Category: Medical

If you are overweight or obese, regardless of age, or whether or not there’s a history of smoking, having excess abdominal weight lowers your lung function. The chronic inflammation associated with fat tissue is one factor; the other is that excess fat also constricts the lungs, reduces lung function and weakens the muscles that  [Read more...]

Just as pipes are the strong tube-like structures which carry water where it needs to go (faucets, fountains, lawn sprinklers, shower heads, commodes) throughout our homes, blood vessels (veins, arteries, capillaries) are strong tube-like structures through which blood travels to get to where it needs to go throughout our bodies. The pipes  [Read more...]

Anyone who has consistently high levels of uric acid in the blood is at risk of having a gout attack. However, obesity—especially, centrally-located (visceral) obesity—greatly increases the risk. And even if you don’t develop gout, elevated uric acid has other negative effects: 📌 It irritates the lining of your blood vessels causing a  [Read more...]

The stomach is built to withstand acid. The food pipe is not, and when acid rises into it (acid reflux), a person experiences burning pain. The muscle at the end of the food pipe is called the 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳. This sphincter allows food into the stomach and helps to keep it from  [Read more...]

Most people who have Celiac disease don’t know they have it; and then there are those who don’t have it but still can’t tolerate gluten. I meet these folks because, unfortunately, many gluten-free products are way higher in calories and refined carbs (sugars) than their gluten form. Thus, slim people diagnosed with Celiac often  [Read more...]

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by chronic abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel habit. Needless to say, IBS is a condition that can strip people of their quality of life. Diets that are low in fiber, high in saturated fats, and high in fermentable carbohydrates are contributing factors  [Read more...]

Osteoarthritis develops when the cushioning material between the joints, known as cartilage, wears away, eventually allowing the bones to painfully rub or grind together. Obesity is an important risk factor for osteoarthritis sufferers. This is because high amounts of fat around the liver, muscle tissues and in the blood is more likely  [Read more...]

Anyone who has consistently high levels of uric acid in the blood is at risk of having a gout attack. However, obesity—especially, centrally-located (visceral) obesity—greatly increases the risk. And even if you don’t develop gout, elevated uric acid has other negative effects: ✔️ It irritates the lining of your blood vessels causing a  [Read more...]

Hypoglycemia (also called low blood glucose or low blood sugar) occurs when the level of glucose in our blood drops below normal. “Low blood sugar” may also be referred to an “insulin reaction” or “insulin shock.” We know that people with diagnosed diabetes have to be vigilant about their blood sugar levels, but  [Read more...]

Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the common type of diabetes, type 2 diabetes, so it’s no surprise it’s what brings many clients to me. For people newly diagnosed (within the past six years), type 2 Diabetes is a reversible condition. Just as proper diet, weight loss and exercise can  [Read more...]

When you are over-fat, fat build ups on the inside of the throat which can partially block your airway. When you sleep, the extra fat tissue puts pressure on the structures of the throat. This leads to further constriction. Additionally, excess body fat has an effect on your muscles. This is true  [Read more...]

Why does being overweight increase your chances of getting hemorrhoids? Hemorrhoid tissues are “cushions” of blood vessels that play an important role in helping your body eliminate waste. Food passes from the stomach through the intestines. The waste (stool) then travels through the colon to the rectum. It is stored in the rectum until  [Read more...]

For women who suffer with PCOS, after fats, public enemy #2 is the poor carbohydrates (“bad” or “refined” carbs).The good kind of carbohydrate-rich foods are a good source of fiber and essential vitamins and minerals.Unfortunately, way too often PCOS sufferers try to restrict themselves from carbohydrates, placing false blame on ALL carbs for their  [Read more...]

One of the medical issues that many of my clients have is diabetes, and I wanted to address that today, specifically, Type 2.   Type 2 diabetes is caused by the body’s inability to break down sugars from the diet. Normally, cells in the pancreas work to release insulin, a hormone that can process  [Read more...]

Many people who are overweight or obese suffer with depression. Of those, for many who suffer from even mild depression, the extra burden of being overweight during the year-end holiday season only makes things worse. As I wrote in another article, in my experiences with clients,the larger one gets the smaller their world  [Read more...]

“You have breast cancer.” Those four words can make a woman buckle at the knees.October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a good time to address the issue because of the relationship between obesity and breast cancer —and make no mistake: There IS a relationship. The sex hormones estrogen and progesterone are known to  [Read more...]

There are many causes of varicose veins, but they are one more side effect of obesity. Veins are vessels that carry blood to the heart. The returning blood has to travel against gravity in the veins; this is done through muscle contractions and a system of valves that allow blood to travel  [Read more...]

Cholesterol is not exactly a barn-burner of a topic, but it is one of the reasons why so many people make that first phone call to us AFTER their physician tells them their levels are high. And that’s a result almost always because an upward change in one’s weight results in an upward change  [Read more...]

As obesity numbers rise, so do the numbers of those with high cholesterol. Roughly one quarter of the cholesterol in our bodies resides in our brains. Researchers have found that patients with high levels of “bad” cholesterol in their blood tended to have more harmful tangles of protein inside their brain cells.   [Read more...]

Iron is a mineral that’s vital to our health, our metabolism and survival. All of our cells contain some iron, but most of the iron in our bodies is in our red blood cellswhich transport oxygen from our lungs to the organs and tissues throughout our bodies. However, inflammation associated with excess body weight  [Read more...]

What’s the connection between being overweight and gum disease? Most research suggests that fat cells produce many chemical signals and hormones that can increase inflammation in the body, decrease the effectiveness of your immune system, and increase your susceptibility to periodontal disease. Other research points to the possible eating habits of overweight  [Read more...]

I know diabetes isnot exactly a barn-burner of a topic, but it is especially prevalent in overweight and obese people, which is how I come in contact with that issue regularly.At a time when the number of obese people in the world now outnumber the underweight, and since obesity changes your DNA, which increases  [Read more...]

When you are overweight you have excess body fat both inside and outside. Too many people never think about the fat on the inside, but it affects you just as much. In this case fat can build up on the inside of the throat. This alone can partially block your airway and not just  [Read more...]

Once upon a time gout was associated with overindulgence in people of the upper class who had access to foods and alcohol of plenty. As a matter of fact, in 1726, British physician Richard Blackmore called gout “the grievous Calamity of the Great, the Rich and the most Easy in their Circumstances.” It became  [Read more...]

I see a lot of young girls and teens who have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) — and most don’t even know they have it when they first meet me.  Not only are these girls overweight and unhappy, but almost always by the time they get to me they’ve really been through the ringer.  What  [Read more...]

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?  It’s obvious: You see your face, your hair, and all your external body parts, and lots and lots of skin.  But what you don’t see is what’s going on inside . . . and if you’re overweight or obese I’m talking about the stuff that  [Read more...]

In the simplest terms, PCOS is a health condition linked with both hormone imbalance and insulin resistance. It is the most common hormonal and reproductive problem affecting women of child-bearing age.   Defining the Condition.  The hormones involved in controlling periods, and ultimately reproduction, are produced in the pituitary gland located in the brain.  [Read more...]

Each year, about 22,000 women in the United States learn that they have ovarian cancer.* Although the exact cause of ovarian cancer is not known, one of the risk factors may be obesity. The link? Estrogen, which is made in body fat . . . and the more fat cells a woman has, the  [Read more...]

In recent years, numerous studies and reviews bear out the relationship between obesity and cancer risk, treatment outcome and recurrence. More recently, however, two articles are worthy of special mention: In the winter 2016 issue of Your Weight Matters (the magazine of the Obesity Action Coalition) in an article titled, The Link  [Read more...]

Exposure to air contaminants, such as ammonia, sulfur dioxide, ozone and nitrogen dioxide, are known to be respiratory irritants that can cause illnesses such as asthma and other pulmonary diseases. Did you know that overweight and obese adults breathe in up to 50% more air every day, compared with adults of normal weight?  [Read more...]