Fat Burning Question: I am so frustrated with diets that make me feel like I am starving. Why have I become a fat storing machine? Answer: Ultimately, fat accumulation is the direct result of a failing endocrine system and the glands and hormones that are involved. Hormones are chemical messengers produced by the glands and are the primary driving forces affecting your metabolism, which in turn regulates fat burning. Barring any known metabolic disorders, the most common root cause of increasing fat storage is not just what you are putting into your mouth but how your endocrine system is triggered by that food. Trigger #1: The Absence of Sugar The biggest influence on your metabolism is sugar. Sugar triggers the powerful fat making, fat-storing hormone insulin. In the presence of insulin not only is fat blocked from being used as fuel, sugar becomes fat. Trigger #2: Vegetables Raw vegetables are one of the most concentrated sources of vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals. They are also high in fiber and significantly buffer the fat-maker insulin. Trigger #3: Protein Protein is a powerful trigger for two fat burning hormones: glucagon and growth hormone. Trigger #4: Fats Healthy fats typically do not influence fat-making hormones, but they can stress the liver, which indirectly affects hormone flows through the liver. Fat has little effect on fat-storing hormones and is, therefore, neutral when it comes to fat making. Trigger #5: Skipping Meals, Reducing Calories, or Allowing Yourself to Get Hungry Skipping meals causes blood sugar to drop and stimulates several hormones. The stress hormone cortisol increases turning your body tissues into sugar fuel. If this sugar is not burned up completely, it changes into fat and specifically deposited around your vital organs in the abdomen. Trigger #6: Gland Destroyers

• Alcohol - triggers insulin, causes weight gain, and also destroys the liver. • Caffeinated Products - Caffeine accelerates and weakens the adrenal

glands and liver. It irritates the gallbladder, increases cortisol, and parks fat into and around the abdominal organs.

• Drugs - Medications of all kinds have side effects on the glands, especially the liver.

• Growth Hormones - Many animal products we consume are fed growth hormones.

• Endocrine Disruptors - Pesticides, insecticides, heavy metals, etc., can mimic estrogen.

• Food and Cosmetic Chemicals - Food preservatives, dyes, synthetic sugars, and hydrogenated oils have deleterious effect on our glands. Also, skin creams, makeup, shampoos and perfumes can have adverse affects on detox pathways and your liver.

Trigger #7: Water Retainers Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the big culprit in causing water retention. Other causes are artificial sweeteners, sodium, refined sugars, carbohydrates and alcohol. Trigger #8: Exercise A very interesting yet rarely understood fact about exercise is that few calories are actually burned during exercise. Although, the delayed fat burning effects from this exercise are quite significant. The majority of the fat burning occurs 14 - 48 hours after exercise. Trigger #9: Stress Stress increases cortisol, which can lead to abdominal fat deposition. This happens because the adrenal hormone releases a good supply of stored sugar into the bloodstream, causing insulin to store it as fat. Trigger #10: Sleep Fat burning growth hormone is active throughout the night while you sleep, but it accelerates during the first two hours of deep sleep, especially between midnight and 4:00 a.m. Insomnia often prevents this fat burning effect. Obviously you have to trigger your fat burning hormones, but, more importantly, avoid the things that prevent fat burning to begin with. Summarized from The 7 Principles of Fat Burning, by Dr. Eric Berg, D.C. The information contained in this article is for information and education purposes only and is not medical advice. Do not use this information as an alternative to obtaining medical advice from your physician or other professional healthcare provider. Always consult with your physician or other professional healthcare provider about any medical conditions you are experiencing. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, contact your local emergency services for help.