With the onslaught of the holidays fast upon us, it is only natural to look ahead to the cheer and festivities.  For many people, this entails drinking and eating whatever and whenever.  The sobering fact is, this is typically followed by weight gain and that sluggish feeling or need to grab an extra cup of coffee.  But here is some food for thought, the health of your digestive tract; including the critters in your gut (the intestinal flora or microbiome) have a direct impact on weight gain and obesity.

Research is highlighting the significance of balanced gut microorganisms, intestinal permeability, often referred to as “leaky gut” and low-grade inflammation.  These conditions can exist independently, but most commonly co-exist.

Our intestinal flora is necessary for establishing and regulating our metabolism, and plays a role in the storage of dietary fat.  It has also been found that the intestinal flora of lean individuals differs from those that are obese.  These imbalances have been shown to a cause of low grade inflammation and metabolic byproducts that interfere with glucose management, increasing body fat and if left unchecked, increased intestinal permeability.

Back to the good stuff; food, as a source of nutrition and joy, it can also instigate inflammation. It is well established that obesity is an inflammatory condition, so any source of inflammation can feed into the cycle of weight gain.  The clinical consideration of immune responses to food, via food allergy and sensitivity testing can be very informative and does often reveal some of the missing pieces of our understanding of weight gain and obesity.

To get more information on how to navigate through the holidays without losing your waistline or if you want to get off to the new year with a focus on health, give us a call at Revolutions Natural Medical Solutions, 916-351-9355.

Joel Morgan, ND