Imagine eating 12 pounds of food a day -- and still staying thin and healthy. That may sound crazy, but it’s exactly what our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate for millennia! And they didn't have any obesity or chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or dementia.

Of course, I wouldn't advise anyone today to eat 12 pounds of food, because the food in our society lacks one major secret ingredient that our ancestors ate in nearly all their food -- fiber!

Fiber has so many health benefits that I want to focus on it in this week's blog. I’ll explain some of its benefits and give you 9 tips you can begin using today to get more fiber in your diet. I’ll also tell you about my favorite “super-fiber” that can help you increase your total fiber intake overnight.

But before I tell you about what fiber can do for you, let's a look a little more at the history of fiber.

Is being heavy in your genes?

Not so fast.

Obesity genes account for only 5 percent of all weight problems.

But what about the other 95 percent of weight problems?

And why are we seeing such an epidemic of obesity in America today? It is the single most important public health issue facing us.

If genes do not account for obesity, is our high-fat diet to blame?

Wrong again!

But fat contains 9 calories per gram, so shouldn’t eating more fat (and more calories) make you gain weight?

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, pioneering research by Harvard Medical School’s David Ludwig shows us the real reason that low-fat diets do not work -- and reveals the true cause of obesity for most Americans.

He correctly points out that careful review of all the studies on dietary fat and body fat -- such as those done by Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health -- have shown that dietary fat is not a major determinant of body fat.

Let me repeat that.

==> Dietary fat is not a major determinant of body fat.

There’s no doubt about it.

Artificial sweeteners cause obesity.

I always thought it was funny to see a very large person order a Big Mac, large fries -- and top it off with a Diet Coke. I also found it peculiar that I rarely saw thin people drinking diet sodas.

So I began to wonder if there could be a link between diet beverages or artificial sweeteners and obesity.

As I began to explore this notion, I discovered a number of different research findings that pointed to this very phenomenon.

First, our current obesity epidemic has coincided perfectly with the introduction of large amounts of artificial sweeteners into our food supply. Although we cannot say for sure that this means artificial sweeteners cause obesity, it certainly makes me wonder.

Next, a body of research indicates that just the thought or smell of food initiates a whole set of hormonal and physiologic responses that get the body ready for food.

This is familiar to us from Pavlov’s dog experiment, where he trained dogs to salivate by associating the ringing of a bell with the presentation of food. By doing this repeatedly, he eventually trained the dogs to salivate in anticipation of food simply by ringing the bell -- without any food at all.

Think of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners as ringing the bell for your physiology.

But why is that bad? And why is it even worse to ring the bell with artificial sweeteners and then not provide any sugar along with the bell?

What happens to the body?

Is your digestive system making you fat?

It’s hard to believe – but very true!

Today, I’m going to explain how the bugs in your digestive tract and the way they upset your gut’s immune system just might be behind those extra pounds.

I have observed this phenomenon in thousands of patients. And I’ve developed very effective treatments for it, based on understanding the way in which all the body’s systems – the gut, the immune system, toxins, hormones and more – are connected.

These are what I call the 7 keys to UltraWellness.

You can read even more about it in my book, The UltraSimple Diet, which explains why toxicity and inflammation are key underlying causes of obesity and illness.

And there’s powerful evidence that addressing those key causes can help shed pounds.

You can lose weight without changing what you eat or doing one minute of exercise!

It's a bold claim.

And don't get me wrong: Nutrition and exercise are important!

But there's another key to weight loss -- and most people don't even know about it.

It's sleep.

That's right. Besides eating whole foods and moving your body, getting enough sleep is the most important thing you can do for your health.

On the flip side, sleep deprivation makes you fat -- AND leads to depression, pain, heart disease, diabetes, and much more.

Take sleep apnea.

In this condition, your sleep is interrupted all night because your airway closes and your body startles you awake so you don't suffocate. 

This is a very common and extremely under-diagnosed problem.  It affects 18 million Americans and most are NOT treated for it.

Let me tell you about one of my patients who was in that same predicament.