Weighing the Risks

Front page Ventura County Star - Sunday, June 17, 2012 by Tom Kisken

Great, needed article, and I am ready to weigh in.

But first, I want to be clear that it is not my intention to speak against, nor unkindly toward anyone; those with weight problems (health problems more accurately), those who have had or are considering bariatric surgery, not anyone. Rather, my comments are intended to bring light to the known risks, and to advise those who don't know that there is enormous evidence that there are better and safer ways for most people to lose weight and become healthy.

Risks to the individual are substantial. According to the Mayo Clinic, longer term risks and complications of weight-loss surgery vary depending on the type of surgery. They can include:
    Bowel obstruction
    Dumping syndrome, causing diarrhea, nausea or vomiting
    Gallstones
    Hernias
    Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
    Malnutrition
    Stomach perforation
    Ulcers
    Vomiting
    Death (rare)

Additionally there are risks to our culture both by the promotion of a fix that doesn't address the cause of obesity, and by the lack of attention to the lifestyle, nutritional, physiologic and emotional causes of obesity.

In my general practice, spanning almost 30 years, I have advised many patients that food allergies often cause weight gain. Removing dairy products from the diet often results in weight loss without counting calories or measuring portions. It is well known that removing gluten (the dominant protein in wheat) from the diet often results in weight loss. It is important to note that the removal of dairy and gluten don't just result in weight loss for many, but also clearly and consistently improve health, energy and mood.

A 32 year-old female patient of mine lost 65 pounds in 9 months when, as I advised, she took gluten completely out of her diet. She had struggled with her weight her entire life.

Most Americans are deficient in vitamin D; the sunshine vitamin. Turns out that low blood levels of vitamin D have been shown to correlate with difficulty shedding unhealthy pounds. 

There is no single magic bullet for weight loss (the real goal is getting well, excess fat loss follows), but I can tell you that patient after patient that I treat for weight issues, has never been previously advised that dairy products, gluten and low vitamin D can be powerful factors in weight gain. These are just 3 examples of factors that most obese and overweight individuals have never had the opportunity to consider or to experiment with for themselves.

My friend, Mark Hyman, MD is a world-renowned expert on weight loss through a Functional Medicine approach. His most recent New York Times bestseller is entitled The Blood Sugar Solution. If you want to really look at smart and doable ways to lose weight through becoming healthy, please read his book! Dr. Hyman helped President Clinton gain the amazing health that he has today, through this plan.

For me, this discussion of the obesity part of our disease epidemic, is not about who is wrong, bad, or to blame. It is about our mutual future, that calls for us to work together in friendship for our common good, our common health.


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