Too many times when I visit with people they have begun an exercise regimen before changing their diet.  After they have experienced their exhaustive exercise regimen for a few months with little to no improvement in health, they come see us for answers. I don’t blame people for thinking all they have to do is start a vigorous exercise program to lose weight and improve health because this is the mainstream advice mostly heard.

It’s amazing that exercise is pushed as the most important factor for affecting health when it is very well known in the wellness industry that 80% of what affects health is nutrition. But, nutrition doesn’t make for good TV. Let’s take the “Biggest Loser” as an example. This TV show takes very obese people and put’s them through rigorous exercise routines being guided by well-known trainers who love yelling. The exercise part is heavily promoted and how these subjects are being nutritioned is barely mentioned.

If exercise was the single biggest factor for good health then there is no way that personal trainer and host of the “Biggest Loser”, Bob Harper, would have had a massive heart attack. He was only 51 years old when he had his heart attack and he said that his family has a history of heart problems. When reading the article about Harper on CNN Health, it goes on to state that “regular exercise can reduce your risk of heart problems and help you live longer, but family history also plays a key role in heart health.” Then the article also states that “although the risk is low, exercise itself can also increase your risk of a heart attack. Most of that risk, though, is in the hours following a workout.” What? Does that even make sense? Exercise can reduce your risk but also increase your risk of a heart attack?

Look, here’s the physiological fact when it comes to affecting health. Your health is what you eat. What you put in your mouth controls your chemistry and your chemistry controls your overall health.  The over production of insulin, hyperinsulinemia, is the biggest cause of obesity and most modern day disease. You control your insulin production by what you eat and mainly it is limiting your carbohydrate intake that keeps insulin levels under control. You must also make sure you are eating the proper amount of protein and fat to support cellular structure.

To make it simple, chronic low-grade inflammation in the body breeds disease and a high carbohydrate diet causes this condition. The modern day American diet is a high carbohydrate diet and most Americans do follow this. You can’t exercise your way out of chronic low-grade inflammation and in fact exercise will cause more inflammation.

The only way to clear inflammation from the body is to eat an anti-inflammatory diet. This type of diet consists of low carbohydrate consumption with adequate protein intake and consuming certain fats in a recommended amount. This is exactly the way we guide our dieters on the Protein Pantry system. The Protein Pantry diet is an anti-inflammatory diet and we prove this through blood panels given to our dieters. Oh, the Protein Pantry system does not mandate heavy exercise either.

Source: Exploring The Role Of Inflammation In Health And Chronic Disease; National Institutes of Health, The British Journal of Nutrition