Today, I will focus on a paper by Dr. Gabriele Faerber from Germany, which was published in February 2018 in the journal, Phlebology. The paper is called “Obesity and Chronic Inflammation in Phlebological and Lymphatic Diseases“. In this article, Dr. Faerber reviewed other papers related to this topic, and she suggested a relationship between obesity, chronic inflammation, and lymphatic disorders. She then also shares some case studies from her own practice in Hamburg, Germany.
Findings
Dr. Faerber comes to the conclusion that many of these associated complaints with lipedema, such as pain, swelling, inflammation, and bloating, happen when abdominal obesity is also present. She discusses how inflammation and hormonal factors play a much stronger role in women with lipedema if they also have increased abdominal fat.
She then makes the case for using a ketogenic diet to mitigate all of these factors. She suggests keeping to low glycemic foods, avoiding snacking, and eating less frequently. She also recommends eliminating sugar-free sweeteners, which has been very successful for her patients with lipedema.
Takeaways
This is very useful information as it provides us with a better understanding of lipedema and how to manage the swelling and inflammation associated with lipedema.
We now know that weight loss, even from a lower body, could be achievable for the very first time! More than 80% of her patients with lipedema have reduced or resolved their pain and edema. Because these results are also seen in women with lipedema who are normal weight, Dr. Faerber believes that these fantastic results are not only due to weight loss, but also because of the reduction of swelling and inflammation that is achieved with the ketogenic diet.
If you would like to know more updates on this and other matters regarding lipedema, check out Lipedema Simplified’s Flash Briefings where we share helpful tips, tools, research, and other resources pertaining to Lipedema!
-Leslyn