Why You Should Avoid Exercise (8 page)

"
Obese individuals are more likely to have either lower blood concentrations or lower bioavailability of minerals and/or vitamins. However, there are limited data on the effects of nutritional supplementation on body weight (BW) control.
" Source: Li Y, et al, Effects of multivitamin and mineral supplementation on adiposity, energy expenditure and lipid profiles in obese Chinese women, Int J Obes (Lond). 2010 Jun; 34(6):1070-7.

And here is a paradox: in third-world countries where poor nutrition is rife, obesity rates are going up faster than in developed countries. Why is this so? According to a 1999 United Nations study, it was that found that "
obesity in all developing regions is growing rapidly, even in countries where hunger exists. In China, the number of overweight people jumped from less than 10 percent to 15 percent in just three years. In Brazil and Colombia, the figure hovers around 40 percent -- a level comparable to a number of European countries. Even sub-Saharan Africa, where most of the world's hungry live, is seeing an increase in obesity, especially among urban women
". Source: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, http://www.fao.org/focus/e/obesity/obes1.htm.

So why is it that the highest rates of obesity are generally to be found among the poorest populations in the world? In the USA the highest rates of obesity are among the poor (Source: Relationship Between Poverty and Overweight or Obesity, Food Research and Action Center, frac.org). For example, the poor in Haiti, Angola and Guatemala have very high rates of obesity; these three countries also have the highest rates of malnutrition in the world (Source: www.worldlifeexpectancy.com).

The latest research is now clearly showing that obesity is in general caused by malnutrition rather than by over-eating. Malnutrition comes from eating food with poor nutritional content - it doesn't come from not eating enough food. But diet apart, a major cause of malnutrition comes from exercise, i.e. from sweating out and losing a wide range of essential minerals, whether from exercise or hard labour.

Poor nutrition and a lack of minerals cause obesity, period. Poor nutrition makes the body 'think' that you are facing starvation, and in response the body does its utmost to store fat as a survival mechanism. This effect is well known to medical science and we see it with our own eyes when we travel to poor countries and see the high prevalence of obesity among the peasantry.

Many poor, uneducated people are forced to do hard, sweaty labour. And then, through ignorance and a lack of resources (and because the physical exertion makes them hungry) they eat a diet high in processed (refined) carbohydrates and low in good nutrition (e.g. staple foods such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, wheat, maize, cassava). The combination of a loss of minerals through sweaty work plus poor nutrition is at the root of obesity among the poor in third world countries. They are not fat because they over-eat or because they lead sedentary lifestyles!

"
Risk factors for obesity were considered to be.... a high intake of energy-dense, micronutrient-poor foods [i.e. junk food]. The increasing prevalence of obesity is a major health threat in both low- and high income countries
". Source: BA Swinburn, et al, Diet, nutrition and the prevention of excess weight gain and obesity, Public Health Nutrition: 7(1A), 123–146.

"
Poor nutrition causes obesity, a condition that affects 20 percent of all children and 16 percent of the adult population
". Source: Donald W. Myers, D.B.A., 2004 U.S. Master Human Resources Guide, CCH Incorporated, 2004, ISBN 1-8080-1015-8.

Obesity, even in developed countries, is not about over-eating; rather, it's about poor nutrition. The point here is that a lack of minerals makes you fat, and exercise is a major cause of a lack of minerals. You can suffer from a lack of minerals by eating junk food or by doing exercise, or from any mix of the two.

"
Americans are overfed and undernourished. That's right, the most obese children and adults in the country are also the most nutritionally deficient
". Source: Gillis L, Gillis A. Nutrient inadequacy in obese and non-obese youth. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2005 Winter;66(4):237-42.

The dramatic loss of minerals caused by exercise cannot be easily replaced by taking mineral supplements or by switching to a more nutritious diet. The amount of minerals that you lose in just a few days of sweaty exercise would take weeks or months to replenish through diet or supplementation (assuming you ceased exercising). If you continue to exercise, no amount of nutritious food or mineral supplements will be enough to keep up with what you are losing.

Clearly, those occasional moments of a little sweat that we all experience will not cause any lasting harm providing we have a nutritious diet and generally avoid exercise, saunas, and undue stress.

When you see a person who regularly sweats (e.g. through regular exercise or taking saunas) you are looking at a person who is chronically short of a wide range of vitamins and minerals essential for good health. Avoid saunas!

Furthermore, exercise dramatically increases toxicity in the body and the risk of cancer. The sequence of events goes like this:

1. When you pant for air through exercise, this results in less CO2, artery constriction, and less oxygen being assimilated into the body.

2. This deprives the mitochondria in body cells of sufficient oxygen.

3. This kills enzymes in the cell and the mitochondria can no longer produce energy (mitochondria exist to produce energy).

4. In the face of oxygen starvation, the mitochondria rely on sugar fermentation (as a last resort) to survive. But such sugar fermentation turns the cells cancerous. These then cancerous cells produce lactic acid which infects the surrounding cells with toxins and destroys them as well. This is the basis behind the spread of cancer in the body. This is the direct link between breathless exercise and cancer!

5. So when you hyperventilate or become breathless you damage mitochondria, leading to cancer and other serious illnesses. Damaged mitochondria are at the root of body aging, general poor health and pre-mature death.

Coming back to the myth of detoxification, if you cannot remove toxins through diet, exercise, sweat, fasting or anything else, then what can you do to remove toxins from your body? The answer is simple: eat a regular nutritious diet that avoids junk food, switch from exercise to non-sweaty physical activity, and let nature takes its course (your body will expel harmful toxins through the natural elimination processes of the body). It goes without saying that you should also avoid polluting your body by avoiding pollution in all its forms, including not smoking, not taking drugs, not drinking alcohol and not breathing polluted air.

We have looked in depth at the myths and misconceptions surrounding exercise and detoxification. Here are some other myths relating to health and weight loss:

The Myth:
Diabetes risk can be reduced by minimizing carbs and by doing exercise.

The Truth:
Diabetes risk is made
worse by
minimizing carbs and by doing exercise.

2
: The Cholesterol Myth

The Myth:
A low cholesterol diet is healthier than a high cholesterol diet.

The Truth:
The higher the cholesterol (whether in your diet or in your body) the better for health.

3
: The Exercise Body-fat Myth

The Myth:
Exercise Burns Body-fat.

The Truth:
Exercise does not burn or use up a single calorie of body-fat.

4
: The Low Fat Diet Myth

The Myth:
A Low-Fat Diet Helps You Lose Weight.

The Truth:
Insufficient fat in the diet dramatically increases surplus body weight.

5
: The Fish Oil Myth

The Myth:
Fish oil supplements and oily fish can provide valuable nutrition in the human diet.

The Truth:
Fish oil supplements and all kinds of oily fish should always be avoided as they are bad for health and cause obesity.

6
: The Fasting Myth

The Myth:
Fasting or intermittent-fasting helps you lose weight.

The Truth:
Fasting or intermittent-fasting is unhealthy, causes illness and makes you put on weight.

7
: The Eating Less Myth

The Myth:
Eating less helps you lose weight.

The Truth:
Eating less galvanizes hormones that make you store more body weight.

8
: The Low-Carb Diet Myth

The Myth:
A low-carbohydrate diet is healthy and helps you lose weight.

The Truth:
A low-carbohydrate diet is unhealthy and makes you fatter.

9
t: The Ketogenic Diet Myth

The Myth:
A Ketogenic Diet is healthy and helps you lose weight.

The Truth:
A Ketogenic Diet does nothing to help you lose weight; it is unhealthy and should be completely avoided.

10
: The Muscle Loss Myth

The Myth:
Restricting carbs or calories (or intermittent fasting) does not make you lose muscle.

The Truth:
Restricting carbs or calories (or intermittent fasting) does make you lose muscle, including heart muscle.

11
: The Fiber Myth

The Myth:
A diet high in fiber has many health benefits.

The Truth:
A diet high in fiber is unhealthy, the less fiber the better for health.

12
: The Grains, Beans & Vegetables Myth

The Myth:
Most grains, beans and vegetables are healthy and provide valuable nutrition.

The Reality:
Most grains, beans and vegetables are unhealthy and should be avoided.

13
: Dietary Restrictions Myth

The Myth:
A low-carb or low-fat or low-calorie diet can help with weight loss.

The Reality:
Dietary restrictions are counter-productive and make you gain weight. A high-carb, high-fat, high-calorie diet is best for good health and weight loss.

The Myth:
Eating less and exercising more helps you lose weight.

The Reality:
Eating more and exercising less is the key to losing weight as this turns on lipolysis, the body's own secret weight loss weapon.