Copyright © 2009
by Daniel Matthew Korn

All Rights Reserved

Now we know that none of the popular theories about obesity offers a complete explanation. As part of the process of elimination, we have vastly narrowed down the possible culprits. We have also discovered many clues to identify the real culprits. We know weight gain is preceded by increases in stress, sleep difficulty, excess hunger, and excess inflammation. It can be caused not just by foods containing calories, but also by chemicals found in prescription drugs and diet soda. At this point, we know that while we thought we knew the causes of weight gain, we did not.

Socrates would say that we have reached the point at which wisdom begins. He believed the main obstacle to discovering the truth was the belief that it was already known, and that discovering ignorance was the fastest way to achieve knowledge. Socrates was being ironic by claiming that he knew nothing. He was widely believed to be exceedingly wise in antiquity and is still regarded as such today.

If Socrates were here helping us now, he would look to see if we incorrectly believe we know something that we do not actually know. There are, in fact, several key assumptions that all of our theories have made without supporting evidence. The Western diet causes weight gain, and we have assumed that this means foods in the Western diet are responsible. However, it could be that something which prevents weight gain has been removed from the Western diet. It could also be that some chemical has been added which causes weight gain as a side effect. After all, we have seen many prescription drugs can cause weight gain as a side effect.

In fact, there are some things which were claimed and, in certain cases, verified to reduce hunger and stress, aid sleep, and lower inflammation whose presence has been drastically reduced in the Western diet in the last one hundred years. Until recently, their absence has been overlooked by scientists because they were often associated with nonscientific theories and medical practices. Starting with Hippocrates in Greece and ending in Europe only in the nineteenth century, Western doctors believed that the body contained four humors associated with warmth, cold, moisture, and dryness that could be balanced by the use of particular foods, herbs, and spices. Similarly, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine believed that the body contained yin, which was cold and wet, and yang, which was hot and dry, and that these could be balanced by eating the correct foods and medicinal herbs.

While the theories behind these medical systems are not likely to make a comeback, some of the plants they used are now being studied by researchers. A hot humor or yang force associated with rashes, allergies, and pain has not been found in the body. However, what we might call chronic inflammation sounds very similar to what traditional medicine might have called a hot force. Since the health benefits of herbs and spices have not been taken seriously, it has not been considered important that they are no longer used as medicines or are a smaller part of our diet. Nor is this the only change to our diet that, while seemingly unimportant at the time, may have been ill conceived.

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