Are you gaining weight because you're hibernating?

Great article by Doc Gurley

What if the real reason Americans are gaining more and more weight is because we, as mammals, are unintentionally putting ourselves into hibernation mode? That's a theory that's being thrown around. So how does this work?

There are (at least) two common types of fats in our diets - omega-3s and omega-6s. Well, those and what I think of as the Frankenfat, called transfats - those are fats that have been chemically altered to make them less biodegradable (think of them as a sort of burned, charcoaled fat). Omega-3s occur in leafy greens, flax seeds, and fish (among other foods). You can think of omega-3s as "spring" fats. Omega-6s, in contrast, occur mostly in fall-harvested foods - corn oils, grains, soybean and cottonseed oils, among others. Some decent animal research shows that the signal to hibernate in mammals occurs when the diet shifts from mostly omega-3 ("spring") fats to mostly omega-6 ("fall") fats.

Our industrialized human diet has changed dramatically in just a couple of generations. Omega-3s are almost non-existent in the average American diet. We've not only got omega-6s saturating our diet everywhere, 24/7, season after season, but we've also got the technology to dunk anything we want, any time, in a hot vat of omega-6s. If you believe the omega-6 hibernation theory, that means we're giving ourselves a depth-charge signal to hibernate every time we order "fries with that."

What's more, we've changed equally dramatically the way we raise our meat in the same time-frame. Instead of grass-fed meat, we're now gorging our livestock year-round on omega-6 packed grains. That means that, instead of eating the spring lamb or the fatted calf - which were meant to help us survive the last gasps of winter - we're eating, year round, what was supposed to be rare, fall-slaughtered meats. Are we all chowing down all the time on hibernation-signaling omega-6-marbled roasts?

Although it's not part of the original hibernation theory, I would add the potential role of vitamin D. Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, drops as the seasons change. Vitamin D is associated with weight gain, and - independent of weight - also associated with higher blood pressure and diabetes. Our lifestyles also have changed dramatically in the same few generations until almost all of us are now living completely indoors and behind glass. Most of us are now low on vitamin D year-round - and some of us dramatically low, which may be a double-whammy of hibernation signals.

Sheesh - so what's a person to do? Even without hard science to prove the theory, even just as a way of thinking about what we eat, the hibernation-signal theory can be a good motivator to make some positive changes for our health. For many MANY health reasons, it's important to make the shift to more omega-3s. It's time we all treat our body like a valuable car and ask ourselves - have you changed the oil lately? You can think of trans-fats as a kind of gritty, cheap oil that can clog your engine. Omega-6s are like a cleaner oil, but still thick and sluggish. Omega-3s, in contrast, are the premium-grade, light and lubricating stuff - worth the extra money to keep your internal engine running smoothly. Keep in mind, however, that our fish are often contaminated with mercury, so - especially if you're pregnant (or wanting to become pregnant), you want to limit your fish intake.

And, for many MANY other health reasons, it's also important to get your blood vitamin D level checked - and to keep it in the normal range.

Those simple health moves will do your body some good. And I, for one, don't want to hibernate my life away...