Are you exposed to environmental toxins and find yourself unable to lose unwanted weight? For my readers, I’d like to simplify the relationship between toxic scents, ‘weight loss efforts’, and hormone imbalances.
There are many tired of the weight-loss rollercoaster and want to learn why they haven’t been successful in the past. So let's touch on a few barriers that prevent us from achieving our goals and how to overcome these barriers.
Hormones have their fingers in everything we do, including the health of our gut microbiome, immune system, and digestive system. These systems dominate weight.
Endocrine disruptors, (disrupters that mimic and harm hormone homeostasis) keep us fat, sick and depressed.
In other words, if our environment, (where we spend most of our time) is toxic so are all organs and systems. The worse part is most toxic scents are found to be carcinogenic.
VOCs (volatile organic compounds) occurs mainly from indoor air pollution from conventional household products. Exposure to a single fragrance can contain a mixture of hundreds of chemicals, creating imbalances in hormones. Most of these chemicals are not listed. Chemical sensitivities have been reported to develop within seconds of exposure. Just like exposures to cigarette smoke, toxic scents enter the body and bloodstream increasing our risk for oxidative stress causing free radical damage, weight gain, CVD, premature aging and poor mitochondrial health.
*There are offensive and deadly odors from bleach, detergents and dryer sheets. We use carpet cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, perfumes, scented Swiffers™, and Febreze™, daily, like they’re going out of style. They don't clean the air we breathe, instead phthalates alter genes, weaken the immune system, and keep us fat.
*Bleach is just one that has been described as fumes being overwhelming, eyes burning and/or vomiting after exposure. What can we do? Instead of bleach, we can use hydrogen peroxide, water and baking soda.
*If you live in a condo Fabuloso™ may be the smell in your hallways or elevators. It’s used as an all purpose cleaner. Fabuloso gets a failing grade on ewg.org, is toxic to the environment, our liver, and our immune system. We can use white vinegar and water instead.
* “According to a study in Environmental Health Perspectives, a daily squirt of air freshener or a few hours around a burning scented candle every day changes metabolism and could be doing irreparable damage to your heart. The findings were based on a long-running Swiss study on air pollution, and lung and heart diseases that involved adults over the age of 50.”
What can you do? You can diffuse organic essential oils instead.
Toxic scents leave children, pets, and adults open to a wide range of metabolic imbalances, asthma, brain fog, and other disabling conditions.
So, not only can imbalances in hormones and gut microbiome from toxic scents be directly linked to obesity, they are linked to preventable cancers!
Fact: Obesity is a loss of balance in every biological system. Visceral fat, (abdominal fat) is linked to emotional stress, brain atrophy, and chronic pain. Obesity and exposure to toxic scents diminish our sex drive and increase cognitive decline.
Fact: Fat cells store toxins, and so, with obesity, we gain more toxins each year we are fat.
Fact: Gaining toxins, the body begins a state of emergency, posing as inflammation! Inflammatory issues lead to immune disorders. Eventually, the tissue environment is compromised, microbes grow, lymphatics swell, and so on. Additionally, TOO much weight causes the body to ignore hormonal signaling because of leptin resistance.
Fact: “Endocrine disruptors during fetal development can lead to
permanent changes in reproductive organ development, and impair the regulation of body fat and weight.”
Fact: The body is hardwired for balance. With exposure to toxic scents, we may experience symptoms of indigestion, metabolic disorders, insomnia, and slower transit time for elimination of toxins. This slippery slope from toxic exposures is what keep us sick, tired, and fat!
This slippery slope from toxic exposures is what keep us sick, tired, and fat!
What is your skin eating? (Weight Gain)
Not only is the skin the largest organ of the body. “The skin is a highly biologically active organ capable of chemical metabolism.” Toxins can make their way into our organs through our skin.
*What we use on our clothes get absorbed thru our skin. Mothballs are solids that turn into a toxic gas. If you use mothballs, you’re inhaling an insecticide. Mothballs are made from crude oil or coal tar. What can you do? The natural herb ‘Rosemary’ kills moths.
*Dry Cleaning Solvents are found in the air, ground water, and drinking water, but most importantly they're found in our skin's microbiome. Yes, our skin. These get into our bloodstream by inhalation, skin contact, and digestion. They are linked to Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Liver, kidney and Central Nervous System injury.What can you do? Purchase a new washer and dryer with a variety of setting for clothes that require dry cleaning.
*Emerging evidence suggests cancer, diabetes, and obesity can be caused by exposure to endocrine disrupting salon products. Contact dermatitis or eczema can result from chemicals entering through the skin causing liver toxicity. What can you do? Search out an organic day spa.
Chemical exposure can diminish collagen production. There are over 10,000 ingredients allowed for use in personal care products, and the average woman wears at least 515 of them every day! The truth is, more than 90% have never been tested for safety. Of this small sample, several are now suspected of causing cancer, genetic mutations or birth defects. Sadly, we all suffer under Industry Interest, unknowingly poisoning our body, our family, and our friends.
We are a nation ‘dying to smell good’!
Synthetic chemical exposures from cleaning products, to cosmetics, perfumes, and plug-ins, shorten our lifespan.
What we breathe in and absorb through our skin is crucial for total mind/ body wellness.
Keeping it simple.
Only you can make a difference.
Toxic scents disrupt hormones, increase our risk for disease and therefore disrupt all weight loss efforts. How does this process work? The body reacts, breaks down and slows down the elimination process and housecleaning within.
The BONUS? We can manage our weight by also keeping our environment safe and clean.
Connie Rogers Certified Holistic Health Coach, & Published Author
