The Fat Fighter's Facts
Vision Magazine
by Aleks Strande, N.D., Ph.D.

Americans are getting fatter. The number of obese Americans increased from 12% in 1991 to 18% in 1998. This is true not only for adults but for children as well. A kid eating a sugary doughnut for breakfast daily and double cheeseburgers for lunch and/or dinner is a kid headed for disease. Diabetes, kidney and pancreatic damage, heart disease, osteoarthritis, stroke, gall bladder disease or sleep apnea all take their toll on the overweight person. A great nutritional debate was recently held in Washington, D.C. The only agreement that was achieved among the participants was that Americans are too fat, sugar is bad and exercise is good.

I see a lot of people in my practice who do not consume junk food but who still cannot lose weight. Addressing the cause of a problem is the key in all chronic conditions, including obesity. Emotional state, metabolic imbalance, and other pathologies may be responsible for the inability to burn off fat.

Obesity is not a cosmetic issue. It is a health problem and it’s time we called it that. I see many people jumping from one diet to another only to be disappointed yet again. Without treating the cause, no permanent improvement will be achieved. There are many herbs and amino acids (natural nutrients that the body needs) that when used in the right doses and proportions can boost the metabolic performance and burn off fat much easier than dieting alone.

Choline bitartrate belongs to a class of compounds called phospholipids. A phospholipid is an important part of the membrane surrounding the cells of the body. As a lipotropic (fat burning) agent, choline is an important component of lipoproteins, the primary carriers of lipids (fats) in the blood. Choline deficiency causes buildup of lipids in the liver which in turn slows down the ability of the body to expel toxins.

L-Carnitine has an important role in fat metabolism; it enables the transport of fatty acids in the form of Acetyl CoA to the sites of cellular mitochondria, where they are converted to energy. This amino acid basically burns the fat and converts it to energy.
The nutrient called Inositol, that naturopaths use to help with diabetic neuropathy is another example of a lipotropic agent. It has been found to lower plasma cholesterol levels and burn body fat in the liver.

Taurine is another useful fat burning agent. It combines with cholic acid to form the bile salt, taurocholic acid. this removes a cholesterol degradation product form the system and assists in the emulsification of fats. It is also indicated for heart conditions in alcoholics.

L-Tyrosine is a beneficial food for the thyroid gland. The sluggish thyroid function may contribute to lack of weight loss.

The typical herbs that I use in weight loss cases include, taraxacum (a liver and kidney tonic), Foeniculum (a diuretic), Iris (lymphatic), Gymnema (a sugar normalizer), capsicum (circulatory stimulant) and many others.

The appropriate combinations of the above mentioned nutrients will boost the energy immediately, at first. Better availability of energy will facilitate more motivation towards exercise and improvements in lifestyle changes. This in turn will improve the chances of the overweight person to finally burn their fat off and lose the weight.

Alex Strande, N.D., Ph.D., is a naturopath and a microbiologist. His office is in Santa Monica, California. He can be contacted for questions and appointments at
310-907-4424.