Inflammation: Public Enemy #1

I was speaking with an athlete this morning when I was totally blown away by her comment, "I can't believe it, but I cleaned up my diet again by cutting dairy and grains and lost 4 pounds in a day."

This got me thinking about mechanisms of fat metabolism and weight loss strategies again which inevitably led me right back to Public Enemy #1: Inflammation.

SO so much of our battle of the bulge is the result of our body's inability to fully process the food we eat and eliminate the oxidative waste.  Take gluten for example. When the gut is irritated by the large, undigestable molecules of the protein gluten, the body's natural response is to create an immune reaction.  In fact, in the vast majority of us, consuming grains is a toxic event.

The immune response initiates a cascade of activities including the release of macrophages and histamines.  As these scavengers hit the scene, the process of inflammation begins in the wall of the gut.  As this process is prolonged over time due to repetitive exposure to the perceived toxin, the permeability of the lining of the gut increases.  Basically, this means that the tube has sprung a leak!  The poo, that is supposed to stay inside the gut, leaks into areas where no one wants poo to leak.

As a result, an even larger, more aggressive immune response is initiated and more inflammation is produced.  This process of a leaky gut can be compared to a sewer pipe that breaks and leaks into Lake Le Homme Dieu.  You won't notice it for a few days, weeks or maybe years, but eventually....gross.  The same is true in your gut.

This very fact is the reason someone like this athlete can give up grains and dairy and lose 4 pounds in a day.  The cleaner the lake, the healthier the fish.  And, the cleaner your diet, the less inflammation you have and the healthier your gut.  Take an all out assault on getting rid of inflammation by taking these simple steps:

• Remove all grains and processed dairy from your diet.
• Avoid hydrogenated oils like corn oil, vegetable oil, etc that are high in Omega 6 Fatty Acids
• Increase intake of Omega 3 Fatty Acids
• Limit the number of yolks in your eggs to a 1:3 ratio with the whites
• Consume 1/3 of your calories each day from cruciferous vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli
• Eliminate all carbonated beverages
• Stay properly hydrated with at least half your body in ounces of water each day

Do this, and within days you will feel a difference in you body and see a difference on the scale.