Natural Means Before Undergoing Risky Surgery For Weight Loss

Reported risks of the surgery include bleeding, blood clots, bowel obstructions, and severe infections caused from leaks in the abdomen area where the stomach and small intestines had been cut open and sealed or reconnected.

 It is far safer and better to treat morbid obesity with lifestyle and nutritional modifications. Lifestyle modifications needed for weight loss are well known: eat less, choose the right foods and exercise more. People however are less aware of certain equally important non drug and nonsurgical ways for weight reduction:

 1. Hormonal supplementation with testosterone, Dihydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), progesterone and thyroid hormone in older people. Lack of these essential hormones are responsible for insulin resistance, a cause of adult diabetes and obesity. These can be supplied in the form of bioidentical hormones— hormones that are identical in molecular structure to the hormones made in the body. Many of these hormones are FDA-approved and available with a prescription at your local drugstore.

 2. Tryptophan which has been banned for years by the FDA is now again available to the public and is a useful adjuvant in weight loss treatment. Obese patients have been shown to have low levels of tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin, a substance responsible for satiety. Serotonin stops you from overeating.

 3. Fiber, such as oats and barley which are rich in Beta glucans are another natural and effective means of reducing weight. Fiber adds bulk to food and causes satiety, reduces the absorption of carbohydrates and calories and blunts the post meal surge in glucose and insulin in the blood stream, decreasing the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

 4. Two natural substances that have been shown to increase body metabolism even while at resting state are Pomegranate seed oil and Fucoxanthine, a carotenoid derived from seaweed. These two will burn fat, especially the dangerous form of fat around the  abdomen and  abdominal organs even while you are sleeping. 

 5. Avoid saturated fat and trans fat and avoid overcooking your foods at high temperatures. Foods cooked at temperatures over 250 degrees have been shown to damage body proteins and cause free radical damage to our tissues.

 6. Increase insulin sensitivity by taking nutrients such as chromium and magnesium. Grapefruit has been shown to reduce levels of insulin and glucose and makes sugar less likely to be laid down as fat and helps the body to use food for energy more efficiently and reduce the amount as stored fat.

 In addition to diet and exercise, a comprehensive program including the above measures should be tried first before undergoing risky obesity surgery.