While overeating and inactivity are most likely the biggest contributor for people’s overweight problems, is it possible that there are many other reasons for our country’s overweight dilemma.

While diet and exercise are important to maintain your proper weight, could there be other hidden factors such as nutritional deficiencies and environmental toxins that may be preventing us from loosing weight.

Environmental Toxins

The increased use of chemicals from 1930 to the year 2000, seems to coincide with the increase of obese adults in the U.S.  While this fact is still being studied, scientists suggest that pesticides, fungicides, food and cosmetic preservatives and many pharmaceutical drugs  may be linked to obesity.

The easiest way to avoid environmental toxins is choose organic meats and poultry and look for grass-fed beef and diary products. While buying strictly organic fruits and vegetables is advised, it’s not always feasible due to higher costs.  If you can’t afford to buy all organic you should at least try to purchase organic when it comes to the dirty dozen.  Things like peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, pears, grapes, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, strawberries, cherries should always be purchased organic. These fruits and vegetable are more contaminated with pesticides than others.

Fear Of Fats

Many people still avoid fat thinking it makes them fat.  It’s estimated that 80 percent of Americans eat a diet deficient in essential fatty acids (EFA’s). CLA (conjugated linoleic acid found in beef and dairy fats help reduce the amount of fat deposits and stored fat in the body. It also increases lean muscle mass. Studies have shown that CLA reduces the percentage of body fat, controls weight and helps increase energy.

A Toxic Liver

Our liver is responsible for over 400 functions. It manufactures protein, produces blood-clotting factors and aids in detoxifying of medications, alcohol and hormones. Every day your liver produces bile that emulsifies and absorbs fat in the small intestine. If there is a problem due to a lack of nutrients or clogged bile ducts this leads to a problem with fat metabolism.

To help support your liver, drink lemon and water which thins bile. Avoid trans fats, sugars, alcohol and over the counter meds. Take liver-supporting supplements like milk thistle, dandelion, lipase and methionine.

Excess Insulin/ Excess Inflammation

Many carbohydrates we eat quickly convert to glucose causing an increase in insulin which results in insulin levels remaining high and a struggle to convert glucose for storage only partially succeeds thus creating more weight gain. 

Cells no longer respond to insulin and refuse to store all the fat, thus remaining circulating in the bloodstream, wreaking havoc on your heart, kidneys, nerves eyes and blood vessels.

To prevent excess insulin, avoid high-glycemic foods, which break down quickly in the bloodstream.  These foods include white bread, bagels, white potatoes, corn and apricots.  Choose lower glycemic foods like apples, cherries, lentils, and chickpeas. They can help you burn more body fat and less muscle tissue.

Many vitamins like A, C and E aid in insulin action to help regulate glucose. Be sure to choose a whole food product for your vitamins.

Stress and Cortisol

How does stress make us gain weight? It works by a biochemical cycle. The hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland to release adreno-corticotropic hormone. The adrenal gland sends out high levels of cortisol, which releases glucose and fatty acids so muscles have energy.

After the stress is over, cortisol levels remain high stimulating your appetite to replenish the body with fuel. Sugar consumption prompts more cortisol production , causing the body to store more fat than needed.

Since writing this article Ive become aware of aspartame or nutrasweet casuing weight gain, so I’ve included it below.

Aspartame

There has been much research on using aspartame and  gaining weight.