If you are overweight you are at increased risk of a range of health problems. Among these are heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, gout, gallstones, sleep apnoea (snoring) and arthritis. Along with this list of physical side effects of being overweight, there are an equal number of emotional and psychological problems.

The proportion of overweight people in our society is increasing, despite the expanding weight-loss industry and an ever increasing range of ‘diet’ or ‘lite’ foods. It is clear that the answer to preventing people from becoming overweight is not a simple one. Nor is losing weight easy to do. The G.I. factor can make it easier, however. It tells you which foods satisfy hunger for longer and are the least likely to make you fat. When you use the G.I. factor as the basis for your food choices:

• there is no need to overly restrict your food intake,

• there is no need to obsessively count kilojoules,

• there is no need to starve yourself.

Learning which foods your body works best on is what using the G.I. factor is all about.

It is worthwhile taking control over aspects of your lifestyle that have an impact on your weight. You may not create a new body from your efforts, but you will feel better about the body you’ve got. Eating and exercising for your best performance is the aim of the game.

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The loss of body fat can lead to a range of physiological outcomes which, in turn, affect the further loss of body fat. Physiological adaptation to weight and fat loss can be divided into predictable changes (such as the decline in RMR in response to the loss of lean mass) and adaptive changes (where the body actively works to reduce the rate of weight loss). Dr Rudy Leibel and his colleagues from Rockefeller University in New York have tried to quantify the adaptive changes in lean and obese people as they lose weight. For a 10 per cent weight loss, they found that total energy expenditure declined by about 450kcal, of which about half could be explained by the changes in body composition and half could be considered adaptive.

Studies at Cambridge University on a particular species of desert mouse for example, have shown that when compared with a ‘dry mouse—or one accustomed to plenty of food—the desert mouse is able to adapt to decreases in body weight caused by lack of sustenance by simply slowing down its metabolic processes. Humans have less facility to actively alter metabolic processes to match changes in food intake, although adaptations do certainly occur.

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Fat is either gained or lost by increases or decreases in the size of the lipid pool in large numbers of fat cells. These ‘fill up’ in good times, like a water tank after heavy rain, and ‘empty out’ in bad times, like in a drought.

Which cells fill up or empty out most, and in what order, is a function of a range of factors including genetics, gender, age, race and the number of existing fat cells. One thing is clear though: the last cells to fill up are likely to be the first to empty out. If someone gains extra fat around the waist for example, this will usually be the first place it goes from when the energy balance becomes negative.

Fat cell enlargement through expansion of existing cells is called hypertrophy. A less common way of increasing fat is through an expansion of fat cell numbers or hyperplasia. Hyperplasia is

thought to occur only at certain periods in life, in particular during growth spurts when all body cells are rapidly increasing in number, such as early infancy (1-2 years) and early adolescence (12-14 years). Inappropriate lifestyles at these times may lead to a greater increase in fat cell numbers than might otherwise occur. A third stimulus to hyperplasia which is now well recognised is a large increase in body fat. As existing fat cells ‘fill up’, new cells come into existence and form a bigger ‘maximum capacity’ which is then capable of storing a total greater volume of fat. In contrast to the 30-50 billion fat cells of the average person, an obese person may have 70-80 or even up to 100 billion adipocytes.

The basis for hyperplasia of fat cells consists of ‘baby fat cells, known as adipocyte precursors, which exist amongst other fat cells, as if waiting for the opportunity to spring into action and fill up with fat like their parent cells.

Not a lot is known about these precursors; whether they are actually small fat cells in waiting, or whether they are just other (’stem’) cells that can be called on to make any other form of cell if needed. Some research suggests that they spring into action during the growth spurts mentioned above if conditions are right, or when increases in body weight exceed around 170 per cent of ideal or average weight. Once they mature however, they are there for life. Animal research has shown that with severe dietary restriction, fat cells can shrink to the point where they are virtually unrecognisable as adipocytes, but when overfeeding begins again, the shrunken cells rapidly fill up with fat.

With the expansion of fat cells in the waist region, some men, in particular, develop a ‘hard’ fat belly and some a ’soft’ or ‘wobbly fat one. The reasons for this are not quite clear but it’s possible that the big, hard abdomen represents a larger degree of visceral fat within the abdomen, which then pushes out more on the inner surface of the abdomen. Fat which is more ‘wobbly’ may represent more subcutaneous fat, although the evidence for this is not currently clear.

Irrespective of the type of fat stored, it’s clear that it is easier to prevent obesity and overfatness beyond a certain level than to cure it. Obviously, the function of fat as an energy store means that the human body has a certain capacity for increases and decreases in fat stores without permanent change. In the long term and for the very obese, however, there may be more permanent changes in fat cell numbers, metabolism and other fat maintaining factors, which make it more difficult to reduce body fat levels. People in this situation and those with a strong genetic component may be structurally and functionally different to the mildly overfat and in fat loss programs their outcomes may not be as favourable. They might need different programs to achieve similar levels of success as programs aimed at mildly fat people.

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BIRCHER-BENNER APPLE MCESLI

2 tbsp. old-fashioned rolled oats (not the quick-cooking kind)

2 medium-sized apples

2 tbsp. wheat germ

2 tbsp. condensed milk or ordinary milk, fortified with 1 tbsp. skim milk powder

2 tbsp. honey

1/2 lemon

2 tbsp. chopped hazel nuts or almonds

Soak oatmeal overnight in four tablespoons of water. In the morning, add lemon juice and milk; mix well. Shred apples, un-peeled but well washed, into the mixture. Add honey, wheat germ and nuts, and stir. Serve at once, as it will lose in taste and food value if apples darken (oxidize). This dish is a favorite at the famous Bircher-Benner biological clinic in Switzerland and is also very popular in health food restaurants in Europe.

FRUIT SALAD A LA AIROLA

1 bowl fresh fruits, organically grown if possible

1 handful raw nuts and/or sunflower seeds

3-4 soaked prunes or handful of raisins, unsulphured

3 tbsp. cottage cheese, preferably homemade, unsalted

1 tbsp. raw wheat germ

tsp. wheat germ oil

3 tbsp. yogurt

tsp. natural, unpasteurized honey

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Wash all fruits carefully and dry. Use any available fruits and berries, but try to get at least three or four different kinds. Peaches, grapes, pears, papaya, bananas, and fresh pineapple are particularly good for producing a delightful bouquet of rich, penetrating flavors. A variety of colors will make the salad festive and attractive to the eye.

Chop or slice bigger fruits, but leave grapes and berries whole. Place them in a large bowl and add prunes and nuts (nuts and sunflower seeds could be crushed). Make a dressing with one teaspoon of honey (or more if most of the fruits used are sour), one teaspoon of lemon juice, and two tablespoons of water. Pour over the fruit, add wheat germ, and toss well. Mix cottage cheese, yogurt, wheat germ oil, and one teaspoon of honey in a separate cup until it is fairly smooth in texture and pour it on top of the salad. Sprinkle with nuts and sunflower seeds. Serve at once.

This is not only a most delicious dish but it is the most nutritious and perfectly balanced meal I know. It is a storehouse of high-grade proteins and all the essential vitamins, minerals, and enzymes you need for optimum health. This salad should be a daily must for the beauty-conscious and health-conscious alike.

WAERLAND FIVE-GRAIN KRUSKA (for 4 persons)

1 tbsp, whole wheat

1 tbsp. whole rye

1 tbsp. whole oats

1 tbsp. whole barley

tbsp. whole millet

tbsp. wheat bran

2 tbsp. unsulphured raisins

Take five grains and grind them coarsely on your own grinder. Place in a pot with one to one and a half cups of water and add bran and raisins. Boil for five to ten minutes, then wrap the pot in a blanket or newspapers and let it stand for a few hours. Experiment with the amount of water used—kruska must not be mushy, but should have the consistency of a very thick porridge. Serve hot with sweet milk and homemade applesauce or stewed fruits.

Kruska is an extremely nutritious dish and should be taken as a meal in itself.

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All minerals are important for the health of the hair, especially calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, copper, and iodine. Vitamin D (cod liver oil) is important for the proper assimilation of the minerals in the intestines. (Remember: you are not what you eat, but what you assimilate.)

Iodine is a trace mineral which is found in foods and water in extremely small quantities. It is needed by the thyroid for its healthy functioning. It has been observed that iodine deficiency in the diet causes dryness, thinness and poor growth of hair. Iodine has a direct action on the activity of the thyroid gland. When the thyroid gland is functioning to its fullest capacity, the general metabolism is speeded up, which has a favorable effect on the quality and growth of the hair. It is also believed that iodine has something to do with keeping hair from turning gray.

The best natural source of iodine is kelp. Kelp is a dried and powdered seaweed, and can be obtained from health food stores in tablet or powder form. One or two kelp tablets usually contain a minimum daily requirement of iodine.

Remember that the diets of people known for their healthy, thick hair—the Chinese, Italians, Japanese, Eskimos, etc.—are rich in iodine, which is procured from sea foods and seaweed. Seaweed is a staple food in many countries, notably in Japan.

A few years ago sheep farmers in the Great Lakes region complained that they were having trouble growing wool on their sheep. Iodine is lacking in the soils of this area, as in many other inland regions of the United States. When the farmers added iodine to the sheep’s rations, the quality and quantity of wool improved immediately.

Kelp is also rich in many other minerals necessary for healthy hair growth, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. One or two kelp tablets with each meal is a good protective dosage.

Lecithin is very rich in choline, inositol, and phosphorus—all acknowledged hair-growth stimulants. Lecithin is a modern wonder food, indeed, and much scientific research is available which shows that it is essential for many vital functions of the body. It is extremely important for the health of the nerves. It is vital for the brain—28 percent of the brain is lecithin. It is credited with the ability to break up fat and prevent fatty deposits in the arteries—one of the plagues of modern man. It rejuvenates the endocrinal glands which are involved in the growth of hair.

Commercial lecithin, available at health food stores, is made from soybeans. It comes in granular, liquid, or tablet form. Take two to three teaspoons, or the equivalent in tablets, each day.

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