Sex and Fertility by Linda Woolven

Author:Linda Woolven
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside
Published: 2014-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Part III

Conditions that Contribute to the Big Three and Interfere with the Enjoyment of Sexuality

Chapter Five

ACHIEVING A HEALTHY WEIGHT

A chapter on weight loss is included in this book for one important reason. Not because we are endorsing the modern trend toward skinny at all cost. Not because of superficial connections between body appearance and sexuality. And not to promote any fad diets, which are invariably unhealthy and ineffective in the long run.

We have included it for one reason only—because obesity showed up as a major inhibitor of healthy reproduction in each of the female infertility, male infertility, and erectile dysfunction chapters. Keep in mind that the change in weight often does not need to be dramatic; fertility is very sensitive to weight change. Keep in mind, too, that the weight loss needs to be not only effective, but healthy; you are priming your body for creating another life.

In the past several years, all kinds of weight-loss diets have emerged. And many of them have made a lot of money for a lot of people. But many of them, while hooking you in in the short run, are ineffective in the long run; many are not good for you and some are downright crazy and dangerous. Though most diets will lead to weight loss in the short term—following almost any controlled diet will be better than the out-of-control diet many of us follow—the really hard part is maintaining the weight loss. And there is virtually no research proving which, if any, of these diets is actually effective for the long-term weight loss that leads to real improvements in health. Just as disturbing, there is scant research on the long-term healthfulness of these weight-loss diets. So it would be crucially important to know which weight-loss diets and supplements really increase our chances of maintaining a healthy weight and which ones are really healthy for us to use.

Which Diet Really Keeps Weight Off?

In one of the few, and perhaps the only, studies to look at long-term, sustainable weight loss, sixty-four overweight women were put on either a low-fat diet or a vegan diet. Vegan diets exclude all animal products, and the one used in this study also limited nuts, seeds, and avocados. The women on the vegan diet lost significantly more weight. After a year, the vegans had lost eleven pounds compared to only four in the low-fat group, and they were still seven pounds lighter after two years, while the women in the low-fat group were only two pounds lighter1. So the vegan diet just might be the first one to have proven itself effective over the long run.

These researchers probably restricted nuts, seeds, and avocados because of the common conception that they are fattening. But the restriction was unnecessary. Studies consistently show that, despite the difficult-to-shake reputation, nuts are not fattening and are great for your heart. Women who eat a handful of raw unsalted nuts a day are more likely to be a healthy weight. Various nuts have been shown

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.