I have written some articles on what chemicals you should avoid because of the health danger it can cause you. With the New Year coming in next week and New Year's resolutions going to be made, I thought that this would be a good time to remind everyone of the dangers you are exposing yourself to everyday and might not even realize it.
Obesogens are chemicals that are causing us to be fat. There are several places where obesogens can be found. They can be found in our food and also hidden in our homes.
Here are three sources of food where hidden obesogens can be found:
The first chemical that is an obesogen is high fructose corn syrup. This is metabolized completely differently than any other carbohydrate. This makes this pancreas to work harder to produce more insulin to help the liver do its job. This also drives energy into fat and also causes an effect on the brain making it think we are hungry and wanting more food. This is a vicious cycle that is extremely hard to get out of.
This is a major concern is because high fructose corn syrup is so cheap that is it being found in all our foods, such as bread and even pretzels; foods we would never think of looking simply because why should it be there.
The second chemical that is an obesogen is pesticides. Think about the protein we eat. The reason why farm raised animals or fish is not good for you is because of the pesticides that they eat. The more pesticides that are present, the more obesity it causes. Salmon is a great example. We all love the pink color. Farm raised salmon is naturally white. This is because wild salmon eat krill which causes them to be pink in color. Wild fish contains the natural nutrients and lower pesticides. Farm raised salmon eat food pellets that cause them to be a certain color. It's like picking out paint chips to determine what color you want the fish to be. So when you are eating farmed salmon you are basically eating dyed white fish.
Next, think about meat. The meat that we eat is often marbled. This happens because they are being fed corn and what we are seeing is the fat that is forming in the muscle that is insulin resistance. What do you think it's doing to our muscles when we consume them? Why are we taking these chances?
The third obesogen is found in our water supply. Just think about tap water. This may contain some ingredients that we don't want to consume. Here's is why. When we put pesticides on crops, those pesticides will seep into the soil and the water table. If it rains, it will wash more of the pesticides into our water table. Finally this water goes into our tap. Atrazine is the main obesogen found in water supply. Beside the association it has with birth defects, menstrual problems and cancer, this chemical affects our thyroid metabolism by slowing it down causing obesity. Another chemical is tributyltin which is usually used to paint the bottom of boats to prevent barnacles from forming. This makes their way into our water supply as well.
The easiest way to avoid this is to use a water filtration device to filter out these chemicals. This could be as simple as a Brita water pitcher to a filtration system that is installed in your house.
Other hidden obosegen found in our house. Here are three examples of where you might not think to look.
BPA is a synthetic estrogen that is found in many plastics. This has been banned from baby bottles recently but what you might not realize is that BPA is found inside the lining of cans. Formula that you might feed your baby might be purchased from a can. That metal can is lined with BPA. Fatty and acidic foods leach out the BPA from the can lining! So you might end up thinking you are feeding your baby BPA free, but the formula (which is fatty) contains BPA that is being served in a BPA free container, aka your baby bottle.
The easiest way to avoid this is to buy formula and other foods from pouches instead of cans. Also look at the bottom of plastic containers. You should avoid containers that are marked with the number 3 or 7 in the triangles. These containers might be made with BPA and the BPA can be leeched out and into your food supply. Make sure that you do not microwave your food in plastic containers. The heating process causes the leeching of these chemicals into your food 55 times faster than storing cold food in the same container. The solution would be use only glass containers in microwaves. Don't forget about the water containers that you might drink out of. A lot of these sip water containers are made of plastics with the numbers 3 or 7. If you water has been sitting in the car or gets warm it will cause the leeching process of chemicals as well.
The second hidden obesogens found in your house is PFOA. It is a substance that makes items nonstick, making things heat and grease resistant. Animal studies have found that early exposure to this in life will cause obesity later on in life. They also have found that PFOA will affect your thyroid glands. The thyroid glands regulate the hormones that control your weight. Some of these are contained in items that are found in your home such as: microwave popcorn, pizza boxes, and in tephlon pans. When you use a metal spatula on your tephlon pans, you are scraping bits of tephlon off and mixing it with your food. The solution to this would be to use a wooden spatula. Pop your popcorn in a pan and take the pizza out of the box and heat it in the oven instead of the microwave.
The last hidden obesogen found in your house is PVC. This is basically vinyl and is dangerous because it releases phthalates that lowers testerone and lowers metabolism which in turn makes it hard to burn fats efficiently. This results in gaining weight. Phthalates are often found in shower curtains. Remember heat releases obesogens. So when you take a hot shower, it releases the phthalates and that is absorbed into your skin.
Another place is in the grocery store. The meat that you buy is wrapped in plastic and that plastic contains phthalates. Household plastic, like saran wrap, does not contain PVC, it is the commercial stuff that does. So next time you buy meat, have the butcher wrap them in brown paper. Air fresheners also contain phthalates, so when you are releasing the fragrance into your house you are also releasing phthalates.
So be mindful when you make your New Year's resolution and want to lose those couple of pounds. It might not just the food you are eating but also your environment that is making it had to lose the weight.
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year!
