CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — Sometimes, the inability to lose weight is caused by two factors that are rampant these days: inflammation and excess insulin. Many studies show links between inflammation, insulin and weight gain.
In fact, when researchers inject healthy subjects with inflammatory immune cells, they develop insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition associated with a high-carb diet. What’s worse, excess body fat itself is inflammatory and promotes insulin resistance, getting you caught in a vicious cycle.
Further promoting this vicious cycle is the impact of inflammation and insulin resistance on the brain – inflammation promotes leptin resistance. Leptin is a hormone that regulates appetite, metabolism and fat storage. When people develop insulin resistance, they typically become leptin-resistant as well.
The result? Feeling chronically hungry, packing on weight and becoming weight-loss resistant.
Finally, gut inflammation and gut health problems often trigger endotoxemia – when toxic byproducts from bad gut bacteria enter into the bloodstream through an inflamed and damaged gut wall. This triggers high levels of inflammation. In other words, your gut health problems may be playing a role in your stubborn excess weight.
The same inflammatory pathways are activated in both obesity and infection. Why?
Other common inflammatory triggers include chronic stress, gluten, dairy, inflammatory grains (that can differ from person to person), a high-carb diet, processed and junk foods, poor sleep, gut health issues and toxins. Put all these together and you’ve got a perfect storm for weight gain.
The key to sustainable weight loss is to dampen inflammation and to minimize foods that spike insulin, like ultra-processed foods. It’s more about the quality of food you eat than anything else. People wanting instant results may have to be patient – sometimes, it can take a while to correct your health problems before the weight stops dropping off.
To learn more about our services and to schedule a free consultation, please visit RedRiverHealthandWellness.com. We work with your prescribing physician for optimal results. Do not discontinue medication or hormone replacement therapy without consulting your prescribing physician.
Written by JOSH REDD, chiropractic physician at RedRiver Health and Wellness Center.
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About Josh Redd
Josh Redd, MS, DABFM, DAAIM, is a chiropractic physician and author of the Amazon bestselling book “The Truth About Low Thyroid.” Redd owns seven functional medicine clinics in the western United States and sees patients from across the country and around the world who are suffering from challenging autoimmune, endocrine and neurological disorders.
He studied immunology, virology and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins where he is a MaPHB candidate. He also teaches thousands of health care practitioners about functional medicine and immunology, thyroid health, neurology, lab testing and more.
Resources
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