Mysty PfefferFighting obesogens begins with knowing where they are, right? Let’s start with plastic. Now, I know we can’t remove all the plastic from our lives but removing as much plastic as we can is a good start.
At this point, you may be thinking, what are obesogens?
They are chemicals in our environment that disrupt our metabolism, and our delicate hormone balance.
Remember, hormones are the messengers for every function in the body. These monsters mess with our entire endocrine system and make many of us obese.
So, if you’ve been beating yourself up for not losing the weight, please stop!
God made you a phenomenal human being.
He designed you and me to restore, repair, heal, and recover every cell in our bodies.
He also gave us the plants, animals, minerals, soil, and water we need to keep it functioning to its best capacity. He even gave us Jesus, to restore our souls and heal us spiritually.
However, just like our spiritual environment is working against our minds, our physical environment is working against our health.
More importantly, think of the impact these chemicals are having on your children, or grandchildren.
According to the CDC 18.5% of the pediatric population is obese and 32% are overweight. (1)
All of us are exposed to chemicals that disrupt the functioning of our thyroid glands, our estrogen balance, and weight controlling hormones like; leptin, ghrelin, and adiponectin.
How Chemicals Make Us Fat
Fighting Obesogens –Know the Big Ones
Therefore, we are wise to learn some simple ways to remove chemicals causing obesity.
Although there have been over 1,000 obesogens identified, I hope to focus on the most common ones we are exposed to in our daily lives.
When we know how chemicals can disrupt hormone balance by binding to receptor sites they are not supposed to bind to, we can avoid them. They should NOT have the power to change pathways of how our cells communicate either!
So, what are the big Endocrine Disruptors?
- Natural Endocrine Disruptors—-Soy-based Foods and Dairy Products; known as phytoestrogens.
- Synthetic Endocrine Disruptors–plastics, pesticides, flame retardants, metals, and food wrappers.
Their long-term effects are thought to disrupt the following systems:
- Male and Female Reproductive Systems
- Immune System
- Central Nervous System
- Metabolic Function
How do we Avoid Obesogens?
Ok, now we need to brainstorm some ideas together!
Here are few things I’ve been trying to incorporate in my daily life, but it is minimal! I’d love to hear yours too!
- Filter all water into glass containers instead of plastic. There are glass bottles protected with silicone at my local Dollar Store. I hope you find them, we can also use our glass water pitchers.
- Metal Water filter systems remove most bacteria and pesticides, but not chlorine or fluoride.
- Distilled Water systems remove everything, including minerals, so keep that in mind.
- Using cloth mesh bags for produce shopping
- Using bamboo or wooden baskets for gathering produce at the grocery store
- Storing produce in glass or wood containers
- Buying organic produce or cleaning regular produce with a baking soda and vinegar rinse.
- Getting rid of Teflon pans, plastic spoons/forks/spatulas and using stainless steel or greenpans
- Use a chlorine filter on your shower head
- If you and I can afford it, getting a whole house system for cleaning our water–it travels through PVC pipes!
Here are a few extra ideas!
Get plenty of sunshine and good vitamins and minerals for increasing the immune system and fighting invaders.
Get plenty of activity to keep our lymphatic system flowing and moving toxins out.
Repair our gut microbiome with good fiber, fresh produce and fermented foods to help get rid of toxins.
Drink plenty of clean water!
Obesogen Summary
Although all of this may seem overwhelming, we need to know God did not design it this way.
Plus, He will always provide a way for us to escape.
His plan for mankind that first week in the garden was for our good.
Everything we need for spiritual health is in His Word, and our physical health relies on His provision and how our bodies are designed to heal themselves.
I hope this has been helpful for you! If you need a RN Health Coach, I am here for you!
Check out the new whole food recipes on this site and send them to your friends and family! They made want some ideas too!
God bless,
Mysty
