The Obesity Paradox by Carl J. Lavie M.D

Author:Carl J. Lavie M.D.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group, USA
Published: 2014-04-02T16:00:00+00:00

Fat Cells Don’t Make You Fat, At Least Not Initially

When the body’s internal hormonal “wiring” gets a glitch in it somewhere, leading to hormonal imbalances, it’s called an endogenous imbalance. This can be caused by any number of things, from a genetic trigger to chronic blood sugar imbalances. But when your body is exposed to exogenous, or external, hormones or hormonelike substances, then this, too, can throw your body off-kilter. Most everyone living on the planet today is frequently exposed to hormone-like substances that may be directly contributing to weight gain and stubborn fat. These substances, which are actually able to mimic hormones in the body, are now being called EDCs (endocrine disruption chemicals) or, more commonly, obesogens—a term coined by biologist and UC Irvine professor and researcher Dr. Bruce Blumberg. Examples of obesogens that we encounter daily include pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides found on conventionally grown produce and in municipal tap water. They are also present in conventionally raised meat and dairy products. Ironically, hormones in meat don’t have much of a biological effect, but the antibiotics that farm animals are often injected with do, so these antibiotics are obesogens to us. We expose ourselves to obesogens in chemical form (e.g., bisphenol A, or BPA, perfluorooctanoic acid, phthalates, and parabens) when we use or consume from things made from plastic or vinyl, commercial beauty products, and many household goods.

Numerous well-respected studies have shown that endocrine disruption chemicals do just that: They damage normal function of metabolic hormones. They can, in fact, affect your body’s signaling hormones that tell you when to eat and stop eating, and dictate how fast your metabolism runs and how your body fat acts—whether it favors fat retention or fat burning. One of the reasons we’re concerned about what pregnant women are exposed to is that studies now reveal that obesogens are actually able to affect fetuses in utero. Obesogens that gain access to a developing fetus through the mother can target signaling proteins to tell the fetus to make more fat cells. And because we are born with a certain number of fat cells that stay with us for life, this obviously has lasting consequences. It not only increases the likelihood of body fat accumulation as a person ages, but it can also make weight management more difficult. The impact of obesogens on fetuses may in fact help explain the rise in childhood obesity. While we may cast blame on our children’s propensity to eat poorly and prefer a more sedentary lifestyle, their inborn chemical makeup due to early exposure to these substances could be a more influential, primary factor.

Earlier, I mentioned how accumulated excess estrogen can have a negative impact in both men and women, a condition called estrogen dominance. Some EDCs—known as xenoestrogens—can act like estrogen in the body by binding to estrogen receptors, thereby encouraging estrogen dominance. And being estrogen dominant as a result of obesogens can sustain a cycle of fat retention and excess estrogen secretion. An overweight body can

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