"16-hour fasting" that celebrities are practicing one after another. It has become a hot topic when it comes to improving physical condition and dieting. So, let's learn the disadvantages of overeating from the bestseller "Hunger is the strongest drug", which has sold over 350,000 copies.
Written by Atsushi Aoki
Three meals a day leads to overeating without realizing it
By the way, another harmful effect of three meals a day is that it is easy to overeat. You can
"Eating at a fixed time" seems to be good for your health at first glance, but there is also a big disadvantage that "it is difficult to notice when you eat too much".
The state of the body varies from time to time. For example, you may say, "Your body doesn't need as much energy because the previous meal was high in calories."
In such a case, you should wait until you feel hungry before eating the next meal. Because they eat regardless of whether they need energy or not, they often end up eating too much.
In addition, the stomach is elastic and expands according to the amount of food eaten. In other words, in the case of people who are chronically overeating, "the stomach is swollen" is the norm, and they will accept more and more food than "the amount that the body originally needs". . As a result, it's hard to notice that you're eating too much unless you're cramming too much food into it.
Eating too much can damage your DNA and cells
And eating too much can have a variety of effects on your body. First of all, if you eat a lot, you need time and energy to digest it, which inevitably puts a burden on your stomach and liver. Especially at night, if you eat too much, the internal organs that should be resting will have to work even while you are sleeping, and the quality of sleep will deteriorate.
In addition, overeating increases active oxygen in the body. Active oxygen has the power to oxidize (rust) things, which sterilizes and eliminates viruses and foreign substances that have entered the body. and cells).
There are various causes of increased active oxygen, such as stress, ultraviolet rays, invasion of foreign substances such as viruses, bacteria, and poisons into the body, and excessive exercise, and overeating is said to be one of them. I'm here.
And if the amount of active oxygen increases more than necessary, the cells will be oxidized and damaged. It can lead to various diseases such as cancer.
Eating too much rice or meat puts your life at risk
And that's not all. Nutrients obtained from food are transported throughout the body in the blood, but if the nutrients in the blood become excessive due to overeating, the condition of the blood and blood vessels deteriorates.
Most of the people who overeat eat too much "sugar" foods such as rice, noodles, bread, and sweets, and too much "fat" foods such as meat and oil.
And I will talk about the details later, but if you eat too much carbohydrates and lipids, neutral fat in the blood and LDL-cholesterol called "bad cholesterol" will increase, and they will build up in the walls of blood vessels. Adhere. The more neutral fat and LDL-cholesterol, the narrower the blood vessels.
As a result, the blood flow is poor,
・Fatigue, coldness, rough skin, etc. tend to occur because nutrients are not distributed to every corner of the body and waste products are not discharged properly.・By placing a heavy burden on blood vessels and the heart, blood pressure rises and arteriosclerosis occurs, increasing the risk of cerebral infarction, myocardial infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, and heart failure.
It becomes easy to happen.
In addition, eating too many sugary foods will raise your blood sugar. If this condition continues, the risk of developing diabetes increases.
It's scary because fat cells grow endlessly
One more thing. As an adverse effect of overeating, we must not forget "visceral fat".
Carbohydrates and lipids obtained from food are used in the body as energy sources for the brain, muscles, internal organs, etc. to work, and as materials for cells, but the excess that cannot be used up will eventually be used as energy. For use, it is first stored in the muscles and liver.
However, muscle and liver storage space is limited and cannot store much. Then the body tries to store the excess energy that could not be stored in the muscles and liver in a terrible way. It converts energy into neutral fat and stores it in fat cells. It's a rather annoying method, but it can't be helped.
Adipocytes are highly flexible and can take in neutral fat and swell up to several times their original size. This is the state of "getting fat" and "increasing fat", but fat cells are the only cells in the human body that can increase their capacity indefinitely.
Bad hormones such as ``TNF-α'' and ``IL-6'' are secreted from hypertrophied adipocytes, leading to diabetes, hypertension, chronic inflammatory conditions, and the risk of cancer. is also higher.
By the way, there are two main types of fat: subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat is literally "fat under the skin" and covers the entire surface of the body, while visceral fat accumulates around the internal organs.
Those who have a chubby body with fat all over have a lot of subcutaneous fat, and those who are thin but have a bulging stomach are those who have a lot of visceral fat. It can be said that there is. In addition, it can be said that subcutaneous fat tends to stick to women, and visceral fat tends to stick to men.
Excessive fat impedes the flow of blood and lymph.
We tend to treat fat as the enemy of dieting and health. However, fat actually stores energy.・Maintain body temperature.・Maintain the position of internal organs. - Acts as a cushion to protect the body from external stimuli. - A raw material for hormones and bile. - Aids absorption of various vitamins. It works like this.
In other words, it is essential for human beings, but if the amount of fat increases more than necessary, it will have various effects on the body.
First of all, if you gain fat and gain weight, not only will your appearance change, but your legs and lower back will be burdened and hurt easily. The more fat you have around your neck, the more pressure you have on your airways, the more likely you are to suffer from sleep apnea, and the less you sleep.
In addition, the flow of blood and lymph becomes worse.
Normally, nutrients taken from food are absorbed through blood vessels, and unnecessary substances and waste products are discharged from the body through blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. However, when enlarged fat puts pressure on blood vessels and lymphatic vessels, the flow of blood and lymph becomes poor, putting a strain on the heart and causing high blood pressure, heart failure, and swelling. As a result, the risk of heart disease increases, the function of each organ of the whole body deteriorates, and various disorders appear in the body.
Actually, visceral fat is worse than subcutaneous fat and tends to secrete bad hormones. It also helps regulate body functions.
Usually, the female hormone "estrogen", "leptin" that suppresses appetite and increases energy consumption, repairs damaged blood vessels, burns sugar and fat, and suppresses the growth of tumors. It secretes hormones (good hormones) that have a positive effect on the body, such as adiponectin.
・TNF-α, which raises blood sugar levels and increases the risk of diabetes ・IL-6, which causes chronic inflammation and causes cancer, diabetes, and rheumatism The secretion of "bad hormones" that have a bad effect on the body, such as "PAI-1" (Paiwan), which makes blood clots difficult to dissolve, increases.
In other words, when excess fat increases due to overeating, damage to blood vessels cannot be repaired due to the action of bad hormones. Doesn't dissolve blood clots. • The tumor grows.・Blood sugar level rises. Such things are more likely to occur, and the risk of developing diseases such as diabetes, cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, myocardial infarction, and cancer increases.
In addition, it is known that visceral fat secretes bad hormones more easily than subcutaneous fat. This is why people with a metabolic body are said to be more susceptible to lifestyle-related diseases than those with a chubby body.
The older you get, the greater the damage of overeating
As you can see, eating three meals a day and overeating can cause various damages to your body. Moreover, the damage
・Metabolism slows down, making it easier to overeat even if you eat the same amount.・ Cell aging progresses, and each organ and blood vessel in the body becomes fragile. For some reason, it gets bigger and bigger as we age.
Then, what should we do about the frequency and content of meals? How can we prevent the harm from overeating?
Perhaps, some of you may think, "I have to count calories" or "I have to think about what I can and can't eat." There is no need to think about such troublesome things at all. There are simpler ways to protect your body from the harm of overeating and keep you healthy and young.
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If you eat without listening to your body because it is a habit to eat three meals a day, you will unconsciously overeat, which will have various adverse effects on your body as you age. In order to prevent overeating, why not practice a diet that does not stick to three meals a day?
Aoki Atsushi, Doctor of Medicine. Director of Aoki Internal Medicine Saitama Diabetes Clinic. After working at Jichi Medical University, in 2015, he opened the Aoki Internal Medicine and Rehabilitation Department (current name in 2019). Specializes in lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. He has achieved results, including success in insulin withdrawal and drug-free treatment. He also suffered from tongue cancer at the age of 40, but has completely recovered. I practice diet therapy to prevent cancer recurrence.