Top Foods For Weight Loss? Find Out Why You Need To Check The Packaging First

When people talk about their extra pounds the conversation usually shifts to what foods are good for weight loss? Or what are some of the most healthy foods for weight loss, or how do I find a quick weight loss diet--the list goes on. Usually in these discussions there is reference to fresh fruits and vegetables. But there are other considerations that impact our best weight loss efforts; what are they? High on the list would have to be environmental toxins via their impact on our food. Ironically, if the discussion goes here it will very soon come back to a consideration of fresh fruits and vegetables.

If you read the news and follow the discussion about plastic bottles you have no doubt heard of bisphenol A, often abbreviated as BPA. BPA is a chemical used in plastics and food packaging including food can liners which has been linked directly to weight gain. In addition exposure to this chemical is also associated with insulin resistance, and thyroid dysfunction both of which are associated with weight gain. In the recent past publicity about BPA, used to make plastic water bottles, has caused many people to switch to stainless steel or glass bottles. However, if your food comes in cans or wrapped in plastic it may be a source of exposure to this insidious fat promoting chemical.

A study published in the March 2011 journal "Environmental Health Perspectives," looked at BPA exposure through food packaging. The subjects were 20 individuals from 5 different families with diets that included canned and packaged foods. Subjects ate their regular diets, then had 3 days during which they only ate fresh foods that did not come packaged in plastics, then returned to their normal diets. The scientists collected nightly urine samples for evaluation during this time. The results showed BPA levels decreased significantly when subjects ate fresh foods uncontaminated by exposure to plastics.

How is BPA connected to weight gain? One way is through promotion of insulin resistance. Studies show that when BPA enters your body it mimics the action of estrogen. One of estrogen's roles is to help maintain insulin sensitivity, however too much can cause insulin resistance. The addition of BPA to your body can dangerously increase what your body perceives to be the amount of estrogen promoting insulin resistance and the associated obesity which precedes type 2 diabetes. A 2006 study in the journal "Environmental Health Perspectives" exposed adult mice to either estrogen or BPA. After just 4 days of treatment both sets of mice developed chronic high levels of insulin which altered both their glucose and insulin tolerance tests.

BPA also impacts weight loss through disrupting thyroid function. A 2011 study at the University of Michigan School of Public Health used data from a large nutrition and health survey to study the amount of thyroid hormones and BPA in the urine of 1346 adults and 329 adolescents. They found the higher the levels of BPA the lower the levels of thyroid hormone. While this doesn't prove a causal relationship, if BPA does indeed impact the thyroid as these data suggest, then it can be one more variable that makes weight loss challenging.

The good news is that by eliminating as much BPA from your diet as possible you can speed up your weight loss process....which, as promised, brings us back to eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Not only are they full of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, when they don't come in plastic they don't increase your BPA levels...always a good thing.

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