Friday, November 26, 2010

Obesogens in Our Food Packaging and Food Preparation

Obesogens. What are they? "Obesogens" is a fairly new term used by scientists to describe a class of chemicals that actually take control of your endocrine system, in turn lead to obesity, heart disease, and possibly some types of cancer. These toxins are called "endocrine disrupting chemicals" or EDC's. Since they have been found to be a cause of obesity today, scientists have referred to them as "obesogens."

So, obesogens disrupt our endocrine systems, what does that mean for me? Well, your endocrine system is vitally important to your body's daily functions. From growth and development, to reproduction, sleep, hunger, stress management, metabolism, and how your body uses the foods you eat; these things are all controlled with the glands and cells of your endocrine system. So, when the EDC's (obesogens) infiltrate and disrupt the endocrine system, you can face a variety of different obstacles, all of which can be avoided by making some different food and life choices.

The first way to help reduce the number of EDC's you consume each day is to buy organic fruit and vegetables. Some produce have higher amounts of obesogens than others, however, it is safest to choose the organic foods since they were grown and fertilized without toxic chemicals.

Next, obesogens are not just in your foods, but they can also be in the packaging of the foods, as well as the containers you store your leftovers in. To help lower your risk of EDC's from plastics, remember that you should NEVER heat your plastics in the microwave or clean then in the dishwasher. The extreme heat can change the chemical make-up of the plastics, leeching dangerous chemicals into your food that touches them.

You should also look for meats that are either not packaged with plastic wrap, as the chemicals can stick to the fat in the meat, again introducing obesogens into your diet. If you cannot find any that are not covered in plastic, try to opt for leaner meats, like grass-fed or from animals raised in a pasture as they are often lower in fat content than their traditional alternatives. Since the chemicals from the plastic are adhering to the fat, lower fat choices will have fever toxins.

If you choose canned goods, try the organic varieties as often times there may be chemicals embedded in the cans themselves and the food inside them has just soaked it up for months, or even years, on the shelf.

Even fish is a culprit, well some of them anyway. The safest choices for eating are generally smaller fish, such as Atlantic herring, mackerel, Alaskan salmon, anchovies, scallops, Pacific Halibut or Cod, Canned light tuna, and mahi-mahi. Also, to further remove the contaminants from the fatty parts of the fish, opt for broiling, grilling, or boiling instead of frying.

Finally, one of the main causes of EDC contamination in your home is in the water. To help reduce the risks to your family, it is important that your tap water be filtered before use, so pollutants and pesticides can be removed before consumption.

Just a few little changes can make a big difference in the health of yourself and your family. The hidden chemicals, including obesogens, are easy to reduce. Filter your water, make some different food choices, and don't heat your plastics. Not hard to do, but it will make a huge difference in yourexposure to dangerous chemicals in your home. Also, remember that getting regular wellness checks for cancer and heart disease are extremely important to a healthy lifestyle as well. Learn how you can get paid to get these annual tests with supplemental health plans like cancer insurance or critical illness coverage.




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