Enhance Your Health
Health Tip of the Week: Curbing Obesity
A new study in PLOS Genetics suggests that your body has a self-fulfilling prophecy when it comes to a propensity for being thin or obese. In other words, if you’re doing everything you can to lose a few pounds and it seems like nothing works, it could be your genes are programmed to work against those efforts — or on the other end of the scale, with you, CNN Health reports.
While the genetics of it may pose a challenge to maintaining a healthy weight, researchers in this study said you still need to make sure you eat plenty of the right foods, participate in regular exercise and practice other healthy behaviours.
It’s always interesting when a new study comes out that infers you’re only as good as the genes you’re born with because, no matter what the latest study says, you still don’t have to let your life be defined by your genes. It simply means you have different challenges to deal with.
The important thing to know is obesity is a deadly health condition, and there are many ways to be the best you can be, no matter what your genes are. To that end, A number of identified factors have contributed to rising rates of obesity, including a sedentary lifestyle, poor dietary choices and limited access to health care.
And that means, even if you do have the so-called obesity gene, you don’t have to allow yourself to be a victim of your genes.
That’s where taking control of your health comes into play. For instance, other research shows that if your social contacts are obese, you may very well become obese too — but that has everything to do with choices you make around your friends, as opposed to your genes “catching” obesity from them.
A more important predictor of whether you gain weight has to do with your lifestyle as well as what you eat. Here are four lifestyle choices that can influence your weight management efforts — and they are all choices you can easily make:
- Fuel source: Eating fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates is one of the smartest choices you can make to not only manage your weight, but also take control of your health. There are significant benefits to this strategy, from reducing overall inflammation to reducing your risk of cancer and managing your weight.
- Hydration: Your body requires adequate hydration to rid waste products through your kidneys, maintain blood circulation and keep your brain functioning optimally. Before feeling thirsty, you will first experience hunger.
- Quality sleep: Sleep deprivation takes a terrible toll on many who live a fast-paced, never-stop lifestyle. Unfortunately, the cost may be an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, reduced brain function and an increased risk of obesity.
- Exercise and movement: These are two distinct factors. Exercise occurs when your heart and breathing rate increase and your body may begin sweating, such as when swimming, running, biking or rowing. Movement is a function of getting up out of your chair and walking or stretching. Both are necessary factors and have profoundly powerful benefits to your health and longevity.
Chiropractic Thought for the Week
“The wonders of chiropractic are so simple…You could discuss the whole thing in one sentence. The correction of the subluxation allows the body to work at its full potential, in the same way that the actual subluxation, by its very presence, inhibits the function of the body.” ~ Reggie Gold, D.C.
(The subluxation is the misalignment of the vertebra. The misalignment interferes with nerve flow by irritating and disrupting nerve impulses. Nerve flow controls every function of the body and without proper nervous system function, you cannot be healthy. ~ Dr. J.Z)