By Thérése Connaughton & Gemma Phelan
With the time of year that is upon us and our preparations for the summer months our attention is upon our appearance. From weekend boot camps to early morning fitness sessions, the race in on to look good and feel great. Perhaps we want to lose a few pounds or even a couple of stone. Either way it is tempting to be seduced into the belief that another type of fitness class or diet will do this for us. While it is correct to assume the role of diet and regular exercise in maintaining a healthy weight, in light of the increasing attention being paid by the scientific fraternity to the connection between environmental toxins and weight gain perhaps it is also time to consider the possibility that our environment is making us fat.
These toxins include chemicals in the form of pesticides, dyes, medicines, flavourings, perfumes, plastics and surface-active agents and are ingested with foods and contaminated water (fluoride), inhaled from polluted air and absorbed cutaneously via personal-care products. As a result of which the average person now holds hundreds of industrial chemicals in their body which is, in turn creating toxic overload and resulting in the immobilisation of our natural weight regulation system. Appearing to possess a fattening effect these dangerous toxins hinder our metabolism and appetite control, thereby causing weight gain. Indeed owing to the fattening effect of some chemicals, humans are not the only ones to experience weight gain. Certain chemicals are used to deliberately fatten up livestock for the purpose of accelerating growth, so guess what happens when the same animals are served up for Sunday dinner?
There are many ways that toxins affect our weight, mainly by disrupting our endocrine and hormonal systems as well as our sympathetic nervous system whose function is, amongst others to suppress our appetite for fats which it does so by mobilising fat stores for use and by stimulating physical activity levels. However when its effectiveness is hindered so is its ability to successfully do its job. Furthermore, the idea that many toxic chemicals in foods and the environment have, in effect poisoned the body’s natural weight-control mechanisms would help to explain how some people continue to gain weight regardless of a sensible diet and regular exercise.
Therefore, detoxification will allow your body to be relieved of these toxins which will activate weight loss and reboot your body’s natural weight control mechanisms leading to increased energy levels. On a positive note, we do not have to deprive ourselves of food. We can simply avoid eating the foods that are known to contain the highest levels of toxic chemicals. Reducing our exposure to chemicals in the environment also plays a vital role. Educating ourselves on the location of the highest sources of fattening chemicals allows us to lower our exposure to them and support our body in processing the present overload. Knowledge on chemical exposure will not only benefit people who are suffering from chemical related weight and health problems but will also promote and maintain healthy lifestyles for those presently in good health.
It is on this premise that we initiated action and launched the Raspberry Hill Detox Program in Liffey Valley Fitness, Clondalkin, Dublin. It is with pleasure we announce this toxin free weight loss program that continues to deliver life changing experiences for its passionate participants.
Thérése Connaughton and Gemma Phelan run The Raspberry Hill Detox Program, Dublin. They can be found on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Raspberry-Hill-Detox-Program-Dublin/886081524783383
or contacted @ 083 465 8887
References:
Baillie-Hamilton, Dr. P. Chemical Toxins: A Hypothesis to Explain the Global Obesity Epidemic, Taken from:
THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
Volume 8, Number 2, 2002, pp. 185-192.
Baillie-Hamilton, Dr. P (2003) The Body Restoration Plan: Eliminate Chemical Calories and Repair Your Natural Slimming System. UK: Avery.
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Leibowitz SF. Neurochemical–neuroendocrine systems the brain controlling macronutrient intake and metabolism. Trends Neurosci 1992;15(12):491–497.
Paoletti R, Smith RL, Maickel RP, Brodie BB. Identification and physiological role of noradrenaline in adipose tissue. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1961;5(6):424–429.