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Getting rid of unhealthy fat
Fat? Healthy? Yes, we need some fat, yet as a country, most of us have way too much. Colorado was recently in the news for having the lowest rate of obesity in the nation, at 15 percent. In 1994, Alabama was in the news for having a 15 percent obesity rate, but back then, 15 percent was the highest in the country.
As a nation, we are heading in the wrong direction very fast. For the first time in recorded history, life expectancy rates are lowering. Unless we can change our health habits, our children and grandchildren will not live as long as we do, and it’s related to our levels of unhealthy fat.
The simple answer we always hear is that people gain weight because they consume more calories than they burn. Yet, in the wild, fat in animals maintains set amounts, even when calories vary. Scientists have put hibernating squirrels on controlled diets, but right on schedule, their fat tissue grows in preparation for winter. Come spring, the reverse happens. Even when fed abundantly and activity is limited, the fat vanishes on cue. These fat-controlling mechanisms exist in all animals, even humans.
Obviously, some aspects of modern life have made our fat unhealthy. Commonly known suspects include highly processed carbohydrates such as high fructose corn syrup and the sedentary nature of modern life. In addition to proper diet and exercise, factors that can help you lose unhealthy fat include temperature, sleep and genetic disposition.
Chill out for healthy fat
Inside our fat that we can see is a layer of tissue called brown fat; it burns regular fat as fuel. Because we live mainly in controlled climates, our brown fat’s ability to burn is weakened. Exposure to cold can make brown fat healthier, but in Phoenix, real cold can be hard to come by. Here are a few tricks and the resulting calorie burn. Consume 500 ml of ice water on an empty stomach upon waking to burn 100 calories; 15 minutes in a tub of cold water with a 20-pound bag of ice burns 200 calories; and a three-minute whole-body cryotherapy session jettisons 800 calories.
Sleep for healthy fat
Your fat uses hormones, including leptin and ghrelin, to control its growth. To regulate properly, these hormones require deep sleep cycles. People that sleep fewer than 8.5 hours a night or have poorer quality sleep will gain more weight than those that sleep well. If your sleep is not great, turn off the TV and computer one hour before bed, so your brain waves can slow down; avoid all caffeine after your morning cup (For some, even one cup a day can lower the quality of sleep by more than an hour); and make sure your sleeping room is as dark as possible.
Genetic diet for healthy fat
We hear about so many diets: vegan, paleo, Mediterranean; and for every diet, there are some people that lose the weight and others that do not. Although people differ in how their bodies lose the weight, there are noticeable patterns among family members. Science is showing us that genetic differences not only predict who will have weight problems, but will help guide them back to their ideal weight.
If you can’t find the right diet, a Pathway Fit test can help. Stanford scientists found that diets customized to one’s genes are 2.5 times more effective than randomly selected diets. The Fit test is a non-invasive saliva sample and done only once, because our genes don’t change.
Dr. Alan Christianson is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Thyroid Disease. His medical practice focuses on optimal diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease. MyIntegrativeHealth.com.
