What is obesity?

Obesity is a complex disorder that consists of having an excessive amount of body fat. We should not see this as solely an aesthetic problem but instead look at the serious risk behind this condition. Risks include heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

If you are extremely obese it means that you have a high probability of having health problems related to your weight.

The good news is that even a minimum level of weight loss can improve or prevent health problems related to obesity. Changes in diet, increased physical activity and changes in diet and lifestyle can help you lose weight. Prescription medications and slimming surgeries are additional options available to treat obesity.

Which mushrooms have useful properties for obesity?

Maitake

Activates metabolism and protects the cardiovascular system
There are studies of Maitake related to hypertension, obesity and weight control.

Weight control
Activates metabolism and helps in weight control

Triglycerides (fat) and cholesterol
Reduces triglycerides and cholesterol levels

Hypertension
Acts on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system

Nutritional recommendations and general healthy habits for the maintenance of a good state of health

  • Avoid meat products, especially red meat and derivatives such as sausages.
  • In general, you can not take baked goods or pastries.
  • You should also avoid the consumption of pre-cooked and dried fast-food type soup soups.
  • Avoid or reduce salt consumption to a minimum. When you consume it, choose preferably unrefined salt. You can substitute the garnishes of the meals with spices, for example.
  • When cooking and seasoning your dishes always use extra virgin olive oil, prioritizing its consumption in crude.
  • Our advice is to take fatty or semi-fatty fish (blue fish) 2 to 3 times a week. Varies the species: salmon, red mullet, sardines, horse mackerel, bonito, tuna, mackerel, anchovy, etc.
  • Increase the daily consumption of vegetables.
  • Do not drink alcohol.
  • Do not consume industrial processed products rich in sugars, salt, oils and additives that are harmful to health (cookies, toast, bread, industrial cereals …).
  • It prioritizes the consumption of whole grains and avoids refined flours (white bread, pasta, biscuits …).
  • The preparation techniques of preference are: cooking, steaming and grilling. Do not take fried, breaded, barbecued or barbecues.
  • It is important that you increase physical activity: walking, running, swimming, aerobics, going up and down stairs … The best thing is that you schedule it as a daily activity.
  • Do relaxation exercises if you feel stressed or overwhelmed or if you have muscular tensions, since that feeling of tension may indicate that your stress levels are higher than normal. The use of these techniques will help you to regulate the alterations of stress hormones and to relax the tensions that your body presents, both physical and emotional.
References

References

  1. Shen KP, Su CH, Lu TM, Lai MN, Ng LT. Effects of Grifola frondosa non-polar bioactive components on high-fat diet fed and streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemic mice. Pharm Biol. 2015 May;53(5):705-9. doi: 10.3109/13880209.2014.939290. Epub 2014 Nov 28.
    Lei H, Zhang M, Wang Q, Guo S, Han J, Sun H, Wu W. MT-α-glucan from the fruit body of the maitake medicinal mushroom Grifola frondosa (higher Basidiomyetes) shows protective effects for hypoglycemic pancreatic β-cells. Int J Med Mushrooms. 2013;15(4):373-81.
  2. Sato M, Tokuji Y, Yoneyama S, Fujii-Akiyama K, Kinoshita M, Chiji H, Ohnishi M. Effect of dietary Maitake (Grifola frondosa) mushrooms on plasma cholesterol and hepatic gene expression in cholesterol-fed mice. J Oleo Sci. 2013;62(12):1049-58.
  3. Sato M, Tokuji Y, Yoneyama S, Fujii-Akiyama K, Kinoshita M, Ohnishi M. Profiling of hepatic gene expression of mice fed with edible japanese mushrooms by DNA microarray analysis: comparison among Pleurotus ostreatus, Grifola frondosa, and Hypsizigus marmoreus. J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Oct 12;59(19):10723-31. doi: 10.1021/jf2025659.
  4. Fukushima M, Ohashi T, Fujiwara Y, Sonoyama K, Nakano M. Cholesterol-lowering effects of maitake (Grifola frondosa) fiber, shiitake (Lentinus edodes) fiber, and enokitake (Flammulina velutipes) fiber in rats. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2001 Sep;226(8):758-65.
  5. Kubo K, Nanba H. Anti-hyperliposis effect of maitake fruit body (Grifola frondosa). I. Biol Pharm Bull. 1997 Jul;20(7):781-5.
  6. Kabir Y, Yamaguchi M, Kimura S. Effect of shiitake (Lentinus edodes) and maitake (Grifola frondosa) mushrooms on blood pressure and plasma lipids of spontaneously hypertensive rats. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 1987 Oct;33(5):341-6. PubMed PMID: 3443885.