America is engulfed in an obesity epidemic with no end in sight. Fatness knows no boundaries. Our old folk, young people, and middle aged people are all feeling its negative effects.

            But why are we so darned fat, you ask? Is it the local weather? Your environment, a lack of exercise, or are we all just eating too much crap? The answer is simple; we are getting fatter (and subsequently sicker) because of all those things.

            As a matter of fact, the weather may have more to do with obesity than you think.

            Our bodies are designed to function optimally with adequate vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin), but if the weather is poor you may miss out. For instance, primitive man of the Paleolithic Era was out doors in the sun most of the day, hunting, fishing, and gathering food for his family. Unbeknownst to him, he was soaking up Vitamin D from the sun and, since vitamin D is a "mother hormone" (precursor to other health promoting hormones within the body) he was lean and strong with elevated testosterone, strong bones and teeth, boundless energy, and  a low incidence of disease.

            Cold temperatures and long winters can be a predisposing factor in fat gain or obesity as well. Studies have shown that raising your core body temperature (as in hot summer days) raises growth hormone and a single surge in growth hormone increases both the number of fat calories your body burns for energy and your metabolic rate. Now who wouldn’t want that?

            On the other hand, long winters can wreak havoc on our bodies through a heightened level of fat storage hormones lipoprotein lipase, serotonin, and the stress hormone cortisol. These hormones have been proven to rise and fall in tandem with the seasons and, as these hormones rise in the winter, it is common to see a rise in our bathroom scale as well.

             While hormones play a role in obesity, food choice is your best predictor of weight gain. Since we know that all carbs (such as sugar and grains) turn to glucose in the blood, America’s low-fat/high-carb diet is a major promoter of fat gain. Can you say “Food Guide Pyramid?” Let’s just say Big Pharma and Big Agra are both getting richer and stronger as we are getting fatter and sicker. Said carbs turn to sugar after ingestion, the pancreas responds by dumping evil insulin (a very powerful storage hormone) and those carbs are stored as saturated fat in fat cells.

            The bottom line is that high carb diets are high insulin diets. Insulin is the number one damaging hormone that leads to accelerated aging, insulin resistance and diabetes, increased disease and cancer, and (this is huge) there is a direct correlation of elevated insulin to low testosterone.

            Now, I don’t know about you, but I can stand to keep all the testosterone my body can possibly produce. Bye, bye insulin, hello health promoting testosterone and natural whole foods high in protein and healthy fat. Go Paleo!