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Overeating Triggers Overeating

Posted on Mar 2nd 2009 1:00PM by Jonny Bowden


Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life.

Want a terrific example of the proverbial "vicious cycle" when it comes to diet? Check this out: Overeating can actually stimulate a metabolic response in the brain that induces cravings to eat more. The result? A cycle of elevated calorie consumption that can lead to obesity, diabetes and insulin resistance.

We've long known that inflammation is a huge part of every degenerative disease from Alzheimer's to heart disease, and it's a big part of obesity as well. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California-San Diego found that overeating can induce inflammatory responses that underlie Type ll Diabetes and obesity. So what's the big news? We've known since forever that eating too much makes you fat.

The news is that it's not just that excess calories go right to your butt and thighs. That would be bad enough. But those excess calories actually upset and inflame metabolic processes that can lead to disease.

There's a Confucian-inspired adage used by the long-lived healthy people in Okinawa: Hara hachi bu. It means: Eat till you're 80 percent full. In other words, push away from the table before you're stuffed. You won't get fat, you might just live longer and you'll probably protect yourself from some really nasty metabolic consequences.

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