Six common beliefs addressed, Part 161

1. Diet is the only thing that determines if you will become obese. 

Obesity is caused by a disruption in blood glucose homeostasis which disrupts metabolic hormones. This can result from anything that interferes in normal blood glucose regulation. Certain diseases, medications, etc. can contribute to this dysfunction which leads to obesity. Anything that disrupts proper blood glucose regulation can be the culprit.

But for the most part, the most common disruption in blood glucose regulation is the result of diet. This is the case for all common metabolic conditions from metabolic syndrome to diabetes.

2. I recently had a wisdom tooth pulled. I have had wisdom teeth pulled before and the pain and recovery time has been horrendous. This time I suffered no pain and no inflammation. I even had antibiotics, along with a probiotic, with no issues whatsoever. 

When you better your metabolic health, you become much more resilient to other conditions that may present themselves. If you already have lower inflammation and better blood glucose control, then when the body experiences stress from illness or injury, it can better handle it and you lower your risk of complications. You have less reactions to antibiotics and if you have to consume a liquid meal or be on an IV, which may contain ingredients you wouldn't usually consume, you will experience less of a set back.

3. When Type I diabetics break down their body, and everything they eat, into glucose they become emaciated if it's not stopped but Type II diabetics can break down their body, and everything they eat too, but remain obese. 

Catabolism from glucagon "gone wild" should produce the same results in Type II as it does in Type I, because they are both suffering from the exact same thing. So why doesn't it? After all, Type IIs can run a blood glucose of 400 - 500 mg/dL and up, chronically, and not waste away to anything at all. What gives? The answer is in their insulin function commonly described as "insulin resistance".

Type Is have no insulin whatsoever, so they don't have insulin resistance. Type IIs have insulin, in some cases too much of it, but it doesn't function properly causing a condition referred to as insulin resistance. Because of this, in a Type I their entire body melts into glucose and ketones but in Type II their lean muscle mass alone, melts into glucose and ketones. Their fat mass is always spared as their insulin function spares their fat mass, above all else. This is a hallmark of insulin resistance. 

For a Type II insulin function is as follows:

• Under release of insulin to halt chronic catabolism into glucose and ketones (glucagon).
• Over expression of catabolic hormones on lean muscle mass (cortisol).
• Under expression of catabolic hormones on fat mass (leptin).
• Insulin action is over expressed in storing fat and preventing its loss.
• Insulin action is under expressed in getting glucose and nutrients into other tissues.
• Insulin action is under expressed in its anabolic effects on lean muscle mass.

As you can see, insulin function effects other hormones as insulin is sort of like the conductor in an orchestra.

So a Type II diabetic is not only a person who might have very high insulin but a person who always has abnormal insulin function. A Type II diabetic's insulin is primed and honed for only one specific task, at the expense of everything else, - the building and preserving of fat mass. So it doesn't matter how much the body catabolizes itself, it never catabolizes its fat mass. For this reason, a Type II diabetic will never lose a pound of fat from this exaggerated catabolic process unless their disease progresses to Type I from pancreatic beta cell failure.

4. Many people with lipedema and/or lymphedema frequent obesity discussions because they claim their conditions are a "type of obesity". 

Lipedema is not obesity nor is it "metabolic" in nature. No one knows its exact cause but it appears to be related to female hormonal changes and/or imbalances. Only about 11% of women are affected by this. For these reasons, it is not subject matter that I discuss on this blog. I know a lot of people like to jump on the bandwagon so people with lipedema are very active in obesity groups. This is where many of these groups begin to lose focus as people with this condition usually have a very difficult time exercising which is a necessary part of any protocol that treats obesity. That's where the concessions begin. 

So the best source of information on this condition is your doctor and/or specialist. There is nothing that I can advise on it as I can't make concessions for this particular ailment. The only thing I can recommend is to try to live a lifestyle that keeps female sex hormones in homeostasis. An anti obesogenic lifestyle would be a good start to achieve this. Having said that, I will briefly give an overview on these conditions for those who are curious. 

• Lipedema is a condition where fat is distributed in an irregular way, usually in the buttocks and legs, causing for the lower body to grow heavy, become tender and even bruise easily. Hence the female hormone suspect, as this is the main pattern of fat distribution in females. This large bottom half will obviously limit mobility.  
• Lymphedema develops when this excess fat blocks the lymphatic system and prevents proper drainage of lymph fluid. This can lead to complications such as infections and non healing wounds. This requires treatment with invasive procedures. 

Like I have said many times prior, just because someone appears "fat", doesn't mean they're obese. Just because someone "gains weight" doesn't mean they're obese. Obesity is an adaptive metabolic state where the body stores and spares body fat beyond its threshold, usually around the middle/central region. This is the result of metabolic syndrome. 

5. If you can't swallow pills, you should still never take gummy vitamins because they have carbs.

First, if your can't swallow pills, you will have a hard lot in life. Outlying situations like these, cannot make the rules for others, as I mentioned above in the question about lipedema. I do not make concessions on this blog. We give advice on the treatment of obesity/metabolic syndrome. There is nothing I can do if something hinders you from following the advice given. The advice does not change. 

Second, we don't "count carbs" either. It is a useless practice that does nothing to treat obesity/diabetes. What you need is an overall low carbohydrate, whole foods diet. Counting the carbs of single food items is not going to cut it. There are many items that have zero to low carbs and are still very obesogenic, depending on how they are eaten. So an anti obesogenic diet is not about carb counting but about overall macronutrient composition, food quality, meal timings and general eating practices. That gummy vitamin is not going to treat your metabolic condition but it is also not going to contribute to it. 

Third, and this part was unsolicited in the statement but I will add it anyway. "Gummy vitamins" are generally not good quality vitamins. You are basically paying for a bottle of "sugar in small doses". When you buy a vitamin you have to make sure that it is bioavailable so they should always be coenzymated. This means the vitamins are bound to the enzymes needed to break them down. This causes your body to actually absorb them, rather than just pee them out. The majority of deficiencies are not caused from "lack of vitamins" per say, but lack of the enzymes needed to get them into cells, either because of some genetic problem or some other chronic condition. 

All minerals should be chelated. Chelated minerals are bound to an amino or organic acid, so they don't require as much stomach acid to be efficiently digested. Most people are deficient in minerals because they cannot break them down due to low/insufficient stomach acid. 

You also have to make sure that you stay away from certain supplements such as "folic acid". Folic acid is a synthetic form of vitamin B9 (folate). It tends to build up in the body and cause issues over time. There are other supplements that pose this same issue because they are synthetic as well or they must be taken alongside other supplements to prevent issues. 

So research your supplements carefully and don't just go to the local pharmacy to pick up a bottle of whatever they have. At best, you will be wasting your money and possibly not treating your deficiency. At worse, you could be harming your health. 

6. I was following "keto" and lost 30 pounds. I felt great. I have now come across "The Proper Human Diet", which I am currently learning about, but my numbers keep going up.

First, I don't know what anyone means by "keto" but since you are now "learning" about "The Proper Human Diet", I can only imagine it was some type of fad protocol you found online. This tells me that you most likely jump from one diet to the next and aren't committed to any one of them. Of course, in this case, you might have done the right thing by dumping "keto". Unfortunately, you remained in the garbage pile and picked up yet some more junk. 

I have said it before that there is no "proper human diet". There are only marketing slogans and improper human diets of which there are only two - vegan and the Standard American Diet (SAD). That's it. Everything other than those two goes. In fact, humans are so adaptable, to any diet available, that they can make vegan and SAD work for them under strict conditions (i.e. supplementation, caloric restriction). These conditions can at least make these diets work for a very long time before they fail. So we have cleared that nonsense. 

Second, people who have overweight/obesity or any level of metabolic syndrome, including diabetes, do better on a carbohydrate restricted, clean diet of meat and above ground vegetables only. This doesn't mean that's the "proper human diet", it just means it's the best diet for someone who has metabolic dysfunction. This is because they can get a better handle on their blood glucose regulation when following this type of protocol. Blood glucose dysregulation is what causes metabolic issues to begin with. Diet has a huge effect on blood glucose regulation so it makes sense to target the problem with diet. 

There are no gimmicks to following a carb restricted diet. You simply eat meat and above ground vegetables. That's it. Meat and above ground vegetables basically becomes a low carb, moderate fat, adequate protein diet. This is the best macronutrient composition for the metabolically dysfunctional. There is no "learning" involved in this. 

Third, I recommend you get your mental health in order before you embark on any diet because you are displaying a very common behavioral issue of the obese - diet mongering. You just keep trying every single diet you come across and since there are multiple reasons for this, I won't guess what yours are. I will tell you this, metabolic dysfunction requires a long term treatment. For a treatment to be long term you must be committed and consistent with it. You shouldn't be looking for a protocol on every click bait title that comes across your screen. You need to actually think through a protocol and see how it fits your lifestyle and goals. 

Fourth, this isn't just about eating. You need to tackle other lifestyle issues that can interfere and hinder progress such as your behavior, described above, exercise regimen and systemic stress reduction.