Are chemicals in your everyday life making you fatter?

Which of these mice would you rather look like?

You'd rather look like the slim one right? Who would purposely choose to look like the tubby mouse? The truth of the matter is that these mice are genetically identical, raised in the same way, given the same food and the same exercise. One is trim and the other…. flabby.

So what is the difference?

The mouse on the top was exposed to a teeny tiny amount of chemical at birth that disrupted its endocrine system. Not an engineered chemical, no – a chemical commonly found in PVC plastics, food, couches, machine receipts and shampoos. These chemicals are largely un-regulated in the public domain and can lead to the production of more fat cells and even larger fat cells.

More shockingly, the flabby mouse was exposed to the chemical at birth and yet it continued to gain weight long after the chemical had left its system – indicating that the effects are long term with some endocrine disruptors being passed to the next generation! A human study found that women with pesticide residue in their blood while pregnant gave birth to babies who were more likely to be overweight at 14months of age. Endocrine disruptors mimic hormones and therefore confuse the body. This confusion seems to be most harmful while in the womb or in early infancy and childhood. Alarmingly a survey showed that 19 percent of doctors cautioned pregnant women about pesticides, only 8 percent about BPA (an endocrine disruptor in some plastics and receipts), and only 5 percent about phthalates (endocrine disruptors found in cosmetics and shampoos).

What should I avoid?

Chemicals identified as "obesogens" are materials in: Plastics (especially PVC), canned food, agricultural chemicals, foam cushions and till receipts. A pesticide used on food crops was also shown in a study to influence weight gain in mice. Children and women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should eat organic foods as far as possible and avoid using plastics to store food or water. Use brown paper bags for food and a stainless steel water bottle instead! There are many herbs known to help detox liver the and the body and provide natural resistance to these outside environmental pollutants!