Is it difficult to lose weight? Allergens may be the key!

It is generally believed that you can control your weight and get rid of fat by "eating less and exercising more". Is it really that simple? Think about it, have you ever had this experience: no matter how much you eat less and exercise more, your weight just won’t budge? The author has met many such patients in the outpatient clinic. There are many possible reasons, one of which is "allergens"!

Recently, some scholars have conducted research on food sensitivity and weight. Let’s take a look at the results:

• Overweight/obese experimental group: Avoid foods that test results show sensitive reactions in the diet.

• Overweight/obese control group: given an individualized weight loss program but without avoiding sensitive foods.

• Results: The experimental group lost significantly more weight, lost more fat, lowered triglycerides, and reduced waist-to-hip ratio more than the control group!

"Huh? Allergens? But I don't have hives, itchy skin, runny nose, or itchy eyes? How can it be related to allergies?"

Many people believe that "allergies" must have symptoms on the skin, nose, eyes or respiratory tract (such as asthma). For example, if you develop hives immediately after eating seafood and your entire body becomes itchy and unbearable, then this is called an allergy. Or if you keep sneezing, having a runny nose or a stuffy nose when you encounter dust, dust mites or animal dander, then this is called an allergy. These are indeed symptoms of acute allergies, which are usually related to the antibody IgE. If you avoid these allergens, the symptoms will be alleviated.

However, the food allergens we are going to talk about here are strictly speaking hypersensitive reactions to certain food ingredients. Through blood tests, it can be found that the body produces antibodies IgG (not IgE) to these food ingredients. Such hypersensitivity reactions do not cause immediate skin/nose/eye/respiratory symptoms, so it is no wonder that it is difficult for people to associate them with "allergies."

So what are the health effects of this food sensitivity? Studies have found that food-induced hypersensitivity may put the body in a state of chronic inflammation (systemic low-grade inflammation), and inflammation is a key factor in many chronic diseases (myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes, insulin resistance, arthritis, dementia, autoimmune diseases, and even cancer, etc.), and obesity is one of them.

Back to the study mentioned at the beginning, it was done like this:

Did the results of the study surprise you? Subvert your past cognition? It turns out that eating less and exercising more is not the only way to lose weight. The key is to eat right!

Many studies have found that food sensitivities like these are closely related to various diseases, including headaches, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), atherosclerosis, body weight, etc., and through the elimination diet that eliminates sensitive foods, symptoms and quality of life can be significantly improved.

In the outpatient clinic, I often educate patients: eating the right food and eating healthy food is more important than simply calculating how much (calories) you eat! Eat right, eat healthy—pay attention to the quality of food, rather than just the quantity; consider both quality and quantity, avoid foods that are not suitable for you, take in a balanced and diverse diet so that your cells get the nutrients they need, avoid foods that you shouldn’t eat, and your body will naturally give you the health and normal weight you deserve.

Are you still trying to eat less and exercise more but still failing to lose weight? Check immediately to see if you have eaten the wrong thing!

This article is from: Dr. Henry Wu's Health Notes

※For more information, please see "Dr. Henry Wu's Health Notes"