Obesity is a major problem here in the United States. According to the CDC, nearly 38% of adults over the age of 20 are obese in America, and nearly 71% of adults are overweight (which includes obese people). One of the worst parts of the problem is that, for many people, it starts in childhood. 20.6% of adolescents age 12-19 are obese, as are 17.4% of children age 6-11 and 9.4% of children age 2-5.

The main concern with obesity is the terrible impact that it can have upon a person’s health. In fact, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The leading cause is tobacco use. Obesity is linked to a number of preventable diseases, such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, and certain kinds of cancer.

When a person gains weight, that weight is actually an accumulation of fat cells which are called adipose tissue. When a person has too much adipose tissue, the tissue starts to put a strain on the body and cause an inflammatory response. But the inflammation doesn’t go away, because the adipose tissue keeps causing the response. So the result of too much adipose tissue is a chronic low-grade inflammatory response.

You may remember from our previous post about inflammation that, in small doses, inflammation is actually a good thing. It’s the immune system’s way of responding to a problem and trying to clear out infection, repair damaged cells, and otherwise repair an injury. But if inflammation persists, it starts to cause problems by attacking cells. The result can be damage to the joints, organs, and arteries, and that damage keeps accumulating until the inflammation stops. This is part of why diabetes and heart disease, among other problems, start to develop in obese people.

The first step to addressing the problem is lifestyle changes. Eating a healthy diet, getting exercise, and getting the medical attention you need are all important parts of getting down to a healthy weight and reversing the damage caused by obesity.

Part of your healthy lifestyle changes can be adding a daily dose of curcumin to your diet. Curcumin is the active compound in the spice turmeric, and numerous studies have shown that curcumin has anti-inflammatory properties. When it comes to curcumin and obesity specifically, research has shown that curcumin interacts with adipose tissue (fat cells) directly and suppresses chronic inflammation. Research is still being done, but there are strong indicators that curcumin may help reduce the incidence of obesity-related diseases and also help promote weight loss.

Curcumin and heart disease, certain cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases also seem to have a positive link. Adding a dose of curcumin to your diet could help reduce inflammation throughout the body and help stave off all of these illnesses.

More research is being done all the time, but all of the science suggests that a regular dose of curcumin can do a lot of good in your diet, whether you struggle with obesity or not.

And getting your daily dose of curcumin has never been easier with ZYN. Every bottle has 200mg of curcumin paired with piperine to help boost absorption. With four tasty flavors, you can give yourself a low-cal treat and help your body stave off inflammation at the same time. Try a bottle today!

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.