SOURCE: UltraWellness

Feb 08, 2008 11:36 ET

Mark Hyman, M.D. of UltraWellness Explains How Food Allergies Could Be Making You Gain Weight

LENOX, MA--(Marketwire - February 8, 2008) - Are food allergies making you fat? Two groundbreaking medical studies have proven that toxicity and inflammation from food allergies are key underlying causes of obesity and illness; addressing those key causes could help shed pounds.

"We become inflamed and then gain weight -- which makes us even more inflamed, perpetuating the cycle. I've observed this in thousands of patients, and developed very effective treatments for it," said Mark Hyman, M.D. of UltraWellness. "I've seen many patients lose significant amounts of weight just by following the 7 keys to UltraWellness found in my book 'The UltraSimple Diet,' and cutting food allergens from their diet."

The first study, published in 'Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology and Diabetes' in December 2007, looked at two groups of children. One group was overweight; the second was normal weight. The researchers measured key factors connected to inflammation and found that the overweight children had a 3-fold higher level of CRP (a marker that shows the general level of inflammation in the body) and a 2.5-fold higher level of IgG antibodies (delayed food allergies) to foods. The study suggests these food allergies were a CAUSE of the inflammation and obesity, not a consequence.

The other study, published in 'Diabetes' in July 2007, found that a high-sugar, high-fat, low-fiber diet -- plus drugs like antibiotics, steroids, anti-inflammatories, acid-blockers, and hormones -- alters the bacterial ecosystem in the gut, leading to inflammation and a leaky gut that can expose food particles to the immune system. This triggers a system-wide immune response, leading to inflammation all over the body, and producing obesity by increasing insulin resistance.

"Inflammation from any cause will produce insulin resistance, leading to higher insulin levels and causing you to store more fat," said Hyman. "You don't have to limit calories, just allergens that cause inflammation. Discovering that elimination of IgG food allergens is a viable means of treating obesity and preventing heart disease is groundbreaking research that can change how we help people lose weight and get healthy."

For more information on the most common food allergens, and how you can lose weight and feel better by avoiding them, visit The UltraWellness Blog (www.ultrawellness.com/blog).

About UltraWellness:

UltraWellness -- lifelong health and vitality -- is based on the emerging field of functional medicine, which addresses health problems not by treating the symptoms, but by balancing the 7 core underlying biological processes that govern health. This is done by finding imbalances, getting rid of the things that cause those imbalances, and providing the necessary things to restore balance, which then allows the body's natural intelligence to facilitate healing and take care of the rest. Co-founder of UltraWellness, Mark Hyman, M.D., is a respected medical consultant, New York Times bestselling author, lecturer, practicing physician and leader in the emerging field of functional medicine.