Weight Problem? It may be all about your digestion...

When we are focusing on health and weight issues the most important thing we should be paying attention to is a healthy digestive system. So many of us don't even realize we are at a huge disadvantage because we do not have a healthy gut.

Through digestion we are either creating energy or creating fat, everything else is waste. New studies have shown over and over that weight gain is largely due to poor digestion. Poor digestion also causes bloating, gas, concentration issues, immune deficiency and sexual issues.

There are so many things in the American diet today that the body has issues with. One of the biggest is High Fructose Corn Syrup. Fructose naturally occurs in things like fruit but it is present at very low levels naturally because it is ultra sweet. When you eat fruit the body can easily handle the low levels of fructose. If the only places we got fructose was from fruits and things like honey our body would be fine, but the American diet floods the body with fructose. In fact some nutritionists look at the level of fructose in our diets as toxic. Furthermore fructose blocks the receptors in the body that alert you when you are full so you would tend to keep eating long after you have eaten enough.

Americans consume on average 60% more fructose than even our grandparents did. The problem with fructose is that when you consume large amounts of it in its concentrated form (agave, crystalline fructose, high-fructose corn syrup), it goes straight to your liver. Through the process your body is flooded with fructose and it eventually is converted to fat. 

If you look at the ingredients in processed foods today the level of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is insane. Consumers have been lead to believe that HFCS is a naturally occurring product, believing it is okay. The reality is HFCS is HIGHLY processed using enzymes to turn cornstarch in to fructose, the molecular structure is actually changed. The body doesn't recognize this the way it naturally would and it disrupts the way your body handles it. Usually resulting in fat storage and resulting in cravings for more and more.

As bad as HFCS is preservatives are even worse. Again, these are usually highly processed and the body has no natural ability to digest these things properly. Preservatives slow the metabolism, disrupt the digestive system and harm the good bacteria in our digestive system. When confronted with food filled with preservatives the body doesn't even recognize it as real food, it gets processed and much is either wasted or turned in to fat.

With all of this in mind there are several things you can do to help restore digestive health.

First, of course, is eliminating the above as well as all foods that are highly processed. Be aware that the food industry is not on your side, things that are marketed as healthier alternatives many times aren't. Wheat bread is a prime example, check the label and look at the sugar and preservatives....yuck. Look for whole grains and less processed alternatives.

One of the best things you can do for your digestion is take a probiotic. Many probiotics occur naturally in foods. Yogurt is a good one just be sure to read the label, be very weary of the sugar in yogurt, if it is anything above 20g don't use it. Also good probiotics: pickles, kimchi, kefir, sauerkraut, miso, sour dough, and soft cheeses like Gouda.

You can also take a probiotic supplement. Be sure to go for high quality as many makers have jumped on the band wagon and not all are created equal. Your probiotic has to get passed the stomach acids in order to survive so make sure they are time released/ encapsulated. 

Probiotics may actually be more beneficial than your multi vitamin....just food for thought. Click the link below for more probiotic help.

One other thing you can do to aid your digestion is EGCG, which is found in green tea. EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) is a strong antioxidant. EGCG is proven to boost the immune system, provide cancer protection and in relation to this article provide a huge boost to metabolism. Of course you can get this from drinking green tea but it can be taken as a supplement as well. Recommendations of 200-300 mg a day would require drinking 5-6 cups of tea per day so many of us would be better off taking a quality supplement. 

For more info on choosing a probiotioc click here