cortisol levels high during much of the day. And if you're under chronic stress, your levels could remain high day and night.

How does excess cortisol cause weight gain? One of the functions of cortisol is to trigger a "glucocorticoid effect" - i.e. to help the body produce blood sugar from proteins. Excess blood sugar is then deposited as fat. In a severely stressed person, the body may even go into a catabolic state. This is a state where the body is breaking down its own muscle mass in order to get protein, while then converting excess blood sugar to fat. Excess cortisol not only promotes weight gain, but it causes the body to lay down fat in the abdominal area rather than the hips and thighs. Fat in this area has been called "toxic fat" because abdominal fat is strongly correlated with heart disease.

Excess cortisol also contributes to bone loss. Here is a very interesting quote from Dr. Christiane Northrup, a well known holistic doctor and women's educator:

"Osteoporosis is very common in women who are depressed and that is one in four women. It's because of higher cortisol levels than normal. That is the stress hormone. I think that is the predominant cause of osteoporosis—depression and unabated stress resulting in a hypercortisol state that dissolves the bones over time."

Another side effect of high cortisol is intolerance of progesterone. Over the years, I have found that a number of women cannot tolerate natural progesterone. Questioning generally elicited the fact that these women either had endured a long period of intense stress, or knew they had high cortisol, or both. Cortisol and progesterone occupy the same receptor site in the cells. This is why a woman with chronically high cortisol will feel worse when she uses progesterone. In addition, women who develop excess progesterone levels over a period of time will also develop high cortisol, since all the receptor sites are taken and there is nowhere for these hormones to go. Please see my article The Problem of Excess Progesterone for more information.

There are a number of natural cortisol-lowering products on the market. Seriphos and Holy Basil can be obtained from Life Extension Vitamins at www.lifeextensionvitamins.com, or 1-888-771-3905. Relora is a popular stress-reducing product which is designed to reduce stress and therefore to alleviate stress hormones and stress-related eating. We have recently added Relora from NOW foods to our product inventory. This product is priced much better than most cortisol-reducing supplements, and we are offering it for $18.00 for sixty 300 mg.

To summarize, we have a number of conditions in our society that are just as epidemic as is the number of overweight people. These include: chronic stress, pollution, acidosis, low thyroid conditions, and candida/fungus overgrowth. As we have seen, many of these conditions are inter-related. Therefore, while we are unable to offer a "one-pill" solution to the prevalent and very serious problem of weight gain, we hope that the above information can point the way for those who are willing to work on their health issues in a holistic way.