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fredus  ·  1513 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Planning for Paris

From France

6 little known facts about weight control

Losing weight is not simply a matter of calories. Other factors that are not always thought of as important also play a role. The good news is that identifying them and correcting the shot, is often enough to get rid of those rebellious kilos

Good long enough nights

Experiments have shown that sleep-deprived people eat more and gain weight. Due to the lack of sleep, the stomach secretes a hormone called ghrelin in excess, which in turn causes carvings. Thus, any sleep debt can generate these effects in both adults and children. Not forgetting that sleep deprivation also affects memory, vigilance and our immune defenses, which become less effective against viruses and bacteria.

The solution is straightforward: although sleep time tends to have dropped (compared to las century, we sleep about 1h30 to 2h less per night), we must ensure that, at least some nights, we go to bed early.

The drugs side effects

If it is known that, overall, antidepressants and some contraceptive pills (especially those based on desogestrel) can stimulate appetite. What is not always known though is that many commonly prescribed drugs can also have this adverse effect, to varying degrees: those against allergies (cyproheptadine); migraines (pizotifen), diabetes (glitazone)…

The solution: if you notice an unexplained weight gain or if you have a question about a drug, talk to your doctor. In most cases, he may find an alternative to limit the side effects, and the weight gain. https://www.healthline.com/ has an article on the subject.

5. Choosing the right fat

Olive oil, salmon, walnuts and almonds… all these natural products contain protective fatty acids that nourish the organism without provoking a gain in weight (eaten in reasonable quantity of course!). That is not the case of pastries, sweet biscuits and aperitifs, margarines obtained by hydrogenation, spreads, fries…: those products contain 'trans' fatty acids, created during the industrial processing of oil into solid fats. Poorly assimilated by our body, this fat is immediately stored as fatty tissue.

To limit the consumption of those aliments, we read the composition of the products and we avoid those that mention the presence of “hydrogenated vegetable oil” which, according to https://sagessesante.fr, is inevitably synonymous with “trans”.

Stress reduction

Under the influence of frustration, you may tend to comfort yourself with a small piece of chocolate… or even the entire tablet! But this “compensatory” aspect is not the only reason for weight gain. It is now known that stress has a direct effect on fat accumulation and weight gain. The culprit is the NPY - a peptide produced by the brain. Secreted in excess in case of repeated stress, it stimulates food binging.

In an ideal world we should stop stressing… but obviously it is rather unrealistic. On the other hand, you can do physical activities or at least relax a bit with a few with breathing exercises, massages, or a hot bath…

5. Take care of your intestinal flora

The digestive tract contains billions of bacteria whose role, among other things, is to ensure the digestion of food and the proper assimilation of nutrients. But recent studies in mice suggest that the absorption of calories could be modified according to the composition of the intestinal flora. Thus, an imbalance can promote weight gain even if you don’t eat more. It would seem that some bad bacteria even encouraged the formation of lipopolysaccharides, substances that pass into the blood and cause, through an inflammatory process, obesity and diabetes.

One solution is to boost one’s intestinal flora by feeding it fructooligosaccharide, present in onions, artichokes, endives or bananas. These substances promote the development of beneficial bacteria in the colon, bifidobacteria, which fight against the proliferation of bad ones.

What if weight gain was related to pollution?

Could living near a factory or a highway make you fat ? This is at least a hypothesis recently raised. Experiments carried out on animals and subsequently confirmed on humans by means of tissue samples have shown that fat melting which occurs naturally at night is blocked when exposed to various substances, including benzopyrene. This compound belongs to the family of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, released during combustion (industrial processes, exhaust gases.) Volatile, it is found in the atmosphere at various concentrations (especially in the vicinity of industrial plants and roads) but also in barbecued and blackened foods. At least, on this last point, we can easily act upon.