Obesogens – What’s Really Making you Fat
Scientists have recently discovered that part of the reason Americans are gaining weight so rapidly is because of a food additive that increases our tendency to put on pounds. Endocrine disrupting chemicals, also known as EDCs, are in many of the foods that are sold in the United States. Research has shown that EDCs actually promote obesity when consumed regularly. This emergence of a chemical agent that causes weight gain could entirely change the way dieting and weight loss is viewed over the next few years. Simple calorie adjustments won’t be enough anymore.
How the Chemicals Work – EDCs behave like synthetic estrogen in your system, thus the term “obesogens.” They get into your endocrine system and mess around with the body’s natural regulators that determine how much you should eat and how much fat you should store. Your body reacts by storing up more fat from the foods that you eat. Since this is all happening on a cellular level, you have very little control over the process. The most effective diet would reduce the amount of EDCs you take in rather than reducing the number of calories you take in.
Standard Diets are Less Effective – Diet and exercise have always been the best and healthiest way to lose weight. When you throw EDCs into the mix, diet and exercise are less effective than they should be. America’s obesity levels are rising despite active participation in exercise and diet programs. There’s a good chance that these chemicals are the reason diets don’t work as well as they should. What you eat and how it was grown or butchered makes a much bigger difference than how many calories it contains. Even your drinking water could contain high levels of EDCs that you don’t realize are there. While diet and exercise are still good for your overall health, they cannot overcome the problem of EDC in foods.
Organics Can Help – There is good news, though. You can avoid these toxins and lose weight by minimizing exposure to EDCs. Most of the chemicals wind up in the foods through pesticides. Organic fruits and vegetables that are produced in pesticide-free environments contain very few EDCs. Studies have shown that just replacing the fruits and vegetables that contain the highest amounts of EDCs with organic versions can drastically reduce your EDC levels. These include the tasty peaches, the ir-resistible strawberries, healthy apples, domestic blueberries, nectarines, sweet bell peppers, the must eat spinach, celery, kale and collard greens, cherries, potatoes and imported grapes. Drinking filtered water can also help reduce the EDCs that you ingest. Avoiding fatty meats and canned foods can also reduce your intake.
Winning the battle against obesity
Obesity in right terms can be called the mother of a variety of modern ailments faced by a majority of the people in developed countries. Some of the most common problems include high BP, diabetes, renal and cardiac diseases. A simple search in the internet would give you number of ways to battle against the menace of obesity. While medical treatments can help you overcome obesity, the best means of keeping obesity under control is dieting and exercise.
However, dieting doesn’t mean starving yourself. Having health foods in required quantities would come a long way in checking obesity problems. It is important to plan your diet with foods that contain fewer calories which can also be filling. Fiber rich diet can not only suppress your hunger but also can bind the excess fat, aiding greatly in your weight loss program. It is also wise to include food supplements that will help you maintain your weight. Some of the well known food supplements that have earn reputation in the weight loss programs include the Acai berry, Hoodia, Green Tea, and many more. When it comes to weight loss diet programs the two important aspects include foods to avoid and foods to choose. Food to avoid include high caloric and high fat content items, such as junk food, chocolates, red meat and food with simple sugars that gets converted into fat easily.
Apart from healthy diet you also should cultivate the habit of exercising regularly. Exercise can be both mental and physical. For example, if you need to follow a disciplined life style you need to learn to control yourself mentally. This is where yoga and other mental practices come to your help in toning your mind. The physical exercises on the other hand have a direct impact on you. Some of the benefits of exercising include effective burning of excess calories, toning of muscles, and maintaining the weight.
It is often found that stress-out people indulge in eating and this is why you need to keep your cool if you want to stay healthy. Happiness is the key to a healthy life and venting out your stress through various creative ways could make you stick to your plans and fight obesity in a successful manner. One blunder that needs to be avoided is that people after achieving their desired weight once again indulge themselves only to get back to square one. It is important that you maintain your weight with all care.
