Shop by Category
Shop Collagen
Get clinically proven results for your hair, skin, nails, joints and gut with collagen. Packed with powerful ingredients and offered in versatile powders, capsules or gummies.
Shop Protein
Discover superfood protein powders with easy-to-digest ingredients, designed to help you support your metabolism, build lean muscle and be greater than your goals.
Shop Probiotics & Digestion
Put your gut health first. Our powerful probiotics, enzymes and supplements are designed to promote gut health and comfort, healthy digestive function and immune system support.
Shop Vitamins & Minerals
Designed to fill the gaps left by modern diets, our superfood formulas combine ancient techniques like fermentation with clinically proven ingredients for results you can really feel.
Shop Herbals
Explore targeted benefits like building a healthy immune defense, or overall benefits for a healthy life, from history’s most powerful superfood ingredients.
Shop Organic SuperGreens
From clean energy and detox and digestion support to gut health and whole-body balance – our Organic SuperGreens products give you the benefits of juicing without the hassle.
Shop Bundles
Save on intentionally paired supplements to help you achieve your goals. Whether you’re just getting started or well on your wellness journey, there’s a bundle for you.
Our Story
Ancient Nutrition is driven by our mission to bring history’s most powerful superfoods to the world with a steadfast commitment to restoring our farmlands and healing our planet through regenerative farming.
Home/Blog/7 Things that Can Affect Weight Management
7 Things that Can Affect Weight Management
By Dr. Josh Axe
December 10, 2018
Our genetic expression can actually help in maximizing our weight management efforts.
How? Gene activity changes fluidly and quickly. Your genes are dynamic and respond to everything you think and do. Gene expression changes due to stress, diet, environment, thoughts and other factors. That’s why the everyday choices you make can express themselves on a genetic level.
Before we get into how to help your genes express themselves to benefit you most, let’s look at 7 of some of the most common factors for weight gain:
(This is for educational purposes only and addresses this topic generally.)
Chronic stress typically causes an increase in cortisol, which turns on fat storage within the body.
Of course, too many carbs, including sugar (called out later in this blog) can be a problem when it comes to weight management. However, gluten, dairy and soy can cause problems, too, for some people. In fact, many experts believe that wheat products are some of the biggest contributors to weight gain.
According to researchers from Vanderbilt University who followed 6,300 people, the average person spends 55 percent of waking hours (7.7 hours) sedentary or sitting. Of course, that is just one report and more studies are continually surfacing, but we know that regular exercise benefits health and weight management. If you reduce the amount of time you spend sitting, you’ll also increase your chances of managing your weight.
Did you know that your gut bacteria can influence your health, including your weight? It’s true. So, it’s no surprise that one way to turn on your body’s fat-burning switch is by balancing your microbiome. The average body houses slightly more microbes than the number of cells in the entire body. Your body has a symbiotic relationship with these microbes, but when you eat unhealthy food and are exposed to excessive stress, gut bacteria can become imbalanced and can directly affect weight.
In general, certain bacteria are also called “fat-promoting bacteria,” as they influence your body to gain weight and store fat. When the normal balance of bacteria shifts over to the negative, it’s called dysbiosis. Having more fat-promoting bacteria than “skinny-gut bacteria” can certainly impact weight management.
Over 100,000 new chemicals have been introduced into the market since World War II. These chemical toxins are now being shown to cause hormone dysregulation, which can directly affect weight management within the body. In fact, many of these chemicals are considered to be obesogens. Toxins can be broken down into two categories: 1) environmental toxins (non-living) and 2) biotoxins (living).
In general, environmental toxins bio-accumulate within our bodies when we are exposed to heavy metals, plastics, paints, new carpets, household cleaning supplies, cosmetics and more.
So, can toxins actually affect weight and weight management? The answer is an emphatic “yes!”
In the early 1900s, the average American consumed less than 20 grams of sugar per day. Now we consume over 100 grams of sugar per day. But here’s the deal: sugar is easily converted into stored fat, and its over-consumption can lead to weight management issues. Period.
While your current body condition may not be entirely your fault, it is your responsibility — or rather opportunity — to take steps to change. Here are some of the biggest challenges with some of the so-called “foods” that we are eating:
Our consumption of grain-based oils, also known as “vegetable fats,” has skyrocketed. Surprisingly, these fats aren’t derived from vegetables at all; rather, they come in large part from genetically modified (GMO) canola, soy and corn oils. GMO-containing grain and seed oils can cause imbalances within our bodies, leading to weight management issues.
Today, a higher percentage of our food budgets are spent on fast food and takeout meals, compared to a much lower amount back in 1929! More staggering? Up to nearly two-thirds of the average American’s daily energy intake comes from ultra-processed foods.
Having the opportunity to transform your body is perhaps the most exciting aspect of making dietary and lifestyle changes. For some, they prefer the keto diet and lifestyle, including regular exercise and more.
The keto diet, for example, is being praised for its simplicity and its wide range of benefits, but I think one of the most exciting aspects of keto is the way it enables the body to use fat as fuel.
Keto actually allows the body to function as a fat burner.
When you follow a keto diet, your primary source of energy comes from fat and being in the state of ketosis.
In short, following a keto plan can put you squarely into the fat-burning zone, helping you to use fat as fuel.
The keto diet is really simple once you know how to do it, but there are some important pitfalls to make sure you avoid.
Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNS, is a doctor of chiropractic, doctor of natural medicine, clinical nutritionist and author with a passion to help people get well using food and nutrition. He operates leading natural health website DrAxe.com and is co-founder of Ancient Nutrition, a health supplement company. He’s also author of the books Eat Dirt, Essential OIls: Ancient Medicine, Keto Diet, Collagen Diet and Ancient Remedies.
Related Articles
January 12, 2023
|health
Dark Circles Under Your Eyes? Here’s What to Do
If you’ve been occasionally missing out on sleep lately, you’re probably not surprised that dark circles have developed under your eyes. But what types of circumstances can lead to occasional dark circles, including occasionally not getting enough sleep?
September 1, 2022
|health
Matcha Collagen Supplement, Bursting with Benefits
I’ve been a big fan of green tea for many years, considering it’s one of the best sources of antioxidants, as well as a well-researched herbal infusion for helping to promote overall healthy aging.
February 28, 2023
|health
How to Hydrate Skin
Even if you employ a daily skincare routine, many of us get frustrated with the results. It’s hard to be happy with the way your skin looks if it’s occasionally dry, dull or sensitive, which is why skin hydration is so important. With loads of serums, moisturizers and beauty routines (such as the new trend called skin cycling) available, it’s difficult to know what really hydrates skin versus what’s a waste of your money and time.
August 25, 2022
|recipes
Pumpkin Spice Waffles
When I think of fun, delicious waffles, I dream up buttermilk and pumpkin spice. However, because I seek to avoid too much dairy, I've decided to create a buttermilk-like mixture. As for the pumpkin spice, this recipe for Pumpkin Spice goes for it with the super popular Bone Broth Protein Pumpkin Spice as well as some complementing ingredients.