Naturopathy and Weight Loss (VI)

Another excellent herb good for health is burdock. Burdock improves digestion, liver and bowel functions as well as fat metabolism. It helps reduce cravings and hunger and thus assist in weight loss.

Naturopathy and Weight Loss (V)

Another herb which helps weight loss is Ephedra (Ephedra sinica)

Ephedra has a similar effect to the body's own adrenaline.

It contains ephedrine and ephedrine increases the metabolic rate, so the body can burn fats and sugar more efficiently. By mobilizing stored fat and carbohydrate reserves, ephedrine reduces appetite. And so weight loss is effected.

However, ephedra should be consumed only in moderate amount and do not use for long term. Please do not use it during pregnancy and lactation, or if you have glaucoma, heart disease, insomnia, adrenal weakness, diabetes or kidney disease.

Naturopathy and Weight Loss (IV)

Another herb that has effect on weight loss is Chickweed

Chickweed has ability to break down fat molecules. It is usually recommended in combination with burdock root which helps balance oils and fats in the body. Chickweed breaks down the fat while burdock helps transport it out of the body. As a tea, it is an effective way to curb cravings, assist digestion, and help lose weight.

In addition, it supplies necessary nutrients that the obese person might be lacking’s moistening action relieves sore throats and soothes stomach and duodenal ulcers.

Moreover, as a diuretic, its medicinal properties aid the assimilation of other herbs and help them process and dissolve of fat.

Naturopathy and Weight Loss (III)

Traditionally, herbs have been used by people for the treatment of diseases. Some herbs are renowned for their unique ability to maintain metabolism and lessen appetite. This can help reduce weight.

For example, Dr. John Raymond Christopher combined chickweed, safflower flowers, burdock root, parsley, Norwegian kelp, licorice root, fennel seed, echinacea, black walnut hulls, papaya leaves and hawthorn berries together to treat overweight and obesity. Let's look at these herbs one by one.

Licorice root

It is used to decrease cravings for treats and sweet foods. This natural remedy also has other benefits for dieters including regulating blood sugar level to a normal healthy state and the ability to make the adrenal glands stronger. It strengthens the digestion and hormonal systems.

As one way to increase weight in women is hormonal changes and licorice root is used for balancing hormones, and so it can help weight loss. It also helps in elimination and elimination is a main factor in weight loss.

Naturopathy and Weight Loss (II)

Another reason for fats being accumulated in the body is we have too much toxins in our body due to the foods we eat, the poisons in the environment we expose, etc.

If our liver is overloaded with pollutants and toxins and cannot eliminate them, these toxins would be isolated from the systems of the body and locked in the adipose or fat tissue so that our body cannot get harm. The fat issue would then be difficult to get rid off unless the toxins have been cleared out. In this instance, the liver also cannot efficiently burn body fat.

In addition, once a person becomes overweight or obese, it would promote a state of overstimulation of the immune system, which impairs normal immune function. This is because excess body fat triggers the production of pro-inflammatory immune cells, which circulate in the blood and promote inflammation in our bodies and also stimulate white blood cells to produce inflammatory molecules.

Thus the immune system does not function properly for an overweight person. People with a poor immune system are often too sick to work out. As a result, they gain weight from lack of exercise, which only hurts their body even more.

And so if we want to effect weight loss, we should do the following:

• Reduce appetite
• Stimulate bowel motor activity
• Regulate proper functioning of thyroid and adrenal glands
• Remove toxins from the body
• Enhance the immune system.

Naturopathy and Weight Loss (I)

Some year ago, after doing the fasting for ten days, I lost nearly 10 pounds. In addition, my health appeared better. And so I began getting interested in naturopathy and trying to find out why naturopathy can help weight loss. It is not simply due to no food having taken during the fasting period.

In general, overweight and obesity is caused by overeating in such amount that caloric intake is more than the needs of the body. This results in fats being accumulated in the body.

In some cases, in addition to the relation between caloric intake and consumed in the body, there are other factors contributing to overweight and obesity and the ability of a person to lose weight in a sustainable and healthy way.

One factor is the metabolic disorders. Glands that affect digestive metabolism, sugar metabolism and fat metabolism determine body weight.

Metabolism affects our energy requirement. And our body metabolism is regulated by hormone which is produced by thyroid gland. And so if the thyroid gland is inactive, i.e. hypothyroidism, then the metabolic rate would decrease. Less energy would be used. More fats would then be accumulated.

Adrenal cortisol also plays an important role in regulating blood sugar and energy production. If adrenal cortex becomes hypoactive, it would affect various steroids that deal with carbohydrate metabolism. In this case, complex sugars and glucose can be easily converted to fat instead of properly metabolized. This leads to weight gain, especially around the abdomen. And it is very difficult to get rid of it.

Hence, if the thyroid and adrenal glands do not function properly, this would affect our body weight. Malnutrition is one factor that affects their functioning. For example, a diet deficient in iodine would affect the functioning of thyroid.

Obese people lose weight for their looks

I was surprised to find that a quarter of obese people were reluctant to lose weight despite being advised by doctors.

According to the survey conducted by Hong Kong Association for the Study of Obesity in August this year, four in every five grossly overweight people between the ages of 30 and 70 suffer from at least one chronic disease such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol or diabetes.

According to WHO. overweight and obesity lead to adverse metabolic effects on blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin resistance. In addition, risks of coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cancer of the breast, colon, prostate, endometrium, kidney and gall bladder increase steadily with increasing BMI.

Currently, about 44% of diabetes, 23% of ischaemic heart disease and 7 to 41% of certain cancers in the world are attributable to overweight and obesity.

As a result of being overweight or obese, globally, at least 2.8 million people die each year.

Even so, this study found that 24 per cent of participants were reluctant to lose weight despite being advised by doctors. 

Two-thirds of women who worked on losing weight said that they did so because they wanted to improve their appearance. This is no better for men. Only half the men who sought help did so for health reasons.

Not surprisingly, slim houses have become so popular, especially among women, in these days. They use various means to reduce their weight so dramatically to the extent that it becomes detrimental rather than beneficial to their health. This counters the original idea of losing weight.