THE REAL TRUTH
ABOUT HEALTH
t h e 1 4 co m m o n m y t h s t h at p r e v e n t h e a lt h !
Going Beyond the
Everyone Knows & They Say
By Dr. Eric Berg, DC
Myth #1:
The truth is, people need to get healthy before they try to lose weight. In
fact, weight loss is a byproduct of getting healthy and losing weight is not
synonymous with building health. Dieting or reducing calories can be very
stressful on your body, not to mention depriving it of nutrients—the very
thing that is supposed to get you healthy.
Low-quality pre-packaged diet foods are
fake foods that severely affect your
health.
Understanding that weight gain is a
symptom of “something else”—and not the
cause of your health problems—can greatly increase your chances for success. Let’s
first understand what fat is:
What Is The Purpose of Fat?
The purpose of fat is survival. It is a mechanism that
protects you against starvation by storing energy for
survival. We call this “potential energy.” You’re not fat;
you just have too much potential energy.
Do you really think you can increase your health by starving?
“They” have been trying to make obesity out to be a disease for a long time.
This way they can treat it like any illness – with medications. This will take
you even further from health.
Unfortunately, what’s missing in the healthcare system is the “health” part.
What is health? Medically, if your symptoms are all under control (being
treated with drugs) and you don’t have any major diseases, then you are
considered healthy. If your blood tests and hormone levels are normal, then
you are healthy. If you need medications to control a symptom, then you
are not healthy. It’s funny to sometimes hear patients tell me, “I’m healthy,
I just need to lose weight,” as I see a list of eight drugs they are taking to
manage their symptoms. Or people will tell me, “I need to lose weight so I
can get healthy and get off some of these medications.” Actually, it's just the
reverse. It’s really those other health problems that are stopping them from
losing weight.
A good way to measure whether you are healthy is to look at seven health
indicators: energy level (including memory and stress tolerance), sleep
quality, cravings, digestion, inflammation, pain, and menstrual cycle.
Menstrual Cycle
Energy
STUBBORN
Pain
WEIGHT
Sleep
Digestion
Inflammation
Cravings
If these seven factors are good, chances are you’re pretty healthy. Find
which ones are problematic, then focus on fixing them— not the weight.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised that your stubborn weight will stop being so
stubborn. Treating the weight problem directly will neglect the deeper
issues. Do you really think you’ll be able to lose weight while battling
fatigue, sleep problems, bloating, and cravings? Good luck. You should look
at the seven health indicators as open applications on your computer that
are slowing your metabolism.
One more point….
Many body conditions start off as minor and gradually worsen over time.
There are gradients of health conditions and early signs are considered
subclinical (not detected by laboratory tests). In fact, one type of adrenal
dysfunction will not necessarily be detected until 90% of the adrenal gland
has been rendered dysfunctional. In other words, having normal hormone
levels and blood tests doesn’t necessarily mean you’re healthy.
It’s “get healthy to lose weight,”
not “lose weight to get healthy!”
Myth #2:
This is one of those “everyone
knows,” but no one knows where
this rumor came from.
It is not true that 65% of your body is pure water. In fact, no part of your
body is in a pure water state.
Every part of your body contains various types of fluids (blood, urine,
lymph, fluid inside and outside cells). Water is significantly different than
body fluids.
Body fluids: Fluids contained in tissues that act to transport nutrients,
wastes, and oxygen through the body.
You need to drink water for sure, but to drink too much when you are not
thirst can actually dehydrate you.
You drink pure water and pee urine. Urine is composed of all sorts of
things: electrolytes, minerals, waste products of protein, hormones, acids,
and enzymes.
When you drink water, your body has to recombine electrolytes and many
other body chemicals. Drinking excess water can deplete these other
factors that make water functional in the body.
Urine is basically filtered blood. And yes, we do need water—but the blanket recommendation that everyone needs to drink eight glasses per day is
not valid.
How much water should you consume?
Drink when you are thirsty. Thirst depends on your physical activity; no
two people need the same amount of water. Don’t buy the claim that “your
body doesn’t know when it’s thirsty” or “by the time you are thirsty, it’s too
late.”
Have you ever overwatered a plant? It dies.
There is even a dangerous condition whereby people can die by drinking too
much water—it’s called hyponatremia. This condition indicates too much water
without enough electrolytes (minerals that hydrate). It’s a type of
over-hydration that can cause congestive heart failure and kidney and liver
disease.
Drink when you are thirsty!
Myth #3:
The outdated “Calories In = Calories Out” theory is full of holes.
The claim goes like this:
Since fat has the most calories, eating fat will put on the most weight. If you
eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. Since there are 3,500
calories in one pound of fat, all you need to do is burn 3,500 calories more
than you take in and you’ll lose one pound.
Oh, this is beautiful. Have you ever tried this? Has it worked for you?
Here’s the big flaw!
A calorie is a unit of energy in food. All calories are not identical and they
are not treated equally by our bodies’ hormones. Certain types of food
calories trigger fat-burning and others trigger fat-storing. Consuming more
of the calories that trigger fat-burning will cause you to lose weight, not
gain it.
Let’s take a bagel (200 calories) and three eggs (200 calories); both have the
same amount of calories. The bagel affects the fat-making hormones; the
eggs affect the fat-burning hormones.
200 calories
200 calories
There are three main categories of calories: carbohydrates, proteins, and
fats. And yes, it’s true that fat has more than twice the calories of the other
two, as seen below:
Carbohydrates provide 4 calories per gram.
Protein provides 4 calories per gram.
Fat provides 9 calories per gram.
But…
Fat has the smallest effect on the hormones that make you fat. In fact, fat
does not trigger any hormones that cause fat-storing. Proteins have fewer
calories than fat but actually trigger fat-burning hormones if not consumed
in large amounts. However , carbohydrates, with the same value of calorie
density as proteins, will create the biggest effect on fat-storing hormones,
making you fat. The big fat-making hormone is called insulin.
Insulin: A hormone made by the pancreas that lowers the sugar in the
blood. Insulin stores fat; in the presence of small amounts, fat-burning is
turned off.
Different carbohydrates have different sweetness (sugar) levels. Obviously,
candy and celery are both carbohydrates, but non-sweet vegetables will
not trigger insulin production . So, it’s the sugar concentration or how fast
a carbohydrate turns into sugar that determines whether it turns into fat.
And many carbohydrates can turn into sugar fast, including breads,
pastas, cereals, crackers, bagels, and pancakes.
Nutrient density, the other factor
Bread and salad are also carbohydrates, but bread has very few nutrients
while the other has tons. Instead of counting calories, count the nutrients
in calories. Just counting calories can reduce the very nutrients that get
you healthy.
If you practice portion control and consume everything in moderation, you
are treating all calories equally. This is bad advice because there are some
food calories you want to eliminate completely and some
you want to
consume in large amounts.
Don’t assign all calories equally; refocus on the hormone
effect and the nutrients density of calories.
Myth #4:
Exercise WILL BURN UP THOSE
EXTRA CALORIES AND MAKE ME THIN
I have had lots and lots of patients come to my clinic attempting to lose
weight by doing massive amounts of exercise, but they get very few
results. It’s depressing to put out all that effort and barely see any change
after months of exercise.
Here’s how it works: During exercise, most of the initial calories you burn
will be stored sugar calories. Your body stores sugar in your muscles and
liver. Stored sugar is the body’s preferred fuel when you exercise.
When do you burn fat?
Fat burning occurs 14-48 hours after you exercise, when you are in deep
sleep. That is when fat-burning hormones are active. In fact, if you weigh
yourself before and after a good night’s sleep, versus only when you wake
up, you’ll see the greatest change in weight.
In the graph below, you’ll notice that growth hormone (a main fat-burning
hormone) kicks in starting at 10:30 p.m.
Circadian Rhythm (Cycle of Sleep and Awake) and Growth Hormone
The benefit of exercise occurs in the recovery part (after 14-48 hours).
Exercise is really a type of stress that causes your body to use fat in its
recovery process. During the recovery process, your body uses fat as
energy fuel. This has to be a delicate balance of the right amount, intensity,
and recovery of exercise. Each person needs
his or her own unique
combination based on fitness level, recovery strength, and sleep quality.
Recovery is mostly ignored by most people trying to exercise to lose weight.
Instead, they focus on burning calories through more exercise. In fact,
some people get up at 4:00 a.m. to go to the gym, not realizing that most fat
burning occurs in sleep – oops!
If you are not sleeping, or are tired all the time, exercise will not be
effective. In fact, studies have shown that exercising when you are not
sleeping well (getting five hours of sleep or less) can increase your chances
of suffering a heart attack.
It’s best to adjust the intensity of your workouts based on your energy and
sleep levels. The less sleep a person gets and the more tired a person is, the
less intense the exercise should be – walk, don’t run, if you are not sleeping
well or are tired. It takes high-quality sleep and energy to recover and see
results from high-intensity exercise, especially to change body fat. This is
even truer as you age due to loss of fat-burning hormones.
Focus on your sleep and your recovery
rather than the exercise!
Myth #5:
YOU HAVE TO CONSUME
CARBOHYDRATES FOR ENERGY
Government guidelines recommend that 45%-60% of our energy intake be
in the form of carbohydrates because carbohydrates are the main source of
energy in our bodies.
The fact is that our body can turn proteins and even fats into energy. It
does not have to rely on carbohydrates for its energy. The more important
reason we need “certain” carbohydrates (veggies) is that they provide
vitamins and minerals, not energy. In fact, many carbohydrates will make
you tired if you eat them (refined sugars).
There are different types of carbohydrates:
Vegetables
Fruits
Starches (e.g., potato, rice)
Refined grains and sugars
The faster carbohydrates turn into their basic form of glucose (sugar), the
more stress carbohydrates place on the body. In nature, carbohydrates
never come in pure sugar form; rather , they come in a complex whole form
with fiber (vegetables, fruits).
Our bodies are designed to break down carbohydrates slowly, not to
consume them in a refined state. It was only when we introduced pure
sugar and refined carbohydrates into the food supply that we began to
have problems. Consuming an already broken-down carbohydrate in a
“refined” form puts extreme stress on glands.
The main problem with refined carbohydrates, starches, and sugars is in
the over-production of the hormone insulin. This is the hormone involved
in diabetes; it controls the amount of sugar in your blood. Your pancreas
must work hard to keep the level of sugar in the blood to a value of 100
mg/dl through the hormone insulin. If the sugar in the blood is too high,
insulin comes in and lowers it.
We are told to consume "whole" grains instead of refined grains. The whole
grains you get at the store are still severely refined, made from flour that is
usually stale (old). Unless you grind your own grains and consume them
within six days, much of the nutritional value is destroyed. The key factor
is when the grains were made into flour.
The most misunderstood fact about insulin is that it takes only very tiny
amounts of insulin to block fat-burning. This is especially true as you age
or if your metabolism is already slow. In the presence of small amounts of
insulin,
the
body
will
not
burn
fat.
Insulin
is
the
dominant
counter-hormone to fat-burning. In some cases, even very small amounts of
refined carbohydrates (wine, juice, or even a bagel) can bump you out of
fat-burning for 48 hours. You can be exercising and eating extremely
healthily—and that tiny amount of refined carbohydrate will nullify all of
your effort! Yikes!
Insulin is a huge culprit in obesity, high cholesterol, and high triglycerides
(blood fats). If the body is forced to release excessive insulin over and over
again, the cells in the liver will adapt (in attempts to block insulin) and
reduce absorption – this is called insulin resistance or type II diabetes.
Your body is trying to block sugar any way it can. If you continue to eat
sweets and refined carbohydrates, the cells in your pancreas will
eventually run out of insulin – this is called type I diabetes. Instead of
correcting the root cause (poor diet), people are given more insulin.
It is very dangerous to have high blood sugar, especially for your eyes,
brain, and nerves. You can eventually go blind, get brain atrophy
(shrinkage), or develop a condition called peripheral neuropathy, whereby
the nerves in your hands and feet start to tingle and burn, then go numb.
Get the main source of your
carbohydrates from vegetables.
Myth #6:
The Reason You Are Not Losing Weight Is
Because You’re Lazy and Procrastinate
In 25+ years of practice working personally with more than 40,000 people,
I have concluded that the majority of “lazy” people are not lazy. The real
problem is that they are just tired or exhausted, lacking vitality and
get-up-and-go energy.
They have no energy to go to the gym or stick to routines. Bad habits
worsen in the presence of fatigue and stress. These people come home
after a long stressful day, take care of their family, and just want to zone
out in front of the TV.
This is not laziness; this is fatigue. If they had the energy they would do
something. Others label them as “lazy.” This is an incorrect diagnosis. They
should focus on fixing their sleep patterns, which would reestablish good
energy.
Most people are not procrastinators either. They just do not see results
easily.
If they try to lose weight over and over and over again and fail and fail and
fail, I guarantee it will become harder and harder to jump in and keep
trying. They will put it off because they lack the confidence to get results.
They develop an attitude of “might as well eat what I enjoy, because I don’t
see change even if I eat well.”
Results depend on fixing the root problem. In myth #1, you received some
insight into the real cause of your weight problem. If you have the wrong
information about calories, exercise, and hormones, you’ll never solve the
problem.
Most people are not procrastinators either. They just do not see results
easily.
You’re not lazy, nor are you a procrastinator;
you just need more energy and need to get better results.
Myth #7:
Most Health Conditions Are Genetic
To be told that a condition is caused by genetics without any definitive
testing is to experience merely a guess. Guesses are opinions, not facts.
Being labeled as having a genetically caused disease leaves you without
any solution other than “you’re just going to have to live with it.”
All health symptoms have root causes. Things don’t just happen for no
reason.
Many health conditions are merely symptoms (effects) camouflaged as
causes.
Hypertension = high blood pressure
Hyperglycemia (diabetes) = high blood sugar
Hyperlipidemia = high cholesterol
Plantar fasciitis = pain in the bottom of the foot
Fibromyalgia = pain all over your body
Chronic Fatigue = tired all the time
Depression = feeling apathetic
Anxiety = excessive worry
Are these really diseases that we have to treat directly? Our current
healthcare system is designed to “manage” symptoms. We have become
overspecialized, which keeps all the parts of your body treated separately
without connecting the dots and taking a holistic view.
If your doctor is just not interested in understanding the underlying
cause, then find another doctor. Ask why and what’s causing the problem.
The lazy way of diagnosing is “you’re just getting older” or “it’s genetics”
or “things just happen.”
Myth #8:
There is No Difference Between
Synthetic & Natural Vitamins
There’s a theory floating around that says synthetic vitamins are the same
as natural vitamins.
Vitamins in nature always come in complexes, not as isolated individual
parts. You have the anti-oxidant protective part and co-factors that help
the complex work. There is also a mineral part and even an enzyme part of
the vitamin complex. Enzymes are the magical proteins that make
everything work. Trying to synthesize vitamins in a laboratory will never
even come close to what nature has provided us.
Ascorbigen
Bioflavonoid (Phytonutrient) Complex
Most people do not know that 99% of all vitamins sold to them are mainly
synthetic. There are only a few companies that sell natural, or better yet,
whole food vitamin complexes.
Petroleum is the main material used to
make many vitamins. It’s much too
expensive to use actual food as the raw
materials
in
making
vitamins.
For
example, let’s take biotin, a B vitamin. The
raw material of one kilogram of synthetic
biotin costs $8. However, the natural
version costs $800 – do you see the
problem?
With natural whole food vitamins, you will see listed the actual food
ingredients on the label.
With synthetic vitamins, you will only see chemical forms and synthetic
vitamins listed on the label. You may also see that each part of the vitamin
comes in whole numbers, like 50mg of B1, 50 mg of B3, and in higher
potencies. In nature, a vitamin never comes in high potencies, nor does it
come in whole exact numbers.
Taking large amounts of synthetic fractions of vitamins can deplete the
other parts of the vitamin complex. An example is synthetic vitamin C
(ascorbic acid). Taking large amounts can create symptoms of vitamin C
deficiency, like bruising, spider veins, and fatigue.
Make sure your vitamins come
in whole food complexes.
Myth #9:
A Balanced Diet Will Provide
People the Nutrition They Need
Balancing carbohydrates, proteins, and fats may or may not get you close
to the amount of nutrients you need daily.
The purpose of food is to provide you with the nutrients your body
requires. Instead of trying to balance your carbohydrates, proteins, and
fats, more important is to look for the vitamins, minerals, essential fats, and
amino acids in those macronutrients. A common nutrient that is usually
missing in our food supply is the trace mineral. Trace minerals are needed
only in small amounts but they are necessary.
Many people do not know the body’s daily nutritional requirements. You
may know of recommend dietary allowances (RDAs). Another unit of
measure is the dietary reference intake (DRI). Then there is another called
daily values (DVs), which are listed on the food labels of every food you eat.
This will tell you the percentage of a given nutrient in a product.
I don’t think many people pay attention to this, but it’s a good idea to start
looking at labels. You’ll be surprised at how low in nutrition your foods
really are.
This tells the percentage of a given nutrient. If a product says “Vitamin C –
5%,” then the product provides 5% of the vitamin C that you need in a given
day. The most common nutrient in short supply for people is potassium. Our
body needs roughly 4,700 mg of potassium each day. What foods do you
think have high potassium?
Bananas?
Yes, but bananas only provide 400 mg. It takes eating almost 12 bananas
each day to get the required amount of potassium – wow!
Avocados provide around 800 mgs per avocado. But still you would need to
eat almost 6 each day. I think the easiest way to get potassium is through
big salads. Depending on the type, you would need 7-10 cups a day to get
your daily potassium. A few big salads per day and you’re good. At
restaurants, you normally get your main course and a side salad that is
maybe 1 cup – not even close.
Potassium
To fulfill 4,700 milligrams of potassium, you would have to consume :
7-10 cups of lettuce
Or you could consume 12 bananas,
Or you could consume 6 avocados.
Different vegetables contain higher and lower amounts of nutrients. This
means you can select nutrient-dense vegetables to get your requirements.
A very small amount of kale (1/10th of a cup), for example, will provide you
with the same amount of vitamin A as 6 cups of iceberg lettuce.
Vitamin A Requirements
Iceberg Lettuce
6 cups
Romaine Lettuce
1/3 cups
Kale
1/10th cup
I created a free online assessment to help you find out your dietary nutrient
levels. This project took me more than two years to create and it’s finally
complete. Anyone can go to the site, fill out the form, and see what they are
missing. Don’t worry, there’s no sales pitch. Check it out.
http://www.drberg.com/healthy-diet
It’s not about a balanced diet;
it’s about consuming nutrient dense foods
that satisfy nutrient requirements.
Myth #10:
Eating Butter & Eggs Will Clog Your Arteries
Did you know that 75% of all the cholesterol in your body is made by your
body? If cholesterol is so bad, why then does your body make it?
Your body creates 2,000+ mg of cholesterol every day. One egg has 185 mg
of cholesterol; you would have to consume more than 10 eggs to equal the
amount of cholesterol your own body makes. Actually, cholesterol has
important purposes.
Cholesterol is needed as a Band-Aid to heal a damaged artery. It’s used to
make hormones, especially sex hormones. Cholesterol is also needed for
brain health.
Butter and egg yolks can increase cholesterol, but only the good
cholesterol. The “reducing cholesterol reduces heart disease” myth has
been disseminated since the 1950s.
One of the largest studies on cholesterol, called the Framingham Heart
Study, led to the relative risk factors which are listed on the cholesterol test
results you get from your doctor. In a thumbnail sketch, the study
demonstrated that people with high cholesterol were at higher risk than
people with low cholesterol. However, if you actually read the study, you
will see some serious fudging of numbers. Following is what the study
misrepresented.
At low cholesterol levels, 1 of 1,000 people experienced a heart attack.
However, at high cholesterol levels, 2 of 1,000 people experienced a heart
attack. An increase from 1 to 2 gives us a 100% increase, right? And if I tell
you that you have a 100% increased rate of having a heart attack due to
your high cholesterol, you will probably take the medication prescribed,
right? But — the findings did not use the word “rate,” only “risk.” The other
flaw is that these are fractions, not whole numbers. If we go from the
fraction 1/1000 to 2/1000, there is only a 0.1% increase (that’s 1/10th of 1%),
not a 100% increase. Who in their right mind wouldn’t take preventive
medication if they had a 100 % increased rate of developing a heart attack?
Ancel Keys, a scientist who popularized the low-fat diet, fudged research
data. In studying the relationship between countries that consume
high-cholesterol diets and coronary heart disease, Keys cherry-picked the
countries that showed a connection but left out the countries that did not.
Of the 22 countries he examined , he left out 15.
A comprehensive review of 21 published cholesterol studies in 2010 showed
absolutely no association between saturated fat and heart disease.
Scientists and government agencies have a very difficult time admitting
they’re wrong, despite the facts.
Butter and eggs were never the culprit;
we’ve been consuming them for hundreds of years.
Myth #11:
Red Meat Is Bad For You
Does red meat really cause cancer? This
theory is mostly based on a 1986
Japanese
study which found that rats exposed to a
compound in meat called “heterocyclic amines”
(over-cooked protein) showed an increase in
cancer risk. In other words, if you let your
meats become charred or over-cooked on the
grill, there is some evidence from rats
suggesting
that such over-cooking links to
cancer risk. But “heterocyclic amines” occur
not only in charred red meats, but in all meats,
including fish.
The real problem is “over-cooking” meat. They also found that marinating
meats in olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice can cut down the effect of
“heterocyclic amines” by 90%.
We’ve been eating red meat for thousands of years. Yes, red meat can be
more difficult to digest as you get older, and consuming large amounts of
red meat can stress the liver, but red meat is not the cause of cancer.
The problem with all meats, whether red, white, or any color, has to do with
how the animal is treated and processed. Cows that graze on pesticide-free
grass and consume actual grass instead of grains—especially genetically
modified (GMO) grains—are totally healthy. The big problem is that most
animals raised for consumption are fed grains (soy and corn) that are
genetically modified. GMO grains do have a link to cancer.
When you consume any meats,
try to eat grass-fed or at least organic meats.
Myth #12:
ANTIOXIDANTS For Heart Health
It’s recommended that women drink one glass of wine each night and men
drink two. Some studies have indicated a positive link between drinking
wine and cardiovascular health. Residents of Italy, France, and Spain, for
example, drink wine and have lower rates of cardiovascular problems. This
is not, however, why they might be healthier. Their food is much higher in
nutrients that American food.
However, thinking that wine will improve heart function due to having
high anti-oxidant levels…it’s just not true. The problem with wine is the
alcohol. Alcohol is a solvent that damages the liver; it’s a drug. If you want
antioxidants, eat grapes.
Yes, chocolate has antioxidants, but it also has sugar, which nullifies any
benefits.
Antioxidants are not the part that makes you healthy!
Antioxidants are the protective factor for vitamin complexes and plants.
The purpose of anti-oxidants is not necessarily to give your body health
benefits; rather, they function to protect the plant and the vitamin from
being oxidized, or destroyed. Antioxidants are in the orange peel of the
orange and the eggshell of the egg.
Take vitamin C, for example. Some people incorrectly assume that ascorbic
acid is vitamin C and then take large doses. Ascorbic acid is merely the
antioxidant part that protects the other parts of the vitamin C complex; it
gives you no benefit in itself. The active and health-benefiting part of
vitamin C is not the antioxidant part but the complex parts inside that
include bioflavonoids (phytonutrient), the P-factor, K-factor, J-factor, and
an enzyme made from copper called tyrosinase (copper enzyme).
Ascorbigen
Bioflavonoid (Phytonutrient) Complex
Tyrosinase (Copper Enzyme)
You have heard on the news that "new clinical studies" demonstrate an
increase in risk for cancer when taking antioxidants. However, what they
fail to mention is that the so-called antioxidants used in these studies were
synthetic antioxidants, which are not even remotely close to what is in
nature.
Myth #13:
You Need To Alkalize Your Body
When people tell me they need to alkalize the body because they are too
acidic, I always ask them: What part of your body is too acidic?
The acid-alkaline or pH scale goes from 0-14, with 7 being neutral. Anything
higher than 7 is alkaline and anything lower than 7 is acid.
Every single part of your body has a different pH (acid-alkaline level). See
below:
Saliva
7 – 7.5
Esophagus
6–7
Stomach
1–3
Gallbladder
5 – 6.5
Small Intestine
7 – 8.5
Large Intestine
5.5 – 6.0
Lymph
7.4
Blood
7.35 – 7.45
Urine
6 – 6.5
Friendly bacteria in your digestive system make acids to kill bad bacteria.
They are called acidophilus bacteria.
Notice how acidic your stomach is—between 1 and 3. If you alkaline your
stomach, you destroy any chance of digesting foods and absorbing
minerals. This is why it’s dangerous to randomly alkalize. If you check the
pH of your saliva or urine and it tests excessively acidic, realize that it could
be compensating for other parts of your body having excessive alkalinity.
Drinking highly alkaline water can also throw your entire body into chaos.
The other interesting point is about stress. Stress activates high levels of
cortisol, which causes a loss of acids through the urine. This is why your
urine could show excessive acidity. But what is happening to the rest of
your body? It’s becoming excessively alkaline, especially in your blood and
stomach.
Being too alkaline can cause symptoms of breathing problems or fatigue. It
can also reveal symptoms of mineral deficiencies. Minerals like calcium,
potassium, and magnesium are all absorbed with acids. If your blood is
excessively alkaline, calcium can start to accumulate in your soft tissues
(e.g., joints, kidneys, eyes)
Your kidneys and adrenal glands control the pH of your body. Eating
healthily will allow your body to adjust to whatever pH it needs.
Instead of trying to alkaline or acidify your body,
eat healthy.
Myth #14:
Just Do More Sit-Ups For Belly Fat
So many people try to flatten their bellies by
doing sit-ups. The abdominal muscles in your
midsection being contracted and relaxed while
doing
sit-ups
can
create
a
more
toned
appearance, but it cannot melt the superficial
or deeper (visceral) fat off your belly.
Belly fat is a different type of fat. It’s called visceral fat and most of it
surrounds the organs in your mid-section. The word visceral means
“organs.”
Two hormones are responsible for belly fat. One is called cortisol and the
other is called insulin.
Cortisol is made by the adrenal glands and is triggered by stress. So,
anything that triggers stress can worsen belly fat. This includes dieting
(reducing calories) and over-training, the very thing that people do to get
rid of belly fat.
A better approach is to do things to reduce stress and to enhance your
sleep. You can start with long daily walks. Also, eat for nutrients, not calorie
restriction, making sure you never get too hungry.
To keep insulin down, you’ll need to avoid sugar – all sugar. This includes
making sure all hidden sugars are eliminated, including those in flavored
or vanilla yogurt, juice, and alcohol. The worse your metabolism is, the
more you have to eliminate any and all sweets because even very tiny
amounts can nullify lots of your good work.
To rid your belly of fat,
lower your stress and sugar!
About Dr. Berg
Eric Berg, DC, 49 years of age, is a
chiropractor who specializes in stubborn
weight loss through nutritional and natural
methods. His private practice is located in
Alexandria, Virginia. His clients include
senior officials in the U.S. government,
including the Department
of Justice,
ambassadors, medical doctors, high-level
executives
of
prominent
corporations,
scientists, engineers, professors, and other
from all walks of life. He is presently completing his last requirements to
achieve a high-level board certification in nutrition.
He is the author of The 7 Principles of Fat Burning, published by KB
Publishing in January 2011. In addition, Dr. Berg is widely published in
trade magazines, including Chiropractic Today and The American
Chiropractor, and in consumer publications such as First for Women, Men’s
Exercise,
New
Beauty,
Upscale,
and
Let’s
Live.
Dr.
Berg
trains
chiropractors, physicians, and allied healthcare practitioners in his
methods, and to date he has trained more than 2,500 healthcare
professionals.
He has been an active member of the Endocrinology Society, has served on
the advisory panel for the Health Science Institute, and has worked as a
part-time adjunct professor at Howard University. Dr. Berg’s nonprofit
foundation, Health Technology Foundation, is currently being approved
nationally to provide research to substantiate alternative healthcare
technologies and develop cost-effective solutions and results-oriented
healthcare. As a leader in natural health and food coaching, Dr. Berg has
appeared on many radio and television shows, including on ABC and CBS,
and as a monthly host on Channel 8’s Sports Talk. He also hosted his own
radio health show on WOL in 2005.
For More Educational Tips on Health, Go to DrBerg.com/blog
The Health & Wellness Center
4609 D Pinecrest Office Park Drive
Alexandria, VA 22312
For information about a Consultation
or our program Call 703-354-7336
www.DrBerg.com