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Do You Have Fake Fat?

By Richelle Melde

You're not as fat as you think you are! Many of us suffer from food sensitivities that can create the illusion of being fat, when really it's just a simple inflammatory response that has created a false fat through bloating, swelling and gas. I can hear you now with an excited look of disbelief asking, WHAT?! Just read on...

The Inflammatory Response

When you eat, several molecules are introduced to your body, good and bad. An allergic reaction occurs when the body determines that a molecule is harmful or toxic; this molecule is called an antigen. An immune cell (antibody) will bind to the antigen, which stimulates histamine and other such chemicals and hormones to be released, which floods the area with water and fluid causing swelling. An antibody will only bind to one type of antigen, which signals for the clean up crew, or macrophages, to dispose of the bound toxic molecules. After the first encounter with the foreign food, the antibody is now programmed to attack this food EVERY TIME IT ENTERS THE BODY.

What is fake fat?

Basically, false fat is simply bloating and swelling caused by an inflammatory response triggered by food sensitivities. Here's how it works:
  1. Inflammatory Response
    When food molecules are identified as foreign, your body launches an attack which includes flooding the area with fluids. This fluid is retained for as long as the food molecules remains in the tissue. This can cause swelling of the ankles, feet, belly, hands, eyes and chin. Have you ever felt your eyes get puffy after you eat?
  2. Fluid Retention
    Reactions to food cause chemicals to be released that cause fluid retention. For instance, cortisol and aldosterone are hormones secreted by the adrenal gland that attract water to cells by increasing sodium uptake. This causes fluid retention. There are also specific hormones in the gut that will be released as well that will cause bloating and swelling in the midsection. And as if that wasn't enough, food reactions can also negatively interfere with growth hormone, which helps in the metabolism of food, thus slowing the process of metabolism altogether.
  3. Intestinal Wall
    In response to hormone imbalances and allergic reactions, the intestinal membrane can swell. This can produce the illusion of a "pregnant belly." (Men you get this too, we just call it the "beer belly.")
  4. Fluid Storage
    As we learned above, hormones cause sodium and calcium to enter the cells and attract water, thus causing swelling. This also has a depressing effect on the function of the mitochondria, which are your cell's energy center. This in turn depresses you and decreases your energy. But because our bodies are so smart and efficient, we have another system in place to counteract these effects - so then the body sends in cortisol and aldosterone to help reverse this effect, but because we're already under inflammatory attack - this just causes more fluid retention! Think about how you feel after you eat. Are you energized? or do you go into what I affectionately call "food coma"?
  5. Leaky capillaries
    Chemicals, such as histamine, cause the capillaries to expand and contract which can result in fluids leaking into the tissue - which causes further inflammation. I think you see the pattern here...
  6. Gas Production
    Food can ferment in your gut because of the overabundance of bacteria and yeast caused by food reactions. YUK! This can also cause problems with pushing all that crap out of you by depressing the fuction of the bowel-moving muscle. DOUBLE YUK!
So what am I saying?

You have inflammation in your body that is making you appear fatter than you really are!! Yes, it's true!! Now, this isn't to say that you don't have REAL fat under the fake fat, but there is hope, that with simple changes in your eating habits, you can eliminate the fake fat and start to lose the real fat.

About the Author:

Richelle Melde is a CHEK Practitioner Coach and Boot Camp Expert Instructor. She has owned and operated Ultimate Body Boot Camp for nearly 5 years and has helped hundreds of people achieve their goals.

Visit her online at www.cometobootcamp.com for more information or call