Are Obesogens Keeping Us Fat ?
Part 2
Absorbing obesogens in our food supply and environment, known as 'the obesogen effect', may be at the very heart of our current obesity epidemic in North America. There are two main categories of environmental obesogens: Organotins and xenoiotics.
Common Obesogens:
High Fructose syrup (HFC)
Yikes this is a biggie, HFC is in tons of foods. Have you ever found yourself unable to stop eating something? HFC is linked to bingeing because it interferes with your bodys normal fullness response and triggers hunger. HFC is a highly addictive chemical, and causes your blood sugar to spike. HFC is strongly linked to the development of diabetes type 2.
One of the best things you can do for your health is to read labels and avoid all foods and drinks with HFC in them. The food manufacturers Hunts and Sara Lee have already pulled HFC from their products, Heinz is slow to do this. Watch the news and support those companies that pull this 'crapolla' out of their products.
Monosodium Glutonate (MSG)
Now we've all heard about Monosodium gluconate MSG, it has been under the health radar for many years. MSG is an obesogen used to enhance the flavor of foods, it is found in many foods including chips and dips. MSG makes you crave more food. It is also called other names such as hydrolized soya protein. Avoid any product that lists 'hydrolized' as an ingredient.
Aspartame I have been waging a personal war against aspartame for years now. My clients have always been advised to keep this crapolla out of their diets. Aspartame has over 92 neurological side effects and is now classified as an obesogen.
Aspartame has already been banned in Japan and has been linked to brain cancer, MS and learning disabilities.
Aspartame is highly addictive and is used in most diet drinks and diet products. Some of my clients have had a really hard time kicking the diet pop habit. But diet products make you fat, avoid them like the plague they are dangerous to your health.
Manufacturers add the toxic ingredients: HFC, MSG and aspartame to make you buy more of their crappy products and increase their profits. They DO NOT have your health as a priority. What would happen to these companies if we all stopped buying their products??
Pesticides Pesticides are used extensively in the growth of our grains, fruits and vegetables. Pesticides are classified as obesogenic. It is hard to avoid pesticides completely in our food supply,however you can wash your produce thoroughly before you eat it. An even better idea is to explore buying organic foods which are grown without the use of pesticides.
Slow food markets and farmers markets are popping up everywhere, check your local resources.
Plastic
The culprits here are Bisphenol-A(BPA) from polycarbonate plastics, Phthlate plasticizers which softens plastics and various PFC compounds. These are obesogenic when they enter the body.
BPA has been banned from use in baby bottles, but is used in many other plastics such as water bottles and the lining of tin cans.
The Federal Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC)has found that 93% of us have detectable levels of BPA
in our systems.
It is just a matter of time before BPA is declared a toxic substance and completely banned from use.
In animal studies BPA has been found to increase insulin resistance, isn't it funny that insulin resistance is a major health problem in North America today?
Just as frightening is that research has also found that in lab experiments on mice, BPA makes cancer grow rapidly and affects reproductive functions.
Tinned foods The lining of tinned foods also contains BPA. BPA has been linked to high blood pressure and heart disease. Stay tuned as I research this connection more thoroughly.
Antibiotic and hormones
Found in fish, chicken, red meat and dairy products. It is well known that animal stock are injected with hormones to make them grow rapidly and gain weight. Apparently, there are over 6 hormones in the average cut of beef.
Non stick pots and pans
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is an obesogenic chemical used to make things non stick. PFOA is used in nonstick pots and pans such as Teflon products. Researchers believe that PFOA leads to obesity problems later in life and can affect the regulation of your thyroid gland. Toss out your Teflon pans!
Microwave popcorn
The obesogen: PFOA is also used in the manufacture of microwave popcorn bags and pizza boxes.
Air Fresheners
Phthlates are obesogens found in vinyl products, fragrance products and plastic wrap used to wrap meats and produce in grocery stores.
Phthlates lower our testosterone levels and increase fat storage. According to research, 75% of us have detected levels of phthlates in our systems.
The problem is that phthlates leach out of products into our foods, and liquids. Never, never heat food in plastic.
Tap Water
Tributlylin and atrazine are the main obesogens found in tap water.
Final Thoughts:
Now you've heard the bad news, the good news is that there is a lot of things you can do to reduce obesogens in your diet. Reducing your exposure to obesogens may help you lose weight, lower your blood pressure and improve your overall health.
Part 3: How to Avoid Toxic Foods
References and links:
Bruce Blumberg, obesogen researcher for the Green Science Institute, professor of Biology at Carnegie Mellon University in California:
Bruce Blumberg video: Obesogens, Stem cells, and Maternal Programming
Module 2: The Evidence For Obesogens
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Module 3: The Obesogen Hypothesis
Wikipedia, obesogens
Dr. Oz, Understanding Obesogens, Jan 2012.