The answer is:  While the issue of being overweight and obese receives plenty of lip service, the facts show the problem is worsening.

 Perhaps these commentaries are adding to the cacophony.  But, if the few of you, who are willing to take this information to heart, take action the project has value.

 Frankly, why anyone could possibly confuse fast, convenient and packaged products, masquerading as food, with the “real stuff” is mystifying. 

 Also, these commentaries were intended to dispel the amorphous picture of health that has been concocted by advertisers to sell products.  Health is not an emaciated person cavorting on the beach; nor the slogan “Big is beautiful.”  Health is arising to greet the day – not dreading the hours you’re awake.

The situation is bad enough when people choose, knowingly or unknowingly, to commit dietary suicide – but, when they condemn their children to shorter lives, with more suffering, it must change.

 And, don’t confuse these writings with some projection of gloom and doom – or worse yet, a call for action from a governmental agency – they are a plea to your better senses.

 Please, stop teaching your children your bad dietary habits and, if you can, change your ways, too.  It is easier to lead by example than to brow beat your kids into eating something you don’t eat.

 Time is the great equalizer.  When you begin dreading the hours, you can’t say you weren’t advised.

 Here is a good place to start changing the way thing are in your life.

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The answer is always:  Some can but none will.  You are probably asking yourself:  “What?”

The answer revolves around a simple concept.

All food contains energy (calories) that fuels your body along with nutrition (protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and water) that feeds your body.  In a perfect world, you would be consuming a diet that creates two equations that zero out – which is the basis for the balanced diet.

The equation would be:
Energy expended = Energy consumed
Nutritional needs = Nutrition consumed produces a healthy, energetic body

An out of balance equation produces predictable outcomes.

When the energy expended is less than the energy consumed the equation is:
Energy expended + FAT = Energy consumed

When the nutritional needs are less than the nutrition consumed the equation is:
Nutritional needs + UNHEALTHY = nutrition consumed

Mathematicians are likely pulling their hair out, but the point is when you are making balanced choices, you will experience the preferred outcome.

The report on obesity further indicated that most obese people are malnourished, which would seem to be an oxymoron.  However, if you consider the amount of package, process and fast food (and their food values) that is consumed today, the findings in the report are easy to understand.

The conclusion, in the report, is that 2/3 of the population is fat, malnourished, less healthy and likely to die sooner than any generation before them.

Finding the Silver Bullet

This is the precise population that is searching for silver bullets; natural, pharmaceutical or medical, to substitute for their judgment.  Writing from my perspective (I’m not a Medical Doctor or Pharmacist), these people should balance the equation by choosing whole food, drinking water, exercise and rest.  All of the excuses in the world will not change the inevitable outcome.

The good news is that, once they are doing the best they can, supplements can help fill the gap in the equation.

Some Can But None Will

In the final equation, you must change the things you do to change the way things are.

How healthy are you?  Take the Test

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Those of you who are trying to realize your New Year resolution to lose weight are, in all likelihood, frustrated.  The fact is:  metabolism is turned down every fall; it is restored every spring.  Overwhelming this cycle is not very likely. 

Take heart!  Spring is just around the corner.

Children, all over the U.S., will soon be repeating a simple poem:
Spring has sprung, the grass has riz,
I wonder where the flowers is?

Plants will be budding, putting on leaves with blossoms springing toward the sun.  Animals will be awakening from their winter doldrums, or their hibernation, to welcome the return of the season of plenty.

It is the cycle of all living things on Earth; it is basic survival and, it is a testament to the adaptability of life on Earth.

Even though people live in modern homes, with central heat, abundant food and water, this natural cycle exerts the same, unavoidable impact on the human body.

There are a few steps you can take can assure you that your metabolism will come roaring back when it is time.

Are you 3 – 6’s, 2 – 9’s or 1 – 18?
It’s time for a spring-cleaning.  Your bowels should move at least once every day – preferably after each meal (3 –  six inch cigar-shaped.)  Even then, it is a good idea to clean up any residual wastes from the winter diet.  Supplements are especially effective in that regard so, choose an effective supplement to refresh your bowels.

Are you suffering a hangover from the holiday goodies and/or craving carbs, sugar and starches?
They, and most other winter foods, are notoriously short of trace minerals. Often referred to as “The Currency of Life”, trace minerals deficiencies have been known to contribute to a listless feeling, cravings and constant hunger.  Once again, the fastest way to address the issue is with a full-spectrum trace mineral supplement until fresh, mature vegetables are readily available.  By the way, if you are a vegetable-hater, you should consider trace mineral supplementation year-round.

Feed your Metabolism.
The 3 Day Diet, once attributed to the Cleveland Clinic, has been around for a long time.  None-the-less, it is still an effective way to feed your metabolism.  Follow the instructions, wait a week to repeat the diet. Two cycles is usually sufficient to jump start metabolism.

If you have packed on more than a few pounds, weight management supplements are in order.
However, caution in order, too.  Some weight loss supplements rely on stimulants to “spike” wake-time metabolism.  Advertisements for these types of supplements often emphasize energy as their most notable characteristic.  The tendency to consume more than enough sweets, bread and pasta, starchy vegetables, and caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, soda and energy drinks) may already be taxing metabolic functions.  Adding another source of stimulants may not be the best idea.

A better choice may be weight management supplements formulated to support metabolic function while managing appetite, cravings and alertness.  While you won’t get the “buzz”, you won’t be anxious and/or jittery either.

Feed your body.
While it seems counter-intuitive, you must eat to lose weight.  Starvation and low-calorie dieting send a signal to your body that food is in short supply so it goes into survival mode – protecting fat and reducing metabolism. 

What you are consuming is the issue.
Before you put something in your mouth, ask yourself one simple question:  “Is this going to feed my body something it needs?”  If the answer is no, don’t eat it.  You already know the answer when you consume junk, packaged, comfort and fast food, so don’t eat them. 

Eat, eat, eat.
Eat breakfast, eat vegetables for lunch, eat a healthy supper early.  You should eat a baseball sized apple or pear for mid-morning and afternoon snacks. (Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and/or a dash of lime juice for variety.)   Here are 10 healthy, easy to fix recipes.

Drink water to help flush away the byproducts of burning fat – at least 8 – 8 ounces glasses each day.

Lose it and keep it off!
Besides appearance, losing weight is a healthy choice.  Researchers have shown, time and time again, that maintaining a healthy weight will reduce your chances of enduring many of the health issues that are confronting others.

Would you care to know how healthy you are?  Take the test.

Editor’s Note:  Rather than the prevalent “miracle in a bottle” paradigm, we believe maintaining health is a life-style. We have developed a strategy that promotes and maintains health.  You can review our work at the Natural Health Consulting Center at NURPO.

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There’s always someone who is willing to tell you why you’re too heavy, isn’t there! Can’t you hear ‘em right now! You eat too much! Just stop eating so much, start exercising and the pounds will melt away.

Everyone knows someone who lost a lot of weight eating less and exercising more – don’t they. What can you do when that doesn’t work ?

Don’t stop eating ! It may be the worst thing you can do to yourself.

There are four reasons why otherwise healthy people are overweight:

• metabolism
• digestion
• prescription drugs
• dietary choices

Metabolism

Metabolism is the body’s engine.  During the day, catabolic metabolism provides the energy for all of the components of alert, waking hours activity. The function, use and overuse of the various components of body during waking hours stresses and damages tissue.

During sleep, anabolic metabolism provides the energy to replace the 300 billion cells that have worn out as well as any tissue that has been damaged and stressed during the day.

Calories are the measurement of the energy potential of food. Fats and carbohydrates have an energy potential of nine calories per gram; protein has four. Researchers estimate that 60% to 70% of all calories are used for metabolism.

The body’s metabolic furnace has a thermostat that regulates the use of the calories. It moves the “temperature” up and down depending on the need for energy and the availability of calories. Also, it establishes a set point for stored energy (fat) by considering the frequency and quality of the food we eat it controls the storage of fat – putting away energy (calories) in case of famine (periods of low calorie intake).

People with a low metabolic set point, besides being overweight, experience low energy levels and reduced alertness. Often, they are just as tired in the morning as they were the night before.

Missing meals or eating low quality food triggers two responses: reducing basic metabolism (both daytime and nighttime) and increasing fat storage.

Trying to lose weight by skipping meals and/or dieting is like creating a personal famine. It is effective because the calories are taken away faster than the body can reestablish a new set point. However, the body will ultimately establish a new lower metabolic set point that matches the lower available calories.

When you stop starving yourself, the body perceives that the “famine” has ended and begins to establish a new set-point. However, because you have started eating again, you are adding calories faster than the thermostat can adjust, you will gain weight. Worse yet, sometimes the body fails to increase the set point which results in significant fat storage from a modest increase of calories.

Nutraceuticals are helpful to establish or reestablish a higher day time metabolic set point. The benefits are controlling appetite, craving, increasing energy, alertness and, because these herbs increase day time metabolism, caloric demand increases and the user experiences weight change.

Night time metabolism is important too!  A nighttime Nutraceutical combines amino acids, the building blocks for new tissue, with herbs to establish a higher night time metabolic set point.

Lose Weight While You Sleep
Nighttime nutraceutical supplements address night time metabolism creating an increase caloric demand to support the repair and replacement of cells and tissue which leads to a more toned body,which,  in turn, burns more calories and the user experiences weight change.

Plus, there is a sculpting effect” that tones and reshapes the body – your cloths will fit better and as an added benefit is the user will arise refreshed and energized in the morning  Learn more about a Nighttime Weight Management Nutraceutical supplement.

Digestion

Digestion, often overlooked, may cause people to be overweight. Digestion is not magic – it is a process for turning food into substances that people need to live – sugars and fats for energy, proteins to sustain the body. The very substances that sustain and benefit the body that, when poorly digested, become toxins that can poison your body.

People with inefficient digestion, besides being overweight, describe themselves as pear shaped, with a distended abdomen.

They experience a bloated feeling after they eat, usually accompanied with gas. Poor digestion may contribute to periodic bouts of constipation and diarrhea. Food sensitivity and heartburn are other aspects of inefficient digestion.

Digestion is an intricate dance between substances called enzymes, stomach acids and intestinal microbes. One partner preparing food for the next with one goal … optimal health. It is an orderly process:

1. Digestion begins when you chew the food. Chewing shreds the food in smaller and smaller pieces then mixing it with saliva, which is actually an enzyme called amylase, begins a process which liquefies the mixture of food.
2. After a resting period to allow the food to fully liquify, the liquified food is treated with stomach acid.
3. The prepared liquid is neutralized and delivered to an army of friendly microbes to be converted into nutritional substances which are passed through the intestinal wall to support the body.

Essential ingredients for the liquification process are food enzymes which are contained in all of the raw, uncooked food. Processing and cooking neutralizes these essential enzymes which sets off a chain reaction in the digestive system.

1. Shredded food is partially liquified, more stomach acid is produced to compensate, the higher than normal acid mixture is partially neutralized.
2. Microbial action, that converts the food you eat to the nutrition to support your body and your health, is diminished because the microbes are especially sensitive to acidity (some strains of intestinal microbes may be completely destroyed).
3. The mass of undigesting food moves slowly along the intestinal tract and begins to spoil. Sugars and starches ferment, fats become rancid and proteins decay.
4. The person puffs up because fermentation fills the body with carbon dioxide. The abdomen distends when important organs swell because they are being bathed in the poisons spilling out of the rotting material in the intestines.

There are two distinct requirements to restore digestion:

1. introduce essential enzymes that are lost when food is processed or cooked
2. restore friendly microbial balance.

Nutraceutical enzyme supplements, when taken at mealtime, provide the food enzymes essential for the liquification of the food.  Learn more about an enzymes Nutraceutical supplement.

An exciting breakthrough in the industry is the ability grow and prepare friendly intestinal microbes than can be reintroduced into the body to help restore microbe populations lost because of agricultural residues, antibiotics and dietary choice.  Learn more about a probiotic Nutraceutical supplement.

Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs may cause people to be overweight. Birth control, hormone replacement, blood pressure, heart, diabetes, and anti-depressant medications often contribute to weight gain. It is important to read all of the materials and follow all of the instructions that accompany the prescription. The pharmacist provides you with a document that you must read. It describes the drug and the negative side effects that other people have experienced when taking the drug. The paper instructs you to notify your doctor immediately if you experience one of the side effects. Your doctor has options that may be more appropriate for your needs. If you need a prescription drug, take it as instructed by you doctor.

There are drugs that are elective, notably birth control and hormone replacement therapies. Most of the prescribed drugs in these categories warn users that other people have experienced weight gain when using the drugs. Do not be surprised if you gain weight. Because these drugs are elective, you must decide if you want to be heavy, or not. Investigate other options.

A case in point is hormone replacement therapy. A long term study of a frequently prescribed drug sponsored by the Institute of Health (a part of the Federal Drug Administration) to verify the effectiveness of this drug was discontinued because of safety concerns in mid 2002. For years, menopausal women have been taking this pill prescribed by their Gynecologists. The warning about the side effects were there all along, few people paid attention. This impact of this study has women clamoring for alternatives.

Alternatives have existed for quite some time. Supplement formulators have developed herbal supplements that smooth normal hormone fluctuations for women of child bearing years and help ease hormone transition during and after menopause. Learn more about a Nutraceutical supplement formulated for the special needs of women. Dietary Choices

Dietary choices are huge factors to consider for controlling weight.

What you eat is as important, if not more important, than how much you eat. For example, researchers devised an experiment that caused laboratory subjects to become overweight eating a calorie-controlled diet. Each group maintained the same exercise level and ate the same number of calories. One group of subjects was fed a “super market” diet of refined and processed food; the second group received a low fat, high fiber diet. The results of the 60 week study were: 30 % fat for the high fiber, low fat group; 51% fat for the super market group’s weight.

Most people have a taste for refined carbohydrates – table sugar, milk and dairy products, white flour and starches like white rice and potatoes -  and, manufacturers know it!  If you cut your portions of these foods by 1/2 you will lose weight – and you will feel healthier, avoid energy crashes and much more.

Read the labels of packaged products at the supermarket diet. The first or second ingredient in many of the things we buy is sugar. White flour is almost as bad. While is may be disguised as enriched or fortified flour, it is a refined carbohydrate just the same. The trouble is refined carbohydrates require minimum action by the digestive tract to be converted into glucose (energy for the body). When these spikes in blood sugar occur without need for the energy, the body turns much of it into fat. The drop in glucose level triggers a hunger sensation. This sugar crash is why you eat so often.

Natural sugars, such as those in fruit, honey, molasses etc. and whole grains require more digestive action that slows the release of the glucose. The slower,time release aspects of complex carbohydrates provides a steady, time released source of energy for the body. Complex carbohydrates, eaten like they are grown, help keep you less fat.

There are other issues to consider. Water for instance. People need water – period. Not coffee, not soda, not tea – WATER! At least 8 – 8 ounce glass every day. People confuse thirsty with hungry all of the time. If people knew the symptoms of dehydration, one of which being bloating, they could avoid many of the complaints that nag them everyday.

Fat is another issue. Low fat this and that. What people need to know is animal fat is the enemy. Oils from vegetables, olive oil for instance, contain essential fatty acids that are just what they say – essential. Nuts oils have similar characteristics.

A common observation is that Americans are obese and, at the same time, they lack the essential nutrients to keep them healthy. More times than not, people mistake obesity with overeating when in fact, they aren’t eating enough . . . of the right food. Often time, when people provide the nutrition missing from their diet, is the best weight management program. willpower. Filling the gap between what you are eating and what you should be consuming, with a quality Nutraceutical supplement, helps the body lose weight and gain willpower.

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