Highwood Highlights No. 16. July 2008
In our last issue of Highwood Highlights we focussed on social health. This month we are going to focus on physical health. In the next two months we aim to focus on mental and spiritual health. In the June issue we wrote that iron deficiency would be discussed in this issue. Rather than focussing on this area of physical health we have chosen to take a look at the treatment of obesity. We apologise for any perplexity.
Treatment of obesity: The following points outline the approach taken at Highwood Lifestyle Centre for the successful treatment of obesity. Following the list of points we have some explanatory notes.
1. Careful attention to a healthy circadian rhythm.
2. Nutritious fibre-rich vegan food.
3. Largest meal at lunch time and a small supper.
4. Exercise programme.
5. Regular steam sauna.
6. Plenty of water to drink between meals.
7. Juice fasting on Tuesdays and part of Wednesday each week especially for those giving up smoking.
8. Careful assessment and treatment of complicating factors including blood testing, if needed.
9. Encouraging motivation and a long-term plan.
Notes: It is now known that going to bed early and maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm is very important in the prevention and treatment of leptin resistance - a major cause of weight problems. A lighter meal in the evening helps with the circadian rhythm and promotes weight reduction by reducing calories before the less energy consuming night-time activity of sleep. A healthy vegan cuisine will promote weight loss by providing more bulk with less calories. The use of steam sauna is helpful for conditions where a "cold-body syndrome" is a complicating factor. Causes of cold-body syndrome include low thyroid, adenoviral infection and low metabolism from starvation dieting. To test for cold body syndrome check your oral temperature for a few days between 2 and 4 pm with a digital thermometer. If the temperature is consistently at or below 36.5 degrees Celsius then you have cold body syndrome unless your thermometer is malfunctioning. Drinking cold water between meals uses calories since the body needs to heat the water to body temperature. The secret to not putting on weight for most smokers is to alkalinise the body by juicing and then going onto a high vegetable/fruit diet. Other individual complicating factors not mentioned above include insulin resistance (these people tend to put on weight with high carbohydrate diets and need more proteins and fats from legumes and nuts), disabilities hindering exercise, vitamin D and iodine deficiency, medications promoting weight gain (such as antihistamines, antidepressants and antipsychotics) and sleep apnoea.
Highwood Testimonial:
The following is a testimonial from John that we have on file for public release. John came to Highwood twice, once in February and once in June when the testimony was written: "Since February: Reduced insulin by 50%, lost 9kg, normal cholesterol for the first time in more than 20 years, normal HBAIC [a diabetic blood test] first time in more than 20 years, kidney function almost normal."
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