Since going to a largely raw, largely Paleo diet, I've been doing some
reading and pondering. There are a few things that puzzle me, and I'd
appreciate some 'educated speculation' from those who care to comment.
What I'll get at is the possibility that some weight gain just might be
immune-related. That's been mentioned, I think possibly on this list *or one
like it*. Though some of this might sound off topic, I'm just trying to
figure out how pieces of a Paleo lifestyle fit.
I believe the immunity-related weight gain idea went that things seep into
the gut which shouldn't, particularly chunks of proteins recognized as
invaders. The body tries to engulf these substances and escorts them out of
the body. Except when for some reason maybe it would be ill-advised to, and
instead floats them, via the lymph, over to fat cells in which toxins and
whatever offending substances are cordoned off.
The detox process, then, more or less involves gradually (one would hope)
coaxing the fat cells to open and the lymph to escort bad things out of the
body.
If one buys into that at all, then here's the crux of my question - there
are drugs that seem to greatly affect weight, and I'm interested in theories
about what might be going on with the toxins issues in that event.
Phentermine, for one (the less evil part of the fenphen combo). While it
speeds up metabolism a bit and purports to lower hunger, I've heard
firsthand from users that it's really like they can eat anything and the
weight drops off of them. The rules of calorie physics just don't seem to
apply. The owner of one somewhat research-oriented weight loss Website also
claims her allergies (of what kind I don't know, I presume breathing
allergies) went away entirely on phentermine. When I used it for a little
while, a skin allergy I've traced to corn stopped showing up.
Glucophage is another drug that's somewhat interesting. It's accounted for
weight loss in people with diabetes and PCOS (an infertility thing). The
drug itself is a biguanide, that is, it's in the same family as popular
swimming pool cleaners.
I'm somewhat puzzled by how these drugs prompt weight loss, and I think the
'experts' are as well. I realize that suggesting maybe they interact as
immune modulators or toxin cleaners (or storers) is a little far-reaching.
But if anyone's pondered this kind of thing, I'd be interested to hear what
you think.
If there is a connection, I'll assume it could be good or bad. For an
example of the latter, I suppose the phentermine could turn off recognition
that something's an allergen. While it might cause the cushioning (water
etc.) to drain out of the body, upon stopping the drug, the body might have
a larger load of toxins to then deal with.
For that matter, I've wondered why some asthma drugs are said to cause
weight gain.
C.B.
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