Inflammation is the Silent Killer

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it's tied to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, joint health, cancer, Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, and much more. And it may also play a role in causing you to hold on to stubborn body fat.

Scary? For sure!

While the importance of all those diseases can’t be discounted, heart disease doesn’t show up in a bikini, so let’s talk fat loss and how to eliminate stubborn body fat by controlling inflammation (don’t worry, the health benefits are a bonus too).

Inflammation: Good vs. Evil

Inflammation is necessary for survival, but too much can ultimately kill you. Here’s the difference:

Acute inflammation is necessary for healing wounds, speeding recovery from illness, and injury.

Chronic inflammation is dangerous and is the underlying issue for many diseases mentioned earlier and potentially stubborn body fat.

Fortunately, there are many steps you can take to reduce chronic inflammation. It’s called the Anti Inflammatory Diet -- here’s what you need to know in a nutshell.

• Rather than solely considering total calories, consider the quality of those calories.
• Toss out white flour based products.
• Bump up the color in your diet (sans the Fruity Pebbles)
• Research shows us that eating fat can actually make us lean—the right type of fat\

Let’s talk fats. Here’s a primer. The three primary types of fats are:

• Saturated
• Polyunsaturated
• Monounsaturated

Breaking it down a bit further, there are omega-3 and omega-6 fats (both are polyunsaturated).

We get omega-3 fats from fish, walnuts, almonds, flax seed, and fish oil supplements, to name a few. We get omega-6 fats from vegetable oils, like safflower, sunflower, corn oil, etc and other junk we eat, like seen in exhibits A and B...

Eating too many omega-6’s increases inflammation, whereas packing a nice hefty dose of omega-3’s decreases inflammation. Within the omega-3 umbrella, we can then look at three fatty acids called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). EPA and DHA are important in this fat loss equation, so we’ll focus on those.

Here’s the skinny.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition provided one group of subjects with fish oil and the other group with sunflower oil (same calories for both). Some participants in the study were told to exercise (walking three days/week for 45 minutes) and others were instructed not to. The researchers found that the fish oil and exercise group experienced a greater decrease in body mass than any other groups. Mohr Results readers surely know walking 3 days/week is less than optimal for shedding body fat, so we can only imagine the results of this same protocol combined with more intense cardio and weight training! The take home message was that fat loss was improved in the group who combined exercise with a DHA rich omega-3 supplement (1560 mg DHA plus 360 mg EPA total).

Alison Hill, PhD, lead researcher in this study suggested that “Omega-3's have the potential to enhance the efficacy of exercise programs in overweight subjects by promoting fat loss and improving CV risk factors, including triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol” (among others). Hill continued, “while the exact mechanism is unknown, omega-3's may facilitate fat loss by improving arterial dilatation thereby increasing the delivery of nutrients to sites of metabolism, and by increasing the activity of enzymes that drive fat oxidation.”

In English: Omega-3 fats help shift us from storing fats to using them for energy.

Eating clean is the key here. I’ll provide a sample 3-day diet menu in the next few days, but here are a few dietary suggestions that will absolutely improve your physique.

1. Eat more color! Diets which are very colorful, meaning loaded with fruits and vegetables, help decrease inflammation. And the darker the color, the better, so don’t shy away from dark leafy greens, red bell peppers, dark cherries, yellow squash, berries, tomatoes, etc. In our latest video we showed how to grill veggies and wild salmon. These types of foods should make up the majority of your carbohydrate intake and diet! Research even suggests that those who eat more fruits and vegetables (nine or more servings each day) weigh less than those simply restricting dietary fat!
   
2. Eat plenty off high fiber foods. Carbohydrates can affect inflammation; very simply, carbohydrates which are low in fiber increase inflammation and those which are high in fiber can decrease inflammation. And toss the high sugar items, such as soda, candy, cookies, and cakes, which have no nutritional benefit whatsoever.
   
3. Eat more omega 3 fats. As a reminder, omega 3 fats are found in fish, such as wild Alaska salmon like we showed on the grill, tuna, anchovies, and others. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least 12 oz of cold water fish each week. And consider a high quality, pure fish oil supplement. The healthy fats in fish oil act like Draino for your blood vessels; they keep your blood flowing smoothly and don’t allow them to become sticky, like other unhealthy fats do.
   
4. Eat less omega 6 fats. Decrease your unhealthy fats, like those found in fried foods, pastries, French fries and the like…but also decrease the vegetable oils in your diet. Adding omega-3’s without decreasing inflammatory omega-6’s is like simply putting a band aid on the problem. The fats found in these foods can be compared to putting sludge in your gas tank; probably not something that would be too wise.

We all have some level of inflammation regardless of how well we eat; the key is to control it to the best of your ability, which comes from living a clean lifestyle, exercising regularly, and simply taking care of your body in every way possible.

For more information about healthy eating and incorporating a variety of nutrients in the diet, check out:
Mohr Results - Is Your Grocery Store Making You Fat? DVD	Mohr Results - Is Your Kitchen Making You Fat? DVD!