Obesity

Category: Illness or disabilities

Type

Involuntary and voluntary

Introduction and description

Obesity is defined as 'a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health'. People are considered obese when their body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of the person's height in metres, exceeds 30 kg/m2.

Symptoms

People who are obese or overweight usually suffer quality of life problems, an inability to join in games, an inability to commune with nature, slightly more difficulty with making love - although Billy Connolly used to say he rather liked big girls, because the view was always so much better from up there.

Obesity is linked with numerous diseases, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, osteoarthritis and various autoimmune disorders and allergic reactions.  But we must take care here, as although the link has been made it is incorrect to say that obesity causes these diseases.  It may simply be that obesity is just another symptom of a set of causes shared by these diseases.  For example:

Obesity  is in reality a symptom.  To classify it as a disease may be wrong.

But, it is none the less serious for this.  Its increasing prevalence in both adults and children, has caused many in public health authorities to view it as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century - or at least as an indicator of something very seriously wrong. In 2013, the American Medical Association classified obesity as a dis-ease.

What is 'fat'

Obesity or being overweight in humans and most animals does not depend on body weight, but on the amount of body fat—  ‘adipose tissue’ that has accumulated.   The two types of adipose tissue are white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT).  

Adipose tissue or ‘fat’ is loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. Adipocytes, also known as lipocytes and fat cells, are the cells that primarily compose adipose tissue, specialized in storing energy as fat.  Its main role is to store energy in the form of lipids, although it also cushions the body and insulates it from cold.

How is 'fat' formed?

Most 'fat' is formed from Free fatty acids. Fatty acids that are not attached to other molecules, are known as "free" fatty acids. Fatty acids are important sources of fuel because, when metabolized, they yield large quantities of ATP – the cell’s fuel supply. The breakdown of ATP releases energy that is used by the cell to ‘do work’.  Many cell types can use either glucose or fatty acids for this purpose. Heart and skeletal muscle prefer fatty acids. Fatty acids that are required by the human body but cannot be made in sufficient quantity from other substrates, and therefore must be obtained from food, are called essential fatty acids [see nutritional deprivation for more details].

Leptin (from Greek λεπτός leptos, "thin"), the "satiety hormone", is a hormone made by fat cells which regulates the amount of fat stored in the body. It does this by adjusting both the sensation of hunger, and adjusting energy expenditures. Hunger is inhibited (satiety) when the amount of fat stored reaches a certain level. The effect of leptin is opposite to that of ghrelin, the "hunger hormone". Ghrelin receptors are on the same brain cells as leptin receptors, Leptin and ghrelin, along with many other hormones, participate in the complex process of energy homeostasis

I hope the implications of this are clear.  Insulin has a big part to play in obesity.  In effect it is insulin disruption [diabetes mellitus and pancreatic disease] that may be one of the causes of obesity, not the other way round, as such these two are inextricably linked.   If there is high blood sugar, insulin is secreted, if there are high levels of insulin, FFAs are deposited as adipose tissue.  Thus one can become obese by a combination of high amounts of FFAs [in the diet] and high blood sugar levels.  High blood sugar levels, however, may be dietary but can also be caused by an immune response to glucose, of which more in a moment.

The reproductive and sexual role of 'fat'

Fat is a store for oestrogen.  Adipose tissue is also the greatest peripheral source of aromatase in both males and females, contributing to the production of estradiol.

Estradiol, or more precisely, 17β-estradiol, is a human sex hormone and steroid, and the primary female sex hormone. It is named for, and is important in, the regulation of the estrous and menstrual female reproductive cycles. 

This is why people who are anorexic or bulimic or starving or fasting, may suffer hormonal problems and may not want sex.  And it explains why starving or anorexic women stop menstruating.  It may also explain why chubby people are not averse to sex, in fact are mad for it!!

The Immunological role of 'fat'

In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells and this plays an absolutely key role in our immune response.  The SVF has a variety of immune cells such as   T cells, B cells, mast cells, the cytokine TNFα as well as adipose tissue macrophages.

• T cells or T lymphocytes are a type of  white blood cell that plays a central role in cell-mediated immunity. They can be distinguished from other lymphocytes, such as B cells and natural killer cells (NK cells), by the presence of a T-cell receptor (TCR) on the cell surface. They are called T cells, because they mature in the thymus (although some also mature in the tonsils, as such taking anyone's tonsils out is  a seriously counterproductive act)
• Tumor necrosis factor (TNF, cachexin, or cachectin, and formerly known as tumor necrosis factor alpha or TNFα) is involved in the inflammatory response of the immune system.  Note that inflammation is not bad, it is there to help, for more details see the Immune system.  Heat kills many pathogens.  It is a member of a group of cytokines that stimulate the acute phase reaction.
• Mast cells - are part of the immune system that contains many granules rich in histamine and heparin. They play an important protective role, being involved in wound healing and defense against pathogens.  The mast cell is very similar in both appearance and function to the basophil, another type of white blood cell. They differ in that mast cells are tissue resident  whilst basophils are found in the blood
• Macrophages are also part of the Immune system

In other words without fat we die, as the immune system relies on fat to store a number of the troops in its defence forces.  This is why people who are anorexic or bulimic or starving or fasting, may suffer increasing illness and eventually die.  They do not die from lack of energy or input, but from pathogens that simply consume the body - kill it off from the inside.

The repair role of 'fat'

Far from hormonally inert, adipose tissue has, in recent years, been recognized as a major endocrine organ, as it produces hormones such as   resistin.  Furthermore, the SVF has  fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC)  and endothelial progenitor cells:

• Resistin  - is an adipose-derived hormone (similar to a cytokine) which helps to regulate the supply of cholesterol.  Because of the mis-information that has been produced about cholesterol, most people seem to view it as' bad'.  But cholesterol - all forms of cholesterol - are an essential building block in the repair process if cells are damaged by pathogens.  If it is found in the blood, it simply means we are under a lot of attack from a pathogen.  It does not mean we are under attack from cholesterol!  Resistin helps to control the supply of cholesterol.  It increases the production of LDL in human liver cells and also degrades LDL receptors in the liver.  Resistin also accelerates the accumulation of LDL in arteries, in order that the ingredients for repair can get to various sites in the body.
• Fibroblasts  plays a critical role in wound healing
• Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) - In adult organisms, stem cells and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing adult tissues
• Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) are a population of rare cells that circulate in the blood with the ability to differentiate into endothelial cells, the cells that make up the lining of blood vessels.  In other words they help repair the blood vessels

Thus while the immune system uses fat to store 'the troops' used in our defences, the body's 'maintenance workers' use fat to store all the necessary building blocks they need to repair the body if it is attacked.  This is why people who are anorexic or bulimic or starving or fasting, may take ages to heal from surgery or wounds, if they heal at all.

In both cases - the immunological role and the repair role, we might postulate, therefore that the symptom of obesity is showing us that we are under truly severe attack by pathogens.  That the body is having to increase its size in order to store the troops it needs to fight off all the pathogens we have in our body.

We are indeed diseased, but not from fat, but from pathogens.

So let us now look at the root causes.
 

Causes

There is more than one cause of obesity so the following sections describe each possible cause and why it may be implicated.  First. however, I will take a look at one of the theories which says that obesity is due to inherited genes.

Inherited genes

There are a number of psychiatric theories or hypotheses that link depression and lack of learning ability, lack of motivation, poor memory, inability to feel pleasure, glumness, despondency, gloom and so on, with an hereditory lack of dopamine receptors. There is also a theory that some food addiction is caused by the low number of dopamine receptors in people who ‘binge eat’ – they are desperate to get the pleasure from the food, but have to eat more to get it.
In effect, the hypothesis states that a person with a hereditory lack of dopamine receptors will naturally eat more because they do not get the same level of pleasure from food as those with a higher number of receptors.
This hypothesis cannot be really proved one way or the other, because there is no way to really identify whether a person has a low number of receptors at birth, as such it is not possible to accurately identify whether a person who ‘binge eats’ is doing it from a lack of receptors or simply from a desperate need to be happier.
BUT dopamine receptors can be destroyed extremely effectively over time by overloading the system on negative and positive emotion, as well as drugs and pharmaceuticals, as such the theory may be sound, but the case for it being a hereditary condition is weak and the likelihood appears to be low.
The role of pharmaceuticals and emotion are explored below.

Viruses

Viruses, once they enter the system appear to be with us for life.  Although we may develop antibodies against them and thus keep a permanent defensive force on hand to combat any re-emergence, the vast majority of viruses are never actually 'killed' but find cells and tissues in which to hide and wait, until the immune system is compromised and then they emerge with a vengeance.  This is why we can get shingles later in life once we have had chicken pox - they are the same virus and the virus has been in our bodies all the time, just marking time..... waiting.

Human adenovirus 36 is one of 52 types of adenoviruses known to infect humans.  It is known to cause respiratory and eye infections in humans.  There has been a positive correlation between body fat and the presence of AD-36 antibodies in the blood.  One study found it was present in 30% of obese humans and 11% of non obese humans.

If we are being severely attacked by viruses, the body may well increase the adipose tissue in order to store all the immune system 'troops' and repair substances it needs to fight these viruses.  In effect, obesity is a sign of viral attack on a massive scale - from herpes simplex, to EBV, to CMV to Influenza, to any of the following viruses and more!

• Common cold
• Yellow fever
• Smallpox
• Poliomyelitis
• Mumps
• Measles
• HPV
• Chicken pox

In effect, obesity may be a symptom  - a marker - of attack on a massive scale by viruses.

Vaccines

There are three main ways in which vaccines may cause obesity.

1.  Live viruses and bacteria

Where the vaccine used in the injection is a live virus or bacteria, there are instances where it, although apparently vanquished by the immune system, lays low and continues to attack, albeit at a much reduced rate.  One example is the herpes virus:

This is not the only virus to do this. 

thus any vaccine containing a live virus carries great risk with it and may simply, as a by-product of the fact it is in the system, cause the body to have to greatly increase its supply of immunological defences - and adipose tissue may be where those troops and repair substances have to be stored.

2.  Vaccine excipient

Vaccines contain three main substances. 

• The agent is the active virus or bacteria against which we are being vaccinated
• The adjuvant is a booster which tells the immune system to fight like a thing possessed against anything in the vaccine - agent adjuvant and excipient
• The excipient is like a sort of holding fluid for the other two.  It contains stuff for the virus to feed on, preservatives to give the vaccine a long shelf life, plus other things

And some vaccines contain sugars  .... in fact some vaccines contain glucose and substances just like glucose.  Here is the LINK to the Wikipedia entry showing the contents of vaccines.  What do we find?  Well some examples of the vaccines containing sugars include:

• Adenovirus vaccine
• DTaP/Hib (TriHIBit)
• Hib vaccine (ACTHib)
• Influenza vaccine (FluMist)
• MMR vaccine (MMR-II)
• MMRV vaccine (ProQuad)
• Rotavirus vaccine (RotaTeq)
• Rotavirus vaccine (Rotarix)
• Typhoid vaccine (oral – Ty21a/Vivotif)
• Varicella vaccine (Varivax) - - chicken pox and shingles vaccine
• Zoster vaccine (Zostavax) - chicken pox and shingles vaccine

What is the vaccine telling the immune system to do?  'Fight the contents of the vaccine develop an immune response every time you come into contact with this substance'.  So what does the immune system do when we eat anything that produces sugars that enter the blood stream? The immune system responds.  It is doing exactly what it was told to do - a perfect response - it fights the substance and the way it appears to do it is by closing off every cell to ensure the substance does not get in.  So we end up exhausted as all our cells are actually being starved of supplies.  There may also be a high level of  inflammation. 

And we are left with very high blood sugar.  And what happens when we have high blood sugar?  The body uses it to make adipose tissue.  If the pancreas is working effectively it will increase the insulin and adipose tissue will be formed.

Parasites

Parasites are truly evil little demons.  They act like viruses, in that the body has extreme difficulty in killing them off and in many cases is unable to do so.  They too lay low, they too replicate in massive numbers in the body and get everywhere including the brain.  They cause deafness, blindness, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and any number of appalling diseases.  They also result in a painful death. 

If we are being severely attacked by parasites, the body may increase the adipose tissue in order to store all the immune system 'troops' and repair substances it needs to fight these parasites.  In effect, obesity is a sign of parasitical attack on a massive scale.

 

Bacterial infection

Many foods and pharmaceuticals can interfere with intestinal flora.  Anti-biotics are one very obvious pharmaceutical but there are many more, as well as other causes - see intestinal disease.  Once the intestinal flora has been compromised, any number of toxins, bacteria, parasites and so on can enter the blood stream, in effect a flood of pathogens suddenly appear and it appears that this flood of pathogens then results in the body increasing the adipose tissue so that it can present the appropriate immune response:

or simply to cause obesity.

Fungal infection

I could find no direct evidence that fungi had the same effect as viruses on adipose tissue.  Fungi do not generally act like viruses in that they are not as cunning!  But I want to use a case study here involving fungal infection to demonstrate a point. 

The conclusions one might superficially come to by reading this is that the obesity was compromising the immune system and as a consequence the people were unable to fight the disease.  But knowing what we do now about the role of fat, perhaps the people's system was already absolutely overloaded by viruses and bacteria and parasites, and the fungi was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Nutritional deprivation

Obesity can be caused by 'over-eating' and is linked with the workings of the metabolic process. Simply put if we eat more than we need as energy, it is laid down as fat. This we have known for many years. 

If we don't exercise or do much, we don't need as much energy. It is essentially caused by over eating and over drinking, over eating fats to a certain extent but vastly over eating carbohydrates and over eating and drinking them, when there is no mechanism by which the glucose and fatty acids generated can be used.

A slow metabolic rate [the time taken for food to pass through your system] can mean you need less food because your system is actually very efficient at extracting every last ounce of goodness from what it has been given. Although a person’s metabolic rate tends to remain constant for each individual, the metabolic rates themselves can vary a lot between people such that one person may seem to be able to thrive on almost nothing [they are actually very efficient users of food] and others need far more [they are inefficient].  As one doctor explained it to me – you and I are the Toyota Yaris’s of the world [very efficient and thus prone to get fat] and your husband is more of an Aston Martin [very inefficient and always slim].  If you already know this, us Toyota Yaris’s eat less.

One way of simply determining what sort of metabolism you have is by eating a food that produces recognisable results in your faeces – such as beetroot which always turns them red – and then measuring to see how long it takes before this food works its way through to become poo.  My husband processes his food in under 8 hours which must be pretty inefficient by anyone’s standards.  I, on the other hand, see no results for 2 days, which means I must have a system of extreme efficiency.  It appears that my intestines must be not only longer than my husband’s, but they squeeze out every last ounce of usable nutrients and energy.

Stress, grief, fear and other high levels of emotion

In humans, the secretory activity of the pancreas is regulated indirectly via the autonomic nervous system.

• The Sympathetic nervous system serves to increase the glucose in the blood and decrease the insulin, as well as slowing down the secretion of enzymes. 
• The Parasympathetic nervous system decreases the glucose, increases the insulin and increases the supply of enzymes

In effect, extreme emotion and stress can have a very direct effect upon obesity.

The fight or flight response of the sympathetic nervous system inhibits insulin release in order that more glucose is available in our bodies to 'fight or flight'! But we don't actually use the glucose with these emotions, so glucose acts like a toxin in our blood stream [eventually contributing to endothelial dysfunction]. Initially we may appear to lose weight through the sort of hyperactive response provoked by stress and grief, but gradually the number of insulin receptors in our cells also reduces to counter the threat. Destruction of insulin receptors leads to low energy levels and great weariness, it can also lead to the brain becoming very confused with inadequate energy supplies. We can't think straight any more.

The glucose is still there in our blood stream, we may even eat more in a desperate attempt to feel less weary, but it is no good because the receptors have gone, the cells can do nothing with it, so then the body stores the glucose as fat and ironically it uses insulin to do this.  So we might get great weight swings, sudden loss initially followed by huge gains over time.

Obesity in this case is being caused by the gradual effects of too high a level of glucose in the blood over considerable lengths of time. 

The glucose acts like a form of toxin and desensitises insulin receptors.  

The receptors become damaged from the constant overdose and then because they are damaged we need more glucose to have any effect. Eventually, incidentally, diabetes results, not just obesity.

Unhappiness, anxiety, stress and worry long term makes you fat. 

Pharmaceuticals

There are a truly vast number of pharmaceuticals implicated in obesity. The eHealthme web site has a useful list of pharmaceuticals that have been implicated - follow this LINK.  The list runs into the thousands.

The general reason drugs cause obesity is simply imbalance of our system and thus the metabolic process. If we take but one example, glucocorticoids regulate the metabolism of glucose, they are used in medicine to treat diseases that are caused by a so-called overactive immune system, such as allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases and sepsis.  Glucocorticoid drugs currently being used act nonselectively, so in the long run they can alter metabolic processes too.

Furthermore, there are a whole host of drugs that imitate the workings of the sympathetic nervous system releasing adrenaline to 'stimulate' us. Any drugs that release adrenaline on a permanent basis inhibit insulin release in the same way as it is inhibited via stress or grief.  

The metabolic process relies on enzymes to work.  Every cell carries out thousands of metabolic reactions.  Each reaction starts with the reactants and ends with a product or products.  Every cellular reaction, whether this is breaking things down or building things up is controlled by enzymes.  Any pharmaceutical that affects enzymes, inhibiting their action, may affect the metabolic process.  Glucose, for example, can react directly with ATP to become phosphorylated at one or more of its carbons. In the absence of enzymes, this occurs so slowly as to be insignificant. 

In humans, lipolysis (hydrolysis of triglycerides into free fatty acids) is controlled through the balanced control of lipolytic B-adrenergic receptors and a2A-adrenergic receptor-mediated antilipolysis.  Thus any pharmaceutical that interferes with these receptors will affect the metabolic process and of course one primary class of medications to do this is the beta blocker.  Other classes of pharmaceutical that impact this receptor include the anti-depressants, the anti-psychotics, the so called anti-anxiety drugs,  and so on.

The classes of drug mentioned on the eHealthme web site with examples [see their web site for a complete list] include the following, please note that this list is not exhaustive

• ADHD - attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drugs
• Hypotension drugs
• Cocaine, Stimulants and amphetamines
• Anti-psychotics – such as Abilify or Clozapine
• ACE inhibitors such as Accupril and Ramipril
• Acne and skin cancer treatments – such as Accutane
• Pain killers and NSAIDS such as Paracetemol and codeine, Valdecoxib, Advil, Celecoxib, even aspirin has a high incidence of reports
• Heartburn and ulcer treatments – particularly PPIs
• Osteoporosis treatments – such as Actonel and Fosamax
• Diabetes treatments – such as Actos
• Asthma and COPD treatments such as Ventolin and Advair
• Diuretics such as Aldactine
• Antihistamines such as Fexolenadine, Benadryl
• Gout treatments – such as Allopurinol
• Benzodiazepines
• Insomnia treatments such as Zolpidem
• Antibiotics such as Amoxycillin
• Beta blockers such as Atenolol
• Multiple sclerosis treatments – notably the interferon based drugs
• Anti-anxiety and anti-depressants – such as Buspar and particularly SSRIs like Citalopram. Or TCAs
• Calcium channel blockers – such as Diltiazem
• Statins such as atorvastatin

and so the list could continue...................

 

Hypoxia

Cells carry out thousands of chemical reactions.  The sum of all these reactions is called cellular metabolism.  There are two main types of metabolic reaction - catabolism and anabolism.  During catabolism substances break down and release energy.  In the process that uses glucose to generate energy, which produces as an end product energy, carbon dioxide and water, the cells need oxygen.  Thus, if the air we are breathing is insufficiently supplied with oxygen, the body cannot turn the glucose into energy. 

 Toxins

A number of toxins - pesticides, insecticides, chemicals used in the food processing industry, chemicals used in food storage can inhibit enzymes and thus inhibit the cells's ability to process food and more specifically glucose. 

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that at certain doses, can interfere with the endocrine (or hormone system) in mammals. Any system in the body controlled by hormones, can be derailed by hormone disruptors. Hormones work at very small doses (part per billion ranges) thus it takes very little to disrupt the body's endocrine systems. Endocrine disruption can occur via higher than normal doses of the body's own hormones [via the food chain for example] or via chemicals that can compete with natural hormones for receptors or destroy the receptors.  Examples include BPA, DDT, PCBs, pthalates and son - follow the link for more details.

Insulin is a hormone, leptin is a hormone, restin is a hormone ............

Treatments

Symptom based medicine

The Pharmaceutical industry have created a class of drugs called 'obesity treatments'. They have an impressive record of causing hallucinations and near death or death experiences.

There is also a surgical treatment involving the intestines  - the gastric band - which has its own impressive record of causing hallucinations [and deaths], principally via nutritional deficiencies or imbalance. 

Cause based approach

Find the cause and tackle this.  

The other important aspect is to help your immune system fight the invaders.  This is done by good food, laughter, friendship and company [love] , hobbies, fresh air and light exercise, communing with nature and so on - all the suppression actions.

• Eating for health is key DO NOT USE VITAMIN SUPLEMENTS OR MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS, you need to experience the sheer pleasure of eating fresh well balanced food, beautifully presented, and eaten slowly with friends and relatives.  The emotional enjoyment you get from this is as healing as the food itself.

• Exercising and keeping fit - ensures blood glucose levels are stable and that glucose is used, it also helps in reducing any fat that has accumulated

• Sleep as much as you can - Sleeping has a number of functions.  One is the defragging of memory, another is learning from the perceptions gathered during the waking period, but the third purpose of sleep is healing.  
  Healing takes place during very deep non REM sleep, when the mind and body are totally inactive.  This inactivity then gives the autonomic system and the healing processes a better chance to function.  In some senses we go into a light coma every night when we fall asleep in a deep state of non dreaming sleep, but because we are never monitored in our own bed, no one knows.

• Sun - one key vitamin often lacking in all western cultures is Vitamin D.  It is possible to get Vitamin D from cod liver oil, but the ideal is to go out in the sun as often as you can.  The ideal is actually to be naked in the sun, but as I am all too aware [the 'nipples like organ stops syndrome'] , this is not necessarily that practical in the northern countries.  However, every little helps, so even an hour or so's exposure can make all the difference.

Additional therapies can also be used to help with movement problems and stiffness, posture problems and aches and pains.  Again the observations show where techniques such as osteopathy, physiotherapy, reiki, acupuncture,  etc have helped.  Manipulative and healing therapies can often be a great help because they help the body itself to adjust to the weight gain or weight loss as you are tackling the causes. 

References and further reading

Video

This is a wonderful video Peter Attia: Is the obesity crisis hiding a bigger problem?

"Hip Op-eration" - New Zealand dance crew "Hip Op-eration" practicing for the 2013 World Hip Hop Dance Championships held in Las Vegas.  All the people in this dance troupe have some infirmity - hip operations being just one.  The aim of putting this video on the site is to show that whatever you have in the way of  physical problems, exercise is possible and it can be enormous fun.

Books

If you speak Flemish or Dutch, this little book is a wonderful read for you and your children.  It is told as a story and encapsulates all the good lessons of how to treat obesity

Lucas, het komt dik in orde (Bij de hand) [Dutch] [Hardcover] - Els Vercruysse (Author), Pauline Oud (Illustrator)

see also a paper by her group  http://www.omicsgroup.com/conferences/ACS/conference/download-pdf.php?file=3923-Speaker-Pdf-T.pdf.

Related observations

Healing observations

• Almonds, cholesterol and obesity 005653
• Apples and cancer 005903
• Apples, pears and obesity 006262
• Arginine, the immune system, babies and sperm 005428
• Association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with metabolic syndrome in patients with psoriasis: a case-control study 012055
• Avocado benefits 005905
• Ballroom dancing for the elderly 013366
• Battling obesity using the mind 010752
• Beans and health 005532
• Bingen, Hildegard of - Rye 022681
• Bisphenol A alters gut microbiome: Comparative metagenomics analysis 026776
• Chocolate and obesity 005629
• Coffee and obesity 005619
• Coffee, tea and depression 005621
• Dark Chocolate and obesity 005630
• Development of a gummy candy reduced in calories by sugar substitution with Stevia rebaudiana B 020837
• Dr Duke's list of activity for Vitamin C 017762
• Dr Duke's list of biological activities for Vitamin C 017880
• Dr Duke's list of chemicals and activity for the Shallot 017969
• Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride - Heart attack through 'evil fats'? 027893
• Drumming to combat obesity 012460
• Effect of narrowband ultraviolet B therapy on inflammatory markers and body fat composition in moderate to severe psoriasis 015619
• Effects of dietary polyphenols on metabolic syndrome features in humans: a systematic review 021219
• EFT and food cravings 006212
• Eggs and cholesterol 005907
• Enhancing the health-promoting effects of tomato fruit for biofortified food 017743
• Essential oil from Citrus aurantifolia prevents ketotifen-induced weight-gain in mice 021229
• Fasting and cancer 006667
• Fasting and obesity 006666
• Fasting and toxins 010377
• Flax seeds and cholesterol 005517
• Gut microbiota: Description, role and pathophysiologic implications 020508
• Healing by AVOIDING processed foods, artificial flavours and colours, and emulsifiers 026331
• How to Rid Your Body of Mercury and Other Heavy Metals: A 3-Step Plan to Recover Your Health 026662
• Ketogenic diet in neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases 026609
• Lack of sunlight, osteoporosis and obesity 006225
• Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) Exhibits Antidiabetic Activities in a Mouse Model of Diet-Induced Obesity 019283
• Miss Beauchamp - Her illness was in the mind 015009
• Mrs Grieve on Nettles 016790
• Nicotine as Therapy 017963
• Osteopathy and obesity 006190
• Peanuts, peanut butter and obesity 005655
• PubMed - Physical activity in preschool children: comparison between Montessori and traditional preschools 015193
• PubMed paper - Traditional native American diet and health 005530
• Resveratrol and health 005427
• Sensory deprivation and losing weight 011896
• Snacking almonds, cholesterol and diabetes 005652
• The effect of almonds on anthropometric measurements and lipid profile in overweight and obese females in a weight reduction program: A randomized controlled clinical trial 020831
• The Healing Power of Sleep 026790
• The Ketogenic Diet: Making a Comeback 026610
• The microbiome-gut-brain axis: implications for schizophrenia and antipsychotic induced weight gain 026783
• Tirrukural, the - Book 2 from Medicine 022858
• Tree, Isabella - Wilding - Milk and beef facts 029101
• Turn off the TV and dance! 013370
• Vitamin D deficiency and Hyperthyroidism 012197
• Vitamin D deficiency, Psoriasis and Obesity 012056
• Vitamin D deficiency, thyroid disease and obesity 012059
• Vitiligo and Vitamin D deficiency 010133
• Wombats against depression - The story of Matthew Murphy 017639
• Yerba mate tea - The Healing power of Herbal teas – Ceres Esplan 019457

Hallucination

• A case of Cushing's disease, hallucinatory paranoid state preceding physical symptoms 023525
• Australian survey of psychoses 006145
• Case report: hallucinations and weight gain, from lack of control of diabetes and olanzapine 012990
• Dental amalgam fillings, anxiety, anger and depression 012331
• Effects of glucocorticoids on mood, memory, and the hippocampus. Treatment and preventive therapy 017713
• Fat boy has hallucinations 006144
• Fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine 005761
• Miss Beauchamp - Her illness was in the mind 015009
• Myxedema madness and hallucinations 006919
• Narcolepsy during Childhood: An Update 019057
• Olanzapine-induced diabetes in a seven-year-old boy 012992
• Serotonin syndrome following sibutramine poisoning in a child, with sequential quantification of sibutramine and its primary and secondary amine metabolites in plasma 018249

Wisdom, Inspiration, Divine love & Bliss

• Angell, Dr Marcia - The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why? 012261
• Angell, Dr Marcia - The Illusions of psychiatry 012262
• Fasting and toxins 010377
• Jeff Speck: The walkable city 014739
• Tirrukural, the - Book 2 from Medicine 022858
• Tree, Isabella - Wilding - We are suffering from nutritional deprivation 029105
• Wombats against depression - The story of Matthew Murphy 017639

Other observations

• Gastric sleeve for obese causes problems 006847
• Obesity illness and medications 005756
• The Roles of Inflammation, Nutrient Availability and the Commensal Microbiota in Enteric Pathogen Infection 020515
• Toxic wheat in the USA and UK 013096