Winning By Losing (WEIGHT, THAT IS)

     According to the CDC, Center for Disease Control, between 21 to 34% of us are overworking our bathroom scales...especially here in the Southeast. Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated from a person抯 weight and height, which provides a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. Another way of looking at the problem is that if we took the total weight of 100 people considered obese and divided that number by the ideal average, then we would end up with 134 persons. You may check your own BMI at the CDC website, http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/index.htm.

God Planned His Creation To Be Balanced

Dr. Gez Agolli is the Managing Director Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine at Progressive Medical Centers, and is excited about the success he and his staff are having in combating the problem of obesity. One rarely sees an animal in the wild that is overweight. Humans, and their pets that depend on them for food and exercise, are the creatures that seem to pack on the pounds.

"God intended His creation to be in balance in all things," said Agolli. "The term homeostasis refers to the body's ability to regulate itself internally regardless of external factors. One example is metabolism, or how we convert food into energy. When everything is in balance, we burn as much food fuel as we take in. If our regulating system is unbalanced, then we have left over fuel that is stored in the form of fat. We抮e like a car that doesn't use gasoline as fast as the tank is filled."

What causes a person's metabolism to get out of whack, how serious is the problem, and what can be done to correct it? Agolli points to the thyroid endocrine gland, often referred to as the growth gland, and the hypothalamus, or master gland. "When there is a complication with either, then it creates a craving. That leads to a desire for fats and carbohydrates above and beyond energy needs. Other causes of overweight are lack of proper eating and exercise, depressed immune function, nutritional deficiency, food allergies, and even over the counter and prescription drugs."

Obesity Is More Than Just Discomfort

Dr. Cheryl Burdette of Progressive, in a recent paper, notes that obesity is more than discomfort or even embarrassment. "Weight gain is one of the number one obstacles affecting health today. Obesity is quickly surpassing smoking as the number one preventable cause of death in our society. While diet and our increasingly sedentary lifestyle are most responsible for these changes, there is growing evidence that the toxicity of our environment slows down weight loss for a number of reasons."

Testing For Toxicity Is the First Step,

Finding the answers to an individual's problems can only be done through careful testing. That's the first of the steps taken at Progressive Medical Centers. "Toxicity studies are showing us how to help many of our clients,"adds Dr. Agolli. "Dieting by itself merely treats the symptom, but not the problem. At Progressive, we run tests on blood and urine samples to determine what toxins are interfering with the homeostasis of a patient. We've then had great success in putting the body抯 regulators back in order. At our centers, we used the FIR sauna (see May-June issue of Christian Living Magazine) to detoxify the liver and fatty tissues, natural supplements to provide essential elements like zinc, chromium, iodine, and we administer bioidentical hormones. In addition, our dietitian recommends changes in what, when, and how much the patient should eat to lose weight and maintain a balance of fuel to energy needs."

Finding Help For Obesity

If you (or a loved one) have tried all the latest fads in dieting and exercise, and nothing seems to be working, then Dr. Agolli encourages you to contact the Progressive Medical Centers at (888) 802-4131 to set up an appointment that may change your life.

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