Section
5
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OVERWEIGHT—1 (Obesity)
SYMPTOMS—The person is heavier by about 20% than the average for his height and weight.
CAUSES—Obesity is an excess of body fat; too much is being stored. It is also consuming more calories than you can use. All it takes is for you to be 20% overweight in order to be classified as obese.
The average human body has 30-40 million fat cells. That is too many for some of us. It has been said that when a person makes an extra fat cell, in order to store some extra fat, he keeps that cell for the rest of his life—even though he may remove the fat from it.
Poor diet, fatty foods, and a lack of exercise are common causes of overweight. Other factors include diabetes, hypoglycemia, endocrine glands which do not function properly, boredom, tension, and love of food. Another factor is inadequate intake or absorption of key nutrients, which causes fat to be stored instead of used.
Over $30 billion is spent each year, in America, on foods or equipment to help lose weight.
Obesity can be involved with hormonal imbalances in the hypothalamus, pituitary, pineal, thyroid, adrenals, or pancreas.
Obese people tend to store fat, not only in regular fat cells, but also in muscle tissue. Then, when they try to lose weight (via a weight loss diet), they lose both fat from the fat cells and protein from the muscles—before they lose fat from the muscles. The best solution is to keep fit, so you do not store fat in your muscle tissue.
To maintain weight loss (that is, an ongoing program of losing a little weight), calculate how many calories you need each day. Multiply your weight by 10. Then add 30% (about a third) to the total. Assuming that you are moderately active, eating anything less than that total amount should cause you to lose weight. This total is the amount of calories you can consume daily, without gaining the weight back which you have already lost.
It is said that 90% of obese people overeat and binge because their empty calorie diets do not supply enough minerals (especially trace minerals) and vitamins.
TREATMENT—People try to cut down on the calories, when they should make sure they steadily obtain good basic nutrition. Without adequate nourishment, they will generally binge or go off their special diets. It is now known that steady eating is better than losing weight, gaining it, losing it, and gaining it. The up and down program damages the body, and makes it more susceptible to disease. The 14-year Framingham Study established that repeated crash diets increases the risk of heart disease.
• Test for food allergies (see Pulse Test) and eliminate them.
• Consistently eat a lighter, but more nourishing, diet. Do not eat food for fun; eat for health and to stay well.
• Avoid junk food, fatty food, fried food, processed food, caffeine, nicotine, and soft drinks,
• Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water each day.
• Do not skip meals. Make breakfast the largest, lunch a moderate meal, and supper the lightest.
• Include Nova Scotia dulse or Norwegian kelp in your diet, to supply trace minerals.
• When you end a meal, make it a habit to eat nothing more until your next meal.
• Include a good vitamin-mineral supplement and fiber.
• Go on a good basic diet and stay on it. Here is an example of one:
• Eat moderate amounts of raw citrus and subacid fruits, but no sweet fruits, such as grapes or dried fruits. No fruit juices, except diluted grape juice taken a half hour before the meal, to reduce appetite. No bananas.
• Eat as much raw vegetables as you want.
• The only cooked vegetables should be fresh and conservatively cooked ones. Do not use frozen, fried, or canned vegetables.
• Primarily eat vegetarian protein foods, and in some moderation: beans, sprouted beans, seeds, nuts, etc.
• All refined carbohydrates are forbidden. This includes sugar, alcohol, white-flour products, quick oats, most packaged cereals, and processed starch.
• Eat only well-cooked, unrefined brown rice, barley, rye, millet, buckwheat, wheat berries, bulgur, corn, and other whole grains. Do not grind them, but cook and eat them in their natural state.
• Use cold-pressed unsaturated oils, plus lemon juice, and possibly some herbs for flavoring.
• Do not overeat, ever. It is a very, very bad habit to get into; it is a habit which can be stopped.
• Do not eat between meals; that is another habit to quit.
• When eating, concentrate on quietly eating and thinking about when you should stop. Do not just relax, talk, socialize, and eat and eat. Do not listen to the radio, read a book, or watch television. Stick to your work of eating lightly of nourishing food, and quit when you should.
• You will not be harmed by finishing the meal a little hungry.
• A regular exercise program is needed.
Here are still more helpful ideas:
• Aerobic exercises are better than other kinds. This simply means exercise done out in the open air. It helps lose weight; build strength; strengthen the heart, arteries, and veins; and invigorate the vital organs and endocrine glands.
• Walking uses up to 120 calories per hour while actual jogging burns only 440 calories per hour. Walking is always the best exercise.
• Swimming is usually done in cold water, and this triggers the body to store extra fat as protection against the cold. So swimming does not help one lose weight.
• Children who are overweight by the age of 2 turn into fat adults more frequently than others. Do not overfeed them with an excess of starches and cow's milk. Most infants receive starches by four months, but that is far too early and only leads to later allergies or celiac disease (which see).
• If you are only moderately overweight, do not worry about the comments of your thin friends; they probably wish they could gain a little.
—Also see "Overweight—2."
ENCOURAGEMENT—Victories are not gained by ceremonies or display, but by simple obedience to the highest General, the Lord God of heaven. He who trusts in this Leader will never know defeat.
OVERWEIGHT—2 (J.H. Kellogg, M.D., Formulas)
INCREASE OXIDATION OF HYDROCARBONS—Moderately prolonged cold baths, especially Wet Sheet Pack, Shallow Bath, Cold Shower; Dripping Sheet Rub; Shallow Bath; Plunge Bath; moderate exercise several times daily. The Cold Bath may be advantageously preceded by the Radiant Heat Bath or some other form of sweating bath that is not too prolonged. Exercise should always be preceded by a cold bath of sufficient duration to lower the temperature a few tenths of a degree.
CARDIAC WEAKNESS—Cold Compress over the heart (except in fatty degeneration of the heart) 15-30 minutes, 3 times daily; graduated exercises out-of-doors when possible.
CONTRAINDICATIONS—Avoid prolonged Hot Baths unless immediately followed by a cold bath.
GENERAL METHOD—The general plan of treatment must be prolonged cold baths and vigorous exercise while reducing the daily ration of food to the lowest point consistent with the maintenance of his strength. The treatment must never be conducted in such a way as to diminish his muscular or nervous energy. If he complains of feeling weak or debilitated, the vigor of the treatment must be diminished. There should be a steady gain in muscular strength accompanying the loss of flesh. His strength should be tested weekly. Do not use Hot Baths, for they are especially debilitating.
—Also see "Overweight—1."
UNDERWEIGHT (Thinness)
SYMPTOMS—The person weighs 10% less than an average person of his height and weight.
Symptoms, when underweight, is a problem to be addressed. These symptoms include hunger, dizziness, fatigue, weakness, sensitivity to cold, and loss of ambition.
CAUSES—Underweight is a problem for some, but not for others. Actually, as one ages, underweight can be an advantage in a number of ways. If you are in good health, although underweight, there may be no need for concern to gain weight. Underweight people live longer and are in less danger from heart disease.
But underweight may be associated with health problems; it should especially be a cause for concern if unintended, sudden weight loss has occurred.
Try, if possible, to ascertain the cause of the weight loss or inability to gain weight. Here is a list of several possible causes:
Unplanned-for weight loss can be caused by an inability by the gastro-intestinal tract to digest and absorb food properly, resulting from ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, etc.
It can be caused by intestinal parasites or liver and pancreas problems.
It can be caused by digestive enzyme deficiency, allergy, or food sensitivity.
It can be caused by endocrine imbalances, such as diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or (sometimes) hypothyroidism. If you are both underweight and feel cold all the time, you may be hypothyroid (which see). Problems in the thyroid, pancreas, or adrenal glands can make weight gain impossible. Hypoglycemics and diabetics have an especially hard time maintaining proper weight.
It can be caused by a chronic illness, surgery, stress, or emotional trauma (such as the death of a loved one).
It can be caused by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, medicinal or street drugs, or AIDS.
In addition, there may be an eating disorder: The person eats too little (anorexia) or, in some cases, eats too much.
Zinc deficiency can reduce appetite, and so can some wasting diseases, such as cancer.
The consistency of the bowel movement and a check for undigested foods can be a valuable diagnostic aid.
The experts tell us that, for adults, weight should not be gained at the rate of more than a pound a week.
In infants and children, the cause may be not enough food; in old people, it may result from disinterest in eating or poverty.
You should especially be concerned about an infant or small child who suddenly seems to stop gaining weight normally. This may be caused by celiac disease (which see) or something else.
TREATMENT—
Your body is having a hard time meeting the challenges of life, and needs help. The recommendations are simple enough:
• Eat a nourishing diet, such as is outlined repeatedly in this book. For some people, it should include more calories and protein than should normally be eaten. But for many who are habitually underweight, the solution is to continue eating moderate-sized meals, but eating only nourishing food (no junk or processed food). Adequate and complete proteins are essential.
• Be sure and correct vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
• You may need to take digestive enzymes and/or supplemental hydrochloric acid (betaine HCl).
• Obtain moderate out-of-door exercise each day. This will help your system digest the food.
• Obtain adequate rest at night, and try to lie down and rest 15, 30, or 60 minutes before each meal. This is important, and will strengthen your body for the challenge of coping successfully with another meal.
• Avoid stress of various kinds.
• Eat in relaxed surroundings. Do not eat when you are nervous or upset.
• Try to maintain regularity in all your habits and activities.
• For infants, mashed bananas are more easily digested than some other foods.
• There may be a food allergy, such as wheat, cow's milk, etc. (see Pulse Test).
• It is vital that you not consume fried food, junk food, drink, and processed food. Avoid caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol. If you are able to do so, do not take medicinal drugs.
• Last but not least: If you are normally thin, but feel good, ignore the comments of others who say you need to gain weight. Some of them wish they could be thinner.
ENCOURAGEMENT—If you will maintain a meek and quiet spirit, which is always obedient to God's Word, you will be spared many of the troubles which plague so many. Let Christ live in you and help others through you.
CELLULITE (Lumpy Fat)
SYMPTOMS—Lumpy pockets of fat on the thighs, insides of upper arms, and gluteus maximus.
CAUSES—With the passing of years, strands of fibrous tissue anchor to the skin. As they do this, they pull the skin inward. This causes fat cells to push upward. Women especially tend to have this problem in the buttocks, hips, and thighs.
There is no known cure, but there are suggestions you may wish to try:
TREATMENT—Lose weight. This will help reduce the protruding pockets of fat.
• Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. These are both nourishing and lower in calories. Improve your general pattern of diet and take vitamin/mineral supplements.
• Keep the channels of elimination open, so excess fluids and fat can be more easily eliminated. Only use a very small amount of salt, drink plenty of water, keep the bowels open, maintain regularity, and avoid constipation.
• Do not use caffeine or tobacco. Both constrict your blood vessels and make the cellulite more prominent.
• Do muscle-toning exercises.
• Make sure you are obtaining adequate rest.
• Exercise out-of-doors and breathe deeply. The oxygen helps burn fat; and the better ventilation helps empty carbon dioxide from body cells.
• To whatever degree you can, avoid stress, tension, and time schedules. Cellulite builds up when muscles become tense, and muscles tense when you are agitated.
ENCOURAGEMENT—The Lord has honored us by choosing us as His soldiers. Let us fight bravely for Him, maintaining the right in every transaction. Stand for the right though the heavens fall. God will help you.
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