Endocrine Disruptors in Food Promote Diabetes (7 Ways to Protect Yourself)
Avoiding chemicals in personal care and household products and eating organic foods can protect you against hidden chemicals that promote diabetes.
In fact, dozens of endocrine disruptors in food – from farm raised fish to fresh fruit – have been found to increase the risk for diabetes by up to 3800%!
Diabetes is a disease of the endocrine system, the system that regulates hormones that affect your metabolism, your body’s growth and your sexual function. That’s why endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can be so dangerous and disruptive.
Unfortunately, our modern world is awash in these chemicals, many of which contaminate our food supply, pollute our bodies and disturb our delicate hormone balance.
If you think you can wash them off or cook them out, think again. Not only are endocrine disruptors in food everywhere (from seafood to salads) they are biologically active in amounts as small as a trillionth of a gram!
Endocrine Disruptors in Food: The Diabetes Link
Take a look at how endocrine disruptors influence diabetes:
- High exposure to EDCs promote diabetes: A close relationship between type-2 diabetes and six persistent organic pollutants in the body, was noted in a recent Diabetes Care study of 2,000 people. Compared to people in the lowest exposure category, people with the highest exposure were almost 38 times more likely to have diabetes.
- BPA produces insulin resistance: A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that low-level, chronic exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), found in everything from canned foods and plastic bottles to receipts to eyeglass lenses and more, induces insulin resistance in adult mice. The doses used in the study were within the range of current human exposure and 5,000 times below the dose identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the lowest level causing effects. BPA exposure increases the risk of both type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
- BPA exposure can lead to heart disease: A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found those with the highest BPA exposure had nearly three times the odds of heart disease and 2.4 times the risk of diabetes compared to those with the lowest levels.
Protect Yourself from the 7 Hidden Endocrine Disruptors in Food
Following the Healing Gourmet lifestyle protects you from the most common hidden endocrine disruptors in food , including:
- Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins in farm-raised fish and conventional meats
- Bisphenol-a (BPA) and other hormone-like substances in plastic bottles, can liners, food wraps and microwave food containers
- Pesticides on conventionally-grown produce
- Growth hormones in conventional (“factory farmed”) meats and dairy
- Perflourinated compounds (PFCs) found in non-stick cookware, baking bags and microwave popcorn bags
- Artificial sweeteners found in a wide range of products that act as endocrine disruptors or estrogen-mimics
- Sugar is one of the biggest endocrine disruptors in our diet — and on average we eat 158 pounds of it every year!