‘Everyday’ plastics mess with metabolism, increase fat cells

We hear the statistics constantly reminding us that as a country we’ve got a weight problem.

We’re inundated with commercials telling us if we join this or that program and eat their special pre-packaged meals mailed to your doorstep, the pounds will drop.

Maybe you’ve given them a try or followed a weight loss diet at home, working out on top of all of that — but the scale keeps going up.

Let me be the first to tell you to stop beating yourself up.

According to research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, it’s definitely not all your fault…

If you hate your scale, blame plastic

The researchers say that, while it may sound strange, the chemicals in plastic may be the reason visiting your bathroom scale is unpleasant.

Their study took a hard look at 34 different plastic products to get an idea of which chemicals they contained and how many. They chose normal products that you and I are very likely exposed to every day, like yogurt containers, water bottles and kitchen sponges.

And you won’t believe the results…

They determined that those 34 plastic products contained over 55,000 chemicals. (No, that’s not a misprint.)

And they leach into our bodies. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t sign up for that.

While we don’t know as much as we should about all of them — the researchers say, for a fact, that 11 of the chemicals they found interfere with our metabolism.

Additionally, chemicals from one-third of the plastic products investigated were found to contribute to “fat cell development.” In lab experiments, they actually spurred the production of more fat cells and the accumulation of more fat.

What’s really frightening is that even the products that didn’t have known metabolism-disrupting chemicals also triggered fat cell development and “fattening.”

“Our experiments show that ordinary plastic products contain a mix of substances that can be a relevant and underestimated factor behind overweight and obesity,” says Martin Wagner, an associate professor at NTNU’s Department of Biology.

And his colleague, Johannes Völker, the first author of the study, weighed in with more explaining, “It’s very likely that it is not the usual suspects, such as Bisphenol A, causing these metabolic disturbances. This means that plastic chemicals other than the ones we already know could be contributing to overweight and obesity.”

Reduce your toxic burden and support the breakdown of fat

So what in the world can you do if chemicals from the plastic that surrounds you are busy encouraging your fat cells to multiply and store even more fat, when clearly diet alone isn’t going to fix the issue?

Well, I’ll be honest and say that there’s no perfect answer as long as companies keep using plastic. It’s cheap and they have little incentive to do otherwise.

But that doesn’t mean that we’re helpless.

First, it’s important to avoid as much plastic exposure as possible. This means:

• Skipping bottled water and investing in a high-quality water filter for your house
• Buying organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible
• Avoiding fast food, since plastic is in the coating of every wrapper and container
• Choosing to cook fresh rather than packaged foods

Additionally, encouraging your body to detox from what’s already accumulated could help at least diminish what’s already built up in your tissues.

And since your liver is your main detox organ, keeping it running optimally is the place to start—especially since we sometimes forget that the liver also helps the body break down fats. This means the plastic onslaught has it doing double duty.

I recommend taking the following supplements to support your liver so that it can better do its job:

• N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) – This powerful amino acid promotes gentle detoxification while offering liver support.
• Milk Thistle – Milk thistle has been found to help support the elimination of heavy metal build-up, medication residue (which is often packed with plastics), environmental pollutants and alcohol.
• Turmeric – This herb helps guard the liver from oxidative stress and promotes healthy liver function.
• Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) – ALA is a potent antioxidant that helps keep fats from accumulating in the liver.
• Selenium – This trace element helps promote detoxification.

Sources:

Chemicals in plastic may contribute to weight gain – EurekAlert!