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Obesity – Bridgeford’s Best Bites: Nutrition Tips

The latest obesity statistics in UK are alarming. According to the BBC 60% of adults and 30% of children in UK are overweight and 30,000 people die annually from obesity-related illnesses. Britain has 1.5 million adults classed as morbidly obese and weight loss operations and obesity-related hospital admissions have soared in recent years.

Obesity/ Overweight Health Implications

Coronary Heart Disease
Type 2 Diabetes
Cancer: Breast, colon, endometrial
Hypertension
Osteoarthritis
High Cholesterol
Stroke
Liver and Gall Bladder Disease
Sleep Apnoea and Respiratory Problems
Gynaecological Issues / Infertility
Mental Health and Self-Esteem

Extensive research revealed that obesity, a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer and other chronic diseases, is a pro-inflammatory disease.

Inflammation and Oxidative Stress – a Silent Cause of Disease

We don’t suddenly get heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis or cancer. By the time it is diagnosed it may have been developing for many years. We can have a “silent” inflammatory state in our bodies that we are unaware of because initially it gives us no symptoms, though left unchecked can lead to a whole host of inflammatory diseases, which are becoming more prevalent. Obesity can be inflammatory related.

Anti-Inflammatory Help from Nutrition (in previous articles)

Aloe Vera
Black Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Cinnamon
Co-Enzyme Q10
Ginger
Lemon and peel flavonoids
Pumpkin Seeds
Sesame Seeds
Turmeric
Aloe Vera: A dietary Aloe formula reduced percentage body fat.
Cider Vinegar: A specific concentration of ACV induced a reduction in weight gain in animals treated, whereas other concentrations did not.
Cayenne Pepper: Accelerates the rate of fat loss and helps maintain lean muscle tissue combined with exercise and diet. Helps abdominal fat loss. A topical application to obese mice limited fat accumulation. Red pepper with caffeine leads to reduced calorie intake when individuals are given free access to food.
Chilli: may increase energy expenditure and fat metabolism, reducing obesity and related disorders.
Cinnamon: Anti-obesity due to its body fat lowering
Coconut oil: Can decrease fatty tissue gene expression. Larger increases in muscle and smaller increases in fat tissue. Dietary CO does not cause dyslipidemia and seems to promote a reduction in abdominal obesity. Greater energy expenditure with medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) rather than long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) results in less body weight gain and decreases size of fat deposits as well as having a greater satiating effect than LCFAs.
Flax Seeds: Reduce the glycemic index of food items when added to recipes.
Green Tea: Effective in weight loss and weight maintenance.
Vitamin D: Increased circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) directly associated with weight loss in post menopausal women.