“Can a naturopathic physician help me maintain a healthy weight?”
I am suffering a lot from being overweight. However, I am skeptical about surgeries and procedures that advocate weight loss. Can a naturopathic physician help me maintain a healthy weight?
9 Answers
Yes if they are trained to know how
Healthy weight is an integral part of health care, period. It's absolutely a significant part of my practice and always a consideration.
Indeed, naturopathic doctors are trained in handling those conditions.
Absolutely! You will want to make sure that you work with one that is willing to look at all of your hormones. Sometimes weight isn't just about food and exercise... Good luck!
A traditional naturopath can help you reach balance. Balance of the bodies vitamins, minerals and other elements that the body requires is the key to losing the weight and keeping it off. It is not always about cutting out the bad in your diet, but reaching a balance between the good and the bad, which will allow the body to lose weight.
Yes, most NDs are well trained to be able to review your history, order any necessary testing, and work with you to develop a workable plan to meet your needs. If you have no licensed NDs in your area, then be cautious. No need for any magic potions or unproven therapies. Good luck.
My friend, the easiest answer is to just say yes to your question. However, I know that is not what you are looking for, so please take into consideration that at any moment, thousands of chemical reactions are taking place within our bodies, & all these reactions are having a purpose, & that purpose is to sustain life.
The term "energy metabolism" is referring to the hundreds of chemical reactions involved with the break down, synthesis, & the transformation of the energy yielding nutrients. The metabolic pathways are working together in a complex way to maintain a steady supply of energy in a form that needs to be synthesized. Our bodies run at the microscopic level.
Glucose is a rich supply of energy that can be used by all cells of the body to produce the body's energy currency, which is ATP. This must be synthesized, created. Most of the glucose in the body comes from carbohydrate-rich foods. Glucose, which can also be stored within the body as glycogen reserves as well as adipose tissue, also known as fat.
The major roles of the amino acids in the body, from which come from the breakdown of proteins, well, the easiest way to say it is they are the building blocks for muscle as well as enzymes, which function in many physiological processes of the body, neuropeptides, which are neuronal signaling molecules that influence the activity of the brain, &, because all of this, their major role as the building blocks, that is, amino acids, are not considered a major energy yielding source. They are a building block source, synthesizing muscle, enzymes, and neuropeptides. I know I am repeating myself, just trying to get it across. These nutrients will use energy as they are used in synthesis, which in the long form is saying they are used in the production of chemical compounds by the reactions taking place from simpler materials.
Fats are another important energy source when the readily available energy sources are low, which is glucose. Low glucose availability causes glucagon, a hormone which is secreted in the response to low glucose-levels. This goes on creating a chemical cascade to increase the blood glucose levels. This chemical cascade also increases the hormone-sensitive enzyme, Lipase, which goes on to start breaking down your stored lipids/fats/adipose tissue to also increase the blood glucose levels.
You have to take into consideration that theses energy sources have to become available before they can be used, & they have to be removed from storage & then broken down. As the chemical bonds are broken within these molecules, it releases energy stored within that your body uses to go do work, which is your physical activities & just living life.
Please now, take a look into your diet with this knowledge of energy sources & building blocks. You can tweak what you are consuming as well as increase your weight bearing activities, forcing your body to synthesis contractile proteins, increasing your muscle mass, as your body will need to adapt to your new activities. You can increase your energy expenditure (calories burned) through just the increase in muscle mass, as muscle is an active tissue consuming your energy sources, even at rest. At rest, the muscle tissue is consuming energy as it is growing. If it is used to adapt to the stress you have put it through, next time, the tissue will handle that stress better.
If muscle tissue is not used, it will be broken down, removing the nitrogen containing amino group, leaving the carbon shell, which can be stored as fat, too. This will reduce your muscle mass as well as reducing your metabolism at the same time.
This is muscle. It is an energy consuming tissue. If it is not used, the body will not waste the time to feed it. It is not used, so it will become a stress during the times of low energy, meaning low blood glucose because the body cannot feed it. This will increase your Cortisol levels, which is your stress hormone, & will now decrease your immune system. See? Everything is linked together. So, with that said, eating regularly so that you are maintaining your blood glucose levels, every 3-4 hours, something small, like low-sugar fruits, berries, & veggies, lean dairy, lean meats...this will maintain the blood sugar so that you are feeding the active tissues, which need to be fed. This maintains the metabolism & the active tissues so that you are more likely to maintain your desired weight. Sorry this was so long.
The term "energy metabolism" is referring to the hundreds of chemical reactions involved with the break down, synthesis, & the transformation of the energy yielding nutrients. The metabolic pathways are working together in a complex way to maintain a steady supply of energy in a form that needs to be synthesized. Our bodies run at the microscopic level.
Glucose is a rich supply of energy that can be used by all cells of the body to produce the body's energy currency, which is ATP. This must be synthesized, created. Most of the glucose in the body comes from carbohydrate-rich foods. Glucose, which can also be stored within the body as glycogen reserves as well as adipose tissue, also known as fat.
The major roles of the amino acids in the body, from which come from the breakdown of proteins, well, the easiest way to say it is they are the building blocks for muscle as well as enzymes, which function in many physiological processes of the body, neuropeptides, which are neuronal signaling molecules that influence the activity of the brain, &, because all of this, their major role as the building blocks, that is, amino acids, are not considered a major energy yielding source. They are a building block source, synthesizing muscle, enzymes, and neuropeptides. I know I am repeating myself, just trying to get it across. These nutrients will use energy as they are used in synthesis, which in the long form is saying they are used in the production of chemical compounds by the reactions taking place from simpler materials.
Fats are another important energy source when the readily available energy sources are low, which is glucose. Low glucose availability causes glucagon, a hormone which is secreted in the response to low glucose-levels. This goes on creating a chemical cascade to increase the blood glucose levels. This chemical cascade also increases the hormone-sensitive enzyme, Lipase, which goes on to start breaking down your stored lipids/fats/adipose tissue to also increase the blood glucose levels.
You have to take into consideration that theses energy sources have to become available before they can be used, & they have to be removed from storage & then broken down. As the chemical bonds are broken within these molecules, it releases energy stored within that your body uses to go do work, which is your physical activities & just living life.
Please now, take a look into your diet with this knowledge of energy sources & building blocks. You can tweak what you are consuming as well as increase your weight bearing activities, forcing your body to synthesis contractile proteins, increasing your muscle mass, as your body will need to adapt to your new activities. You can increase your energy expenditure (calories burned) through just the increase in muscle mass, as muscle is an active tissue consuming your energy sources, even at rest. At rest, the muscle tissue is consuming energy as it is growing. If it is used to adapt to the stress you have put it through, next time, the tissue will handle that stress better.
If muscle tissue is not used, it will be broken down, removing the nitrogen containing amino group, leaving the carbon shell, which can be stored as fat, too. This will reduce your muscle mass as well as reducing your metabolism at the same time.
This is muscle. It is an energy consuming tissue. If it is not used, the body will not waste the time to feed it. It is not used, so it will become a stress during the times of low energy, meaning low blood glucose because the body cannot feed it. This will increase your Cortisol levels, which is your stress hormone, & will now decrease your immune system. See? Everything is linked together. So, with that said, eating regularly so that you are maintaining your blood glucose levels, every 3-4 hours, something small, like low-sugar fruits, berries, & veggies, lean dairy, lean meats...this will maintain the blood sugar so that you are feeding the active tissues, which need to be fed. This maintains the metabolism & the active tissues so that you are more likely to maintain your desired weight. Sorry this was so long.
Yes, a Naturopathic physician can help asset you in your goal to a healthy weight. Naturopathic medicine focuses on the individual, so a plan would be tailored specifically for you to help you meet your goal of not only losing weight, but living an overall healthier lifestyle.
Certainly! Naturopathic medical doctors are trained extensively in clinical nutrition and gut health. Healthy weight loss is important for long term health. Doing so under the guidance of a doctor assures this is done in a safe manner.
