Higher levels of vitamin D in the blood appear to be associated with a reduced risk of diabetes among people at high risk for the disease, according to a new report. In a study of over 2,000 people with prediabetes, it was seen that the higher the level of vitamin D in the blood, the lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Pittas of Tuft's University says that vitamin D might play a role in diabetes by improving insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity. Though this has been seen over the years in a few other studies, this is the first one that reflects the benefit of a long-term vitamin D status.
The research showed that for every 5 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) increase in vitamin D levels, the risk of developing diabetes dropped by 8%.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Thyroid Health Affected by Nutritional Status and Stress Hormones
I recently had the privilege of hearing Dr. Chris Meletis at an Advanced Hormone Module sponsored by the Institute for Functional Medicine, According to Dr. Meletis, "the clinical evidence is clear that prior to offering thyroid replacement, identifying underlying triggers for thyroid dysfunction is a must. The First Approach ideally incorporates ensuring that the adrenal function is sufficient as defined by adequate cortisol levels, along with DHEA sulfate and pregnenolone levels. Relative to specific nutritional supplements ensuring that there are sufficient ferritin levels of at least 70 to 100 is a must, along with adequate serum selenium of at least 90 mcg/L. In addition making sure that zinc status is optimal is foundational, as low zinc can also lower both T4/T3 levels. Iodine is certainly a must as well, with a minimum of 150 mcg daily, with at least 1000 mcg per day a common initial therapeutic dosing. It has also been noted that 40% of hypothyroid patients are B12 deficient."
It is essential to ask the clinical question of why a tissue or gland has become insufficient. Optimizing nutritional status is always the first step, while making sure that an acute or chronic adrenal stress response has not down-regulated the TSH and Free T4 and Free T3 is an absolute consideration. In addition, thyroid hormone levels are dynamic as reflected in the 2007 survey published in the Archives of Internal Medicine,which showed that values spontaneously returned to normal in more than 50% of patients with abnormal TSH levels when the test was repeated at a later date.
So the bottom line is have your physician check adrenal functioning and nutritional status first before putting you on thyroid replacement hormone. Once on a replacement hormone, such as Synthroid, the thyroid may shut down, which necessitates being on thyroid replacement therapy for life.
It is essential to ask the clinical question of why a tissue or gland has become insufficient. Optimizing nutritional status is always the first step, while making sure that an acute or chronic adrenal stress response has not down-regulated the TSH and Free T4 and Free T3 is an absolute consideration. In addition, thyroid hormone levels are dynamic as reflected in the 2007 survey published in the Archives of Internal Medicine,which showed that values spontaneously returned to normal in more than 50% of patients with abnormal TSH levels when the test was repeated at a later date.
So the bottom line is have your physician check adrenal functioning and nutritional status first before putting you on thyroid replacement hormone. Once on a replacement hormone, such as Synthroid, the thyroid may shut down, which necessitates being on thyroid replacement therapy for life.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
What's the Best Way to Do a Dietary Cleanse?
Faddish juice fasts can shed pounds speedily … but experts agree that a slower, whole-foods approach to cleansing is healthier and more sustainable
One thing’s for certain. The juice cleanse has gone mainstream.
Celebrities like Julia Roberts and Beyoncé have gone public with their affection for juice delivery services like NYC’s Blueprint Cleanse and that old dieting stalwart, the Master Cleanse.
But are they effective? Depends on the goal.
“The motivation for these cleanses is typically weight loss,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, a NYC-based nutritionist and author of Read It Before You Eat It, who points out that most people who lose weight on trendy cleanses tend to gain it back.
For those looking for more of a digestive tune-up – following, say, an overindulgent summer barbecue – the experts are split when it comes to endorsing the recent spate of pricey juice and raw-food cleanses to get back on track.
But they’re all in agreement that easy lifestyle fixes (read: inexpensive) can be just as effective. Here are 5 simple expert-endorsed tips to cleansing and getting your systems back on track.
1) Find the right time to do it.
Timing is everything, and that applies to cleansing as well. Don’t pick the week a big work project is due to focus on detoxing.
Dr. Ron Stram, Director at the Center for Integrative Health and Healing, cites a low-stress environment as being necessary for optimal results. “Activity level should be moderate and you should feel relaxed,” he says.
And let’s not forget sleep. Pamela Salzman, a holistic health counselor based in Los Angeles, states that sleep is when detoxification and physical restoration occurs. Plus, “people who are under-rested are more susceptible to illness and tend to make poor dietary choices,” says Monica Reinagel, nutritionist and author of Nutrition Diva’s Secrets for a Healthy Diet.
Taub-Dix agrees, saying, “You end up reaching for a cookie instead of a nap.” She also says sustained wellness comes from practicing the trifecta of exercise, healthy diet, and sleep: “Think of a 3-legged stool. Take away one of those legs and the stool won’t be stable.”
2) Create a sustainable cleanse.
Most experts who aren’t fans of juice cleanses point out it’s not feasible to sustain them and their effects for a prolonged period of time.
“Healthful cleansing has just as much to do with moderation as overeating,” says Taub-Dix, who suggests taking an overall look at your diet and eating habits to assess what’s missing and what you really need to add for good health.
Set goals that can be integrated into your life, such as planning, shopping for, and eating a well-balanced breakfast for a week to combat the mid-morning slump. “The reality is that fad diets are based on some sort of truth that go off the deep end,” she says.
Apply common-sense principles, such as eliminating processed foods and caffeine or eating more raw food. Avoid extremes and look for sustainable change.
Reinagel also says that a 24-hour fast may be useful for people who are overly dependent on food and need to “break the cycle,” adding that a fast has “little to do with resting the digestive organs, but can reduce inflammation and improve immune response.”
No matter what, fasting for a prolonged period of time or drastically reducing your caloric intake aren’t good ideas. “Your body actually needs food to cleanse and won’t be able to function properly while fasting,” says Salzman.
3) Up your intake of fruits and vegetables.
Certain powerhouse fruits and veggies will offer more benefits on a cleanse than others. Salzman favors dark green, leafy vegetables, like kale and parsley, as they’re “rich in chlorophyll, one of nature’s natural detoxifiers.” She also recommends adding lemon juice to your water and food, as it “breaks up and draws out stagnant mucus in the body.”
Dr. Stram advocates consuming cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, and bok choy, all of which contain compounds that help the liver detoxify. “Fruits and vegetables promote healthy colon function,” adds Reinagel, meaning that they help flush out toxins.
4) Chug more water.
The easiest, fastest way to jumpstart a cleanse is to properly hydrate. “Water hydrates the cells and helps flush your circulatory and lymph systems,” says Dr. Stram.
Translation: Your internal system of checks and balances won’t function at its best unless you’re drinking enough water.
Plus, “cleansing is about eliminating toxins,” says Salzman. “Once your body releases toxins, you must up your intake of water to dilute them and flush them out.”
5) Give it time to kick in.
Most people find the first few days the most challenging. “Sometimes you feel worse before you feel better,” says Salzman. “Many people experience symptoms of withdrawal from sugar, caffeine or chemicals in foods. Headaches and irritability are very common as toxins enter the bloodstream.”
Dr. Stram will advise patients combating caffeine withdrawal to switch to green tea for a few days.
If you’re sticking to healthful, “clean” foods, drinking lots of water, aiming for adequate sleep, and still feeling rotten, give your body the time needed to expel the toxins first, before turning to more drastic, less balanced fad cleanses.
Written by by Teri Tsang Barrett for Vital Choice Newsletter
One thing’s for certain. The juice cleanse has gone mainstream.
Celebrities like Julia Roberts and Beyoncé have gone public with their affection for juice delivery services like NYC’s Blueprint Cleanse and that old dieting stalwart, the Master Cleanse.
But are they effective? Depends on the goal.
“The motivation for these cleanses is typically weight loss,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, a NYC-based nutritionist and author of Read It Before You Eat It, who points out that most people who lose weight on trendy cleanses tend to gain it back.
For those looking for more of a digestive tune-up – following, say, an overindulgent summer barbecue – the experts are split when it comes to endorsing the recent spate of pricey juice and raw-food cleanses to get back on track.
But they’re all in agreement that easy lifestyle fixes (read: inexpensive) can be just as effective. Here are 5 simple expert-endorsed tips to cleansing and getting your systems back on track.
1) Find the right time to do it.
Timing is everything, and that applies to cleansing as well. Don’t pick the week a big work project is due to focus on detoxing.
Dr. Ron Stram, Director at the Center for Integrative Health and Healing, cites a low-stress environment as being necessary for optimal results. “Activity level should be moderate and you should feel relaxed,” he says.
And let’s not forget sleep. Pamela Salzman, a holistic health counselor based in Los Angeles, states that sleep is when detoxification and physical restoration occurs. Plus, “people who are under-rested are more susceptible to illness and tend to make poor dietary choices,” says Monica Reinagel, nutritionist and author of Nutrition Diva’s Secrets for a Healthy Diet.
Taub-Dix agrees, saying, “You end up reaching for a cookie instead of a nap.” She also says sustained wellness comes from practicing the trifecta of exercise, healthy diet, and sleep: “Think of a 3-legged stool. Take away one of those legs and the stool won’t be stable.”
2) Create a sustainable cleanse.
Most experts who aren’t fans of juice cleanses point out it’s not feasible to sustain them and their effects for a prolonged period of time.
“Healthful cleansing has just as much to do with moderation as overeating,” says Taub-Dix, who suggests taking an overall look at your diet and eating habits to assess what’s missing and what you really need to add for good health.
Set goals that can be integrated into your life, such as planning, shopping for, and eating a well-balanced breakfast for a week to combat the mid-morning slump. “The reality is that fad diets are based on some sort of truth that go off the deep end,” she says.
Apply common-sense principles, such as eliminating processed foods and caffeine or eating more raw food. Avoid extremes and look for sustainable change.
Reinagel also says that a 24-hour fast may be useful for people who are overly dependent on food and need to “break the cycle,” adding that a fast has “little to do with resting the digestive organs, but can reduce inflammation and improve immune response.”
No matter what, fasting for a prolonged period of time or drastically reducing your caloric intake aren’t good ideas. “Your body actually needs food to cleanse and won’t be able to function properly while fasting,” says Salzman.
3) Up your intake of fruits and vegetables.
Certain powerhouse fruits and veggies will offer more benefits on a cleanse than others. Salzman favors dark green, leafy vegetables, like kale and parsley, as they’re “rich in chlorophyll, one of nature’s natural detoxifiers.” She also recommends adding lemon juice to your water and food, as it “breaks up and draws out stagnant mucus in the body.”
Dr. Stram advocates consuming cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, and bok choy, all of which contain compounds that help the liver detoxify. “Fruits and vegetables promote healthy colon function,” adds Reinagel, meaning that they help flush out toxins.
4) Chug more water.
The easiest, fastest way to jumpstart a cleanse is to properly hydrate. “Water hydrates the cells and helps flush your circulatory and lymph systems,” says Dr. Stram.
Translation: Your internal system of checks and balances won’t function at its best unless you’re drinking enough water.
Plus, “cleansing is about eliminating toxins,” says Salzman. “Once your body releases toxins, you must up your intake of water to dilute them and flush them out.”
5) Give it time to kick in.
Most people find the first few days the most challenging. “Sometimes you feel worse before you feel better,” says Salzman. “Many people experience symptoms of withdrawal from sugar, caffeine or chemicals in foods. Headaches and irritability are very common as toxins enter the bloodstream.”
Dr. Stram will advise patients combating caffeine withdrawal to switch to green tea for a few days.
If you’re sticking to healthful, “clean” foods, drinking lots of water, aiming for adequate sleep, and still feeling rotten, give your body the time needed to expel the toxins first, before turning to more drastic, less balanced fad cleanses.
Written by by Teri Tsang Barrett for Vital Choice Newsletter
Does Menu Diversity Lead to Overeating?
Repeatedly being offered the same foods may lead to food ‘boredom’ and decrease energy intakes in women, but variety may actually increase caloric intake, suggests a new study.
A study with obese and non-obese women showed that, when macaroni and cheese was offered daily, the energy consumed decreased by about 100 calories a day. When the mean was provided only weekly, caloric intake increased by about 30 calories per day.
Researchers from the University at Buffalo and the University of Vermont report their findings in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition .
The findings support dietary advice for people to try to eat the same food every day, “in which case habituation may develop that would reduce the likelihood of overeating and subsequent obesity”, according to the researachers.
Led by Buffalo’s Leonard Epstein, the researchers note that monotony is known to reduce food acceptability and consumption, but their study “provide[s] the first evidence in humans that habituation may provide a theoretical explanation for why repeatedly consuming the same food will lead to reduced consumption.
“Long-term habituation, in terms of a faster rate of habituation and reduced energy intake, was observed for the daily group but not for the weekly group.
“Repeated presentations once a day compared with once a week provide a reference point for the interval between food presentations that could lead to long-term habituation,” added Epstein and his co-workers.
Results showed that women in the daily group consumed less calories per day, whereas the weekly food exposure increased the caloric intake, and the results were the same for both obese and non-obese women.
“It is of interest that obese subjects and non-obese subjects showed similar long-term habituation to daily presentations of the same food
“These results suggest that repeated presentations of the same [main meal] over days would equally effective for obese and non-obese women,” wrote the researchers.Commenting on the study, Avena and Gold said the work was “very important” but limited due to only including women.
“Thus, it will be important to further explore whether the findings obtained in the present study extend to men.”
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume 94, Pages 371-376
“Long-term habituation to food in obese and nonobese women”
Authors: L.H. Epstein, K.A. Carr, M.D. Cavanaugh, R.A. Paluch, M.E. Bouton
Editorial: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume 94, Pages 367-368
“Variety and hyperpalatability: are they promoting addictive overeating?”
Authors: N.M. Avena, M.S. Gold
Now tell me what you think? Does diversity in food choices lead to overeating? Maybe it depends upon what's being served. I could eat dark chocolate 365 days a year.
A study with obese and non-obese women showed that, when macaroni and cheese was offered daily, the energy consumed decreased by about 100 calories a day. When the mean was provided only weekly, caloric intake increased by about 30 calories per day.
Researchers from the University at Buffalo and the University of Vermont report their findings in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition .
The findings support dietary advice for people to try to eat the same food every day, “in which case habituation may develop that would reduce the likelihood of overeating and subsequent obesity”, according to the researachers.
Led by Buffalo’s Leonard Epstein, the researchers note that monotony is known to reduce food acceptability and consumption, but their study “provide[s] the first evidence in humans that habituation may provide a theoretical explanation for why repeatedly consuming the same food will lead to reduced consumption.
“Long-term habituation, in terms of a faster rate of habituation and reduced energy intake, was observed for the daily group but not for the weekly group.
“Repeated presentations once a day compared with once a week provide a reference point for the interval between food presentations that could lead to long-term habituation,” added Epstein and his co-workers.
Results showed that women in the daily group consumed less calories per day, whereas the weekly food exposure increased the caloric intake, and the results were the same for both obese and non-obese women.
“It is of interest that obese subjects and non-obese subjects showed similar long-term habituation to daily presentations of the same food
“These results suggest that repeated presentations of the same [main meal] over days would equally effective for obese and non-obese women,” wrote the researchers.Commenting on the study, Avena and Gold said the work was “very important” but limited due to only including women.
“Thus, it will be important to further explore whether the findings obtained in the present study extend to men.”
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume 94, Pages 371-376
“Long-term habituation to food in obese and nonobese women”
Authors: L.H. Epstein, K.A. Carr, M.D. Cavanaugh, R.A. Paluch, M.E. Bouton
Editorial: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume 94, Pages 367-368
“Variety and hyperpalatability: are they promoting addictive overeating?”
Authors: N.M. Avena, M.S. Gold
Now tell me what you think? Does diversity in food choices lead to overeating? Maybe it depends upon what's being served. I could eat dark chocolate 365 days a year.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Deficiency in D major: Did vitamin deficiency led to Mozart’s untimely death?
A lack of exposure to sun and the resulting deficiency in vitamin D may have been behind the early demise of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, suggests a new analysis.
All work and no play (outside), made Wolfgang a sick boy
Mozart passed away at the tender age of 35 having suffered from a list of infectious diseases throughout his lifetime, including pneumonia and sepsis, heart disease, and kidney disease, all of which have a link to vitamin D deficiency, according to a letter to the journal Medical Problems of Performing Artists.
William Grant, PhD, from the Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center (SUNARC) in San Francisco and Stefan Pilz, MD, from the Medical University of Graz in Austria report that weak sunlight for six months of the year in Salzburg and Vienna would have made it impossible for a person to make vitamin D from sun exposure.
Add to this that Mozart did the majority of his composing at night – and therefore slept during the day – and you have a new hypothesis to explain Mozart’s death.
“While understanding the causes of Mozart’s death cannot bring him back,” wrote Grant and Pilz, “it does have an important lesson for those living at higher latitudes in Europe and elsewhere regarding the importance of vitamin D.
“Emerging science indicates that the serum 25(OH)D level [the storage form of vitamin D in the body] for optimal health is 75 to 100 nmol/L or slightly higher. Mainly attributable to reduced sunlight-induced vitamin D synthesis in the skin, the population mean value for those living at mid-to-high latitudes is between 40 and 65 nmol/L.
“To increase serum 25(OH)D levels to over 100 nmol/L could take 2500 to 5000 IU of vitamin D per day.”
Source: Medical Problems of Performing Artists
June 2011, Volume 26, Number 2, Page 117
“Vitamin D deficiency contributed to Mozart's death”
Authors: W.B. Grant, S. Pilz
All work and no play (outside), made Wolfgang a sick boy
Mozart passed away at the tender age of 35 having suffered from a list of infectious diseases throughout his lifetime, including pneumonia and sepsis, heart disease, and kidney disease, all of which have a link to vitamin D deficiency, according to a letter to the journal Medical Problems of Performing Artists.
William Grant, PhD, from the Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center (SUNARC) in San Francisco and Stefan Pilz, MD, from the Medical University of Graz in Austria report that weak sunlight for six months of the year in Salzburg and Vienna would have made it impossible for a person to make vitamin D from sun exposure.
Add to this that Mozart did the majority of his composing at night – and therefore slept during the day – and you have a new hypothesis to explain Mozart’s death.
“While understanding the causes of Mozart’s death cannot bring him back,” wrote Grant and Pilz, “it does have an important lesson for those living at higher latitudes in Europe and elsewhere regarding the importance of vitamin D.
“Emerging science indicates that the serum 25(OH)D level [the storage form of vitamin D in the body] for optimal health is 75 to 100 nmol/L or slightly higher. Mainly attributable to reduced sunlight-induced vitamin D synthesis in the skin, the population mean value for those living at mid-to-high latitudes is between 40 and 65 nmol/L.
“To increase serum 25(OH)D levels to over 100 nmol/L could take 2500 to 5000 IU of vitamin D per day.”
Source: Medical Problems of Performing Artists
June 2011, Volume 26, Number 2, Page 117
“Vitamin D deficiency contributed to Mozart's death”
Authors: W.B. Grant, S. Pilz
Monday, July 11, 2011
"Chemical Calories" May Be Making Us Fat
Hair-raising theory: Scientists say chemicals in beauty products can make us put on weight by altering our hormone balance
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2013283/Is-shampoo-making-FAT-The-truth-chemical-calories-beauty-products.html#ixzz1RqpBRWQE
By Peta Bee
When it comes to losing weight, most of us are aware of the three factors at play: genetics, the number of calories we consume and the energy we are prepared to expend sweating our way into shape.
We can’t choose our parents but, according to the dieting mantra, eat healthily, exercise regularly and the pounds will eventually drop off.
But what if your body stubbornly refuses to remove excess fat, despite concerted efforts to shift it? Emerging evidence suggests that a more sinister reason than food and activity could be contributing to weight problems and that so-called ‘chemical calories’ lurking in everyday beauty products such as shampoo, body lotions and soap could be to blame.
Doctors at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York claim that phthalates, chemical ingredients in 70 per cent of cosmetics as well as many household cleaning products, have been shown to throw the body’s natural weight control system, a delicate balance of hormones, off kilter.
They suggest that exposure to phthalates through daily use may be linked to childhood obesity and weight problems in adults.
In their long-term study on girls living in the inner city area of East Harlem, the Mount Sinai team measured exposure to phthalates by analysing the children’s urine.
‘The heaviest girls have the highest levels of phthalates in their urine,’ says Professor Philip Landrigan, a paediatrician and the study author. ‘It goes up as the children get heavier, but it’s most evident in the heaviest kids.’
Phthalates have been widely used as gelling agents in cosmetics, cleaning products and to make plastic bottles for more than half a century, but it has only just come to light that there may be possible health risks.
Another substance, Bisphenol-A (BPA), also present in containers and bottles, has also been found to provide ‘chemical calories’.
It’s the fact they are absorbed into the body that causes most concern. Billed as ‘endocrine disruptors’, they are known to affect the glands and hormones that regulate numerous bodily functions.
Studies on animals have shown consistently that the chemicals depress testosterone levels, known to be a risk factor for weight gain. They have also been found to mimic the effects of oestrogen, which have been linked to weight gain and early puberty.
Further research on humans linked phthalates with poor semen quality in men and with subtle alterations in the reproductive organs of male babies. And now come the latest revelations that they may also influence weight.
In numerous studies, mice exposed to such ‘endocrine disruptors’ became obese. But could the same effect occur in people?
Zoe Harcombe, nutritionist and author of the Obesity Epidemic, says that even the slightest disruption to hormone levels ‘is very bad news’ for someone trying to lose weight.
‘In men, phthalates and other chemicals have an anti-testosterone capacity that has been linked to obesity,’ she says. ‘In women they mess up our basic genetic hormone balance so that you get disruptions similar to those that might occur during the menopause or at puberty.’
Using phthalate-containing cosmetics when you are dieting could make matters worse. ‘Women who follow a low-fat diet are likely to suffer the most from adverse side-effects to these chemicals,’ says Harcombe:
‘By reducing the fat they consume, they also reduce the fat-soluble vitamins in their body. That often leaves them with dry skin. They slather on moisturisers to rectify that problem without realising they are unwittingly causing another by supplying chemical calories through the skin.’
Among those at the forefront of tackling obesity, the influence of chemicals is a hot topic.
Tam Fry, a spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum, says many obesity doctors accept that the hormonal disruption caused by exposure to chemicals does play a part in weight problems. While under-activity and over-eating remain the major causes of obesity, Fry says more work needs to be done to confirm the links.
‘There is particular concern about whether these chemicals with an oestrogenic effect are contributing to earlier puberty in girls,’ Fry says.
‘Girls reach puberty when they are at a weight that can support the reproductive cycle and this is getting earlier and earlier. Whether that’s a result of straightforward over-eating by a generation of young girls or whether there is an additional chemical effect, we don’t yet know.’
It’s not just girls who seem susceptible to the phthalate effect. In 2007, researchers at the University of Rochester school of medicine in New York found the same class of chemicals were contributing to abdominal obesity and insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes, in men.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2013283/Is-shampoo-making-FAT-The-truth-chemical-calories-beauty-products.html#ixzz1RqpBRWQE
By Peta Bee
When it comes to losing weight, most of us are aware of the three factors at play: genetics, the number of calories we consume and the energy we are prepared to expend sweating our way into shape.
We can’t choose our parents but, according to the dieting mantra, eat healthily, exercise regularly and the pounds will eventually drop off.
But what if your body stubbornly refuses to remove excess fat, despite concerted efforts to shift it? Emerging evidence suggests that a more sinister reason than food and activity could be contributing to weight problems and that so-called ‘chemical calories’ lurking in everyday beauty products such as shampoo, body lotions and soap could be to blame.
Doctors at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York claim that phthalates, chemical ingredients in 70 per cent of cosmetics as well as many household cleaning products, have been shown to throw the body’s natural weight control system, a delicate balance of hormones, off kilter.
They suggest that exposure to phthalates through daily use may be linked to childhood obesity and weight problems in adults.
In their long-term study on girls living in the inner city area of East Harlem, the Mount Sinai team measured exposure to phthalates by analysing the children’s urine.
‘The heaviest girls have the highest levels of phthalates in their urine,’ says Professor Philip Landrigan, a paediatrician and the study author. ‘It goes up as the children get heavier, but it’s most evident in the heaviest kids.’
Phthalates have been widely used as gelling agents in cosmetics, cleaning products and to make plastic bottles for more than half a century, but it has only just come to light that there may be possible health risks.
Another substance, Bisphenol-A (BPA), also present in containers and bottles, has also been found to provide ‘chemical calories’.
It’s the fact they are absorbed into the body that causes most concern. Billed as ‘endocrine disruptors’, they are known to affect the glands and hormones that regulate numerous bodily functions.
Studies on animals have shown consistently that the chemicals depress testosterone levels, known to be a risk factor for weight gain. They have also been found to mimic the effects of oestrogen, which have been linked to weight gain and early puberty.
Further research on humans linked phthalates with poor semen quality in men and with subtle alterations in the reproductive organs of male babies. And now come the latest revelations that they may also influence weight.
In numerous studies, mice exposed to such ‘endocrine disruptors’ became obese. But could the same effect occur in people?
Zoe Harcombe, nutritionist and author of the Obesity Epidemic, says that even the slightest disruption to hormone levels ‘is very bad news’ for someone trying to lose weight.
‘In men, phthalates and other chemicals have an anti-testosterone capacity that has been linked to obesity,’ she says. ‘In women they mess up our basic genetic hormone balance so that you get disruptions similar to those that might occur during the menopause or at puberty.’
Using phthalate-containing cosmetics when you are dieting could make matters worse. ‘Women who follow a low-fat diet are likely to suffer the most from adverse side-effects to these chemicals,’ says Harcombe:
‘By reducing the fat they consume, they also reduce the fat-soluble vitamins in their body. That often leaves them with dry skin. They slather on moisturisers to rectify that problem without realising they are unwittingly causing another by supplying chemical calories through the skin.’
Among those at the forefront of tackling obesity, the influence of chemicals is a hot topic.
Tam Fry, a spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum, says many obesity doctors accept that the hormonal disruption caused by exposure to chemicals does play a part in weight problems. While under-activity and over-eating remain the major causes of obesity, Fry says more work needs to be done to confirm the links.
‘There is particular concern about whether these chemicals with an oestrogenic effect are contributing to earlier puberty in girls,’ Fry says.
‘Girls reach puberty when they are at a weight that can support the reproductive cycle and this is getting earlier and earlier. Whether that’s a result of straightforward over-eating by a generation of young girls or whether there is an additional chemical effect, we don’t yet know.’
It’s not just girls who seem susceptible to the phthalate effect. In 2007, researchers at the University of Rochester school of medicine in New York found the same class of chemicals were contributing to abdominal obesity and insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes, in men.
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