According to John Herring, editorial editor of Total Health Breakthroughs, there is one thing you must do to burn fat effortlessly and improve your health and that is to limit your intake of sugar, grains and high-glycaemic carbohydrates.
A high-glycaemic diet stimulates the production of insulin, which is the ‘fat storage hormone’ and high insulin levels make fat burning virtually impossible. It also creates inflammation and can therefore be the start of degenerative disease.
Another reason to cut the carbohydrates is that a high-glycemic diet can alter the bacteria in your intestines. This can make it easier to gain weight and harder to lose it, and it can happen in just 24 hours. So you can see why it is easy to put on weight over Christmas with all the ‘goodies’ that we indulge in!
Jeffrey Gordon, MD of Washington University is one of the foremost experts on intestinal bacteria. In a recent study, he clearly showed the relationship between sugar intake, the balance of intestinal flora and weight loss.
Ninety percent of the microbes in your gut fall into two major classes:
1. Firmicutes – this strain of bacteria is dominant in those who are obese
2. Bacteroidetes – this strain of bacteria are dominant in those who are lean
Dr. Gordon and his colleagues began with a group of mice raised in a sterile environment. These mice had no intestinal bacteria. In half of the mice, he implanted bacteria dominated by firmicutes, from obese mice. In the second group, he implanted bacteria dominated by bacteroidetes that came from lean mice.
Both groups of mice ate the same diet. However, those with the bacteria from obese mice became obese. And those with the bacteria from lean mice stayed lean. The same results were achieved when human intestinal bacteria from lean and obese subjects were used.
Dr. Gordon then showed what happened when the mice with a dominant number of ‘lean bacteria’ were switched to a high-sugar diet. The ‘obese bacteria’ rapidly asserted dominance. They began to out-compete and out-proliferate the friendly bacteria. And this took place within just 24 hours!
There is a common saying that ‘health begins in the gut.’ This is absolutely true. Friendly intestinal bacteria are vital to your immune system. They help assimilate nutrients from your diet, and eliminate toxins and waste. And they can play a big role in maintaining your optimal weight.
The healthy bacteria in your gut thrive on fibre. The bad bacteria thrive on sugar. So feed your healthy warriors lots of organic vegetables and colourful plant foods. And starve the bad guys by avoiding sugar, grains and high-glycaemic carbohydrates.