Obesogens

So far most of the produce I have bought in the U.K. has been grown in The U.K. but there are of course a lot of exceptions like most of the melons and warm weather fruits are grown in Spain and imported. Some of the foods that are in season now are: Figs, Garlic, Kale, Leek, Mussels, Parsnips, Pears, Pumpkin, Radish, Lettuce, etc. I think that it is really important to eat most seasonal food. It is way better for the environment and it is something that humans have survive of doing. It would be great if hospitals did seasonal menus because if could teach some of their patients about food they might have never heard of or have never tried. 

Here is a screen shot of the food calendar for the U.K.



I have heard of Obesogens before, they are foreign chemical compounds that disrupt normal development and balance of lipid metabolism, which in some cases, can lead to obesity. They are basically chemical compounds made by us that have been introduced into the food system or by household products and are causing some people to have weight gain or obesity. It is really scary and upsetting that these chemicals exist.

One of the known obesogen chemicals is Diethylstilbestrol (DES). Doctors used to prescribed DES, a synthetic estrogen, to millions of pregnant women from the late 1930s through the 1970s to prevent miscarriage. The drug caused adverse effects in these women’s children, who often experienced reproductive tract abnormalities; “DES daughters” also had a higher risk of reproductive problems, vaginal cancer in adolescence, and breast cancer in adulthood. It was also discovered that DES is associated with weight gain, altered expression of obesity-related genes and modified hormone levels