I knew it all along. It's the darn plastic that's making me fat. Thank God I don't have to give up my McDonalds!

Ok, so maybe that's not the whole story. If you lay around doing nothing all day eating junk food and lounging on the couch then, yes, you're fat because of your own behavior.

BUT....

Scientists are finding that the infamous endocrine disrupting chemicals in, well, most everything, have a dramatic effect on human metabolism and appetite control. Some are even saying we are programmed for obesity!

According to Frederick vom Saal, professor of biological science at University of Missouri-Columbia, environmental chemicals found in everyday plastics and pesticides may very well influence obesity. Dr. vom Saal has found that when fetuses are exposed to these chemicals, the way their genes function may be altered to make them more prone to obesity and disease.

"Certain environmental substances called endocrine-disrupting chemicals can change the functioning of a fetus's genes, altering a baby's metabolic system and predisposing him or her to obesity. This individual could eat the same thing and exercise the same amount as someone with a normal metabolic system, but he or she would become obese, while the other person remained thin," vom Saal said. "This is a serious problem because obesity puts people at risk for other problems, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension," he added.

In an article in ODE magazine Why Dieting Fails by Kim Ridley, she explains, "The body typically stashes toxins absorbed from food, water, and other sources in fat cells. In the late 1990's, a research team led by Professor Angelo Tremblay of Laval University in Quebec began studying the effects of organochlorines like DDT, dioxins and PCBs on the metabolisms of people enrolled in weight-loss programs.

Building on earlier work by Italian researchers, the Canadian team found that levels of industrial pollutants in the dieter's blood rose as they lost weight; fat cells shrink and release the contaminants back into the bloodstream."

Tremblay and his colleagues further reported that as these levels rose, the levels of thyroid hormones necessary to maintain an efficient metabolism plummeted. "If I were to put this in journalistic terms, I might say that the organochlorines essentially shut down the metabolic furnace that helps the body burn fat," Tremblay told The Ecologist. The Canadian team's research continues to confirm that these chemicals may be among the major contributors to rebound weight gain!

Ridley goes on to report,"Adding to the evidence is research by Dr. Paula Baillie-Hamilton, author of The Detox Diet. After extensively examining the effects of various classes of chemical pollutants on the body's weight-control system, she made a surprising and counterintuitive discovery: Some of the same chemicals that cause weight loss in high doses can lead to weight gain at the very low levels which are exposes to them in everyday life."

Some researchers are suggesting that these chemicals are triggering obesity in other ways. For instance the chemical Bisphenol A, you know, the stuff found in hard plastics like 99% of baby bottles, transform "baby" fat cells into full-fledged mature fat cells. As these fat cells proliferate, it becomes more difficult to lose weight and keep it off.

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Consider a chemical free approach to healthy living you just might be surprised at how fast the weight falls off!

Stay Well and Healthy,

Michelle