Important Points:
- Weight Loss
- Benefits
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Pain
- Cognitive function
What are the health benefits of losing weight?
1. It will improve your cognitive function
Losing weight is not just a physical change; it can also affect the way a person thinks. According to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, intentional weight loss improves verbal memory, verbal fluency, executive function, and global cognition. If you feel that you need improvements in this department, losing weight would give you a boost.
2. It helps with your mood
Losing weight through exercise not only makes you healthier it can also make you happier. According to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, exercise can help with mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem.
3. It can improve your sex life.
In a study published in the journal Obesity, it was shown that those who suffer from obesity are more prone to erectile dysfunction. It has also been reported that the quality of sex in the obese is lower compared to people without a weight problem, so with regular exercise and weight loss, penile function will improve, and you can restore a satisfying sex life.
4. It can increase reproductive functioning.
Losing weight can help improve fertility in women especially those suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS, while in men, weight loss helps improve semen health increasing the chances of reproduction.
5. You sweat less
Losing weight through losing body fat, which acts as a natural insulator, will keep you feeling cooler and decrease the tendency to sweat.
6. Your blood pressure will become lower
As little as a loss of ten pounds can lower a person’s blood pressure back to normal. The effect is so great that weight loss is recommended along with medication in treating hypertension.
7. It strengthens the heart
Losing weight makes it easier for your heart to pump blood throughout the body while exercising strengthens your heart muscles. Losing weight is generally healthier for your cardiovascular health.
8. It prevents Type 2 Diabetes
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, losing just 5 to 7 percent of your body weight delays the onset of type 2 diabetes.
9. It helps prevents cancer
Obesity is a risk factor to the many forms of cancer from breast to colorectal cancer. Losing weight eliminates this risk factor thereby reducing the risk of you developing cancer.
10. It is good for the kidneys.
Because losing weight can reduce high blood pressure, it prevents renal damage and kidney diseases. Add to that the fact that losing weight prevents diabetes, a common culprit for kidney failure, and then you have two great perks of losing weight.
11. It prevents pancreatitis and pancreatic stones.
Obesity is associated with an increased risk for pancreatitis and gallstones both of which are surgical risks and can cause a person a lot of pain. By losing weight you decrease the likelihood of stone formation and ensure your pancreas is in tip-top shape.
12. Your skin will be clearer
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease closely associated with obesity. Maintaining a normal weight has been shown to lessen psoriasis severity and the incidence of flare-ups. Aside from psoriasis, people who are obese are generally more prone to skin problems compared to those with normal weight.
13. It improves oral health
Losing weight has been correlated to reducing inflammatory gum conditions thereby improving oral health.
14. It helps with body pain
By being overweight you add extra work on your joints which leads to joint pain and inflammation. By reducing your weight you lessen the burden on your knees and back which helps alleviate joint pain.
15. It improves your nail health
According to a study published in the journal Nutrients, obesity has been strongly linked to Iron deficiency anemia. This type of anemia can wreak havoc on your nail health causing them to be brittle and fragile.
Cognitive Effects of Intentional Weight Loss in Elderly Obese Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/101/3/1104/2804876
Exercise for Mental Health
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470658/
Sexual Functioning and Obesity: A Review
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2012.104
Sexual Quality of Life Lower for the Obese
https://corporate.dukehealth.org/NEWS-LISTING/SEXUAL-QUALITY-LIFE-LOWER-OBESE
Weight loss before fertility treatment may improve pregnancy odds for women with PCOS
Your Guide To Lowering Blood Pressure
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/heart/hbp_low.pdf
Health Risks of Being Overweight
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/health-risks-overweight
Obesity and Cancer
https://www.cancer.gov/ABOUT-CANCER/CAUSES-PREVENTION/RISK/OBESITY/OBESITY-FACT-SHEET
Obesity and pancreatitis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28719397
Psoriasis and Obesity.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28226326
Skin problems in people with obesity
https://journals.rcni.com/DOI/ABS/10.7748/NS2004.05.18.35.38.C3609
Obesity and oral health–is there an association?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23213928
Obesity as an Emerging Risk Factor for Iron Deficiency
Does Meat Really Heal? Many anecdotal reports have been released claiming that the carnivore diet – which basically consists of eating a diet restricted to meat (usually red fatty meat)–has alleviated the symptoms of autoimmune disease, depression and caused weight loss and improved health. Despite these anecdotal, is there any scientific evidence to support these claims? In this article, we will examine some of the effects of this diet on some conditions.
- What is the effect of the carnivore diet on obesity?
When you are on the carnivore diet, your intake of processed carbohydrates and sugar is completely cut off. Thesesimple sugars are the leading cause of weight gain. In the absence of these carbohydrates, your body burns fat for fuelin a process known as ketosis. This results in weight loss and the eradication of obesity. Obesity is a leading cause of chronic illnesses such as T2DM, Cardiovascular diseases and Fatty Liver disease among others.
- What effect does the Carnivore Diet have on autoimmune diseases?
Studies have shown that excess intake of sugary foods and processed carbohydrates increases systemic levels of inflammation in the body, which can increase the risk for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Eliminating sugar intake through the meat diet can therefore theoretically decrease levels of inflammation in the body.
But does the meat diet directly decrease levels of inflammation in the body? The carnivore diet sends the body into a metabolic state called ‘ketosis,’burns fat for energy instead of using glucose. Compared to glucose metabolism which produces large amounts of free oxygen radicals, contributing to inflammation, ketotic metabolism has been shown to produce far fewer free radicals.
In fact studies have shown that ketosis decreases inflammationand reactive radicals in animal models of multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune condition that affects the brain. It also decreases markers of liver inflammation in people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Since the ketogenic diet has also been shown to produce anti-inflammatory effects by directly inhibiting pro-inflammatory immune pathways in the body, it is assumed that the carnivore diet does the same, short of scientific tests being carried out. With this in mind, it can be concluded that the carnivore diet can in fact guard against inflammation and ameliorate symptoms of autoimmune disease.
- Does the Carnivore diet have any cancer fighting properties?
Not enough studies have been done on the carnivore diet but emerging evidence suggests that the ketogenic diet may decrease the risk of cancer through its anti-inflammatory properties. Because they basically act in the same way, the same can be deduced of the carnivore diet. Carcinogenesis (the development of cancer) has been related to hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, and chronic inflammation. The ketogenic diet is hypothesized to decrease risk of cancer by decreasing levels of insulin and glucose in the body and also by decreasing systemic levels of inflammation.
Initially, it was thought that cancer cells use a lot of glucose for energy, thus starving them of glucose would stop their growth. Unfortunately, this theory was disproved because normal cells too need energy, and there is no way of starving the cancer cells and feeding the normal ones.
However, there is an indirect link between cancer risk and sugar. Eating lots of sugar over time can cause you to gain weight, and scientific evidence shows that being overweight or obese increases the risk of 13 different types of cancer. In fact, obesity is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking. The carnivore diet can thus reduce the risk of obesity and thereby reduce the risk of cancer.
In addition, a study published in 2019 suggested there could be something else going on. Researchers found that people who drank more sugary drinks had a slightly increased risk of cancer, regardless of body weight. The study took weight in to account, but there are still lots of answered questions. More studies will be needed to investigate this.
But what of the studies that show a correlation between red meat and cancer? There is one major flaw in the way these studies are interpreted. These studies are epidemiologic. This means that causal effects cannot be implied. In other words, just because there is a correlation between meat consumption and cancer does not mean that meat consumption itself causes cancer.
- The Carnivore Diet and cognitive functioning…
Although there is limited evidence on the neuroprotective effects of the carnivore diet specifically, there is much evidence on the neuroprotective of the ketogenic diet, which the carnivore diet closely resembles. Data suggests that the ketogenic diet has anti-inflammatory effects on the brain and holds neuro-protective benefits.
The ketogenic diet was initially designed to manage children suffering from seizures. Studies show that as many as half of patients that are started on the ketogenic diet have fewer seizures after starting the diet. In children with specific genetic epilepsies or epilepsy syndromes, studies have shown up to 90% of patients achieve seizure freedom on the ketogenic diet.
Because inflammation is thought to play an important role in epilepsy and seizures, the ketogenic diet, and therefore the carnivore diet may decrease seizure occurrence through its anti-inflammatory effects. The anti-inflammatory mechanisms of the ketogenic diet involve reduced mitochondrial production of pro-inflammatory molecules and reduced production of excess excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, which can cause neuronal damage (a.k.a“glutamate excitotoxicity”).
Inflammation is thought to play a role in the development of other neurological diseases such as autism (increasingly associated with maternal inflammation), Alzheimer’s Disease, and Parkinson’s Disease, as well as cognitive dysfunction in people with diabetes and obesity. Thus, decreasing inflammation, potentially through the carnivore diet, may improve symptoms related to neurological dysfunction associated with inflammatory processes.
- What is the effect of the Carnivore diet on depression?
From anecdotal reports, the carnivore diet has shown neurological and psychological effects beyond the treatment of seizures and chronic pain. Several people on the carnivore diet report benefits such as increased alertness, energy, mood and concentration.
Moreover, inflammation can contribute to depression, and depression itself can promote inflammation. The ketogenic diet may improve mood and ameliorate depression symptoms through its anti-inflammatory properties.
- So, does meat heal?
It is clear that the carnivore diet has marked positive effects on the conditions we set out to explore. This is mainly due to its cutting off of sugars and carbohydrates. It can be said that getting on a carnivore diet is likely to bring about improved health outcomes.
It is important to note that there is not a ‘one-size-fit all’ when it comes to diet. Every individual has a different body, genetics, digestive system and immune system, which all of play a role in the body’s reaction to food. However, one “take home” is that everyone should cut down on sugar and processed carbohydrates because these are known to cause weight gain, pro-inflammatory states, and health problems.
References:
- Neurogal (2018): Does Meat Really Heal? Show me the Evidence for the Carnivore Diet. Retrieved from https://neurogal.com/neuro-blog/2018/12/7/does-meat-really-heal-show-me-the-evidence-for-the-carnivore-diet
- Cancer Research UK (2017): Sugar and cancer – what you need to know. Retrieved from https://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2017/05/15/sugar-and-cancer-what-you-need-to-know/
- The BMJ (2019): Sugary drink consumption and risk of cancer: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort. Retrieved from https://www.bmj.com/content/366/bmj.l2408