It is a well-known fact that the Western diet, which encompasses highly processed food items,or “fast foods,” ready-to-eat meals, and sugar-sweetened beverages is unhealthy. That said, most people do not understand why or how unhealthy it actually is. The impact on US citizens has been catastrophic. We are the most obese country in the world, with the most obese children. We are at the bottom of the list for wellness compared to all other developed nations (54 out of 57) and at the top of the list for infant mortality. I think that says it all.

The question is why? I believe it is because our food is so polluted. For example, our diet appears to be what scientists call highly “obesogenic”. What does that mean? It means that our diet tends to be low in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and seeds (the good stuff) and high in saturated fatty acids and simple carbohydrates or the bad stuff. It’s especially high in GMO sugar which can be found in almost all processed foods and is highly inflammatory. The result is the development of metabolic complications, neurodegenerative diseases, and behavioral changes (read as food addiction.)

Recall in the last article that we talked about type 2 diabetes, which is currently epidemic in this country, and is the direct result of high glucose levels. Turns out Obesogens are part of the problem. It\’s no secret that being overweight or obese can lead to several health problems. But there is also good data to suggest that obesogens may play a role in blood glucose control, meaning they could increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. They have also been found to drive insulin resistance. Finally they contribute to the development of metabolic syndrome, which includes high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. I would be willing to bet that even if you suffer from one of these conditions, you have never heard of an obesogen. 

Where do they come from?

Believe it or not, many of them are sprayed on our food, some of them are found in the plastic containers we use and others are literally in our water supply.

Trazine, an herbicide used on crops, has recently been designated an obesogen. It’s a chemical that disrupts our natural hormone balance and causes us to store more fat. This is alarming news, when you consider that Trazine is one of the world\’s most widely used pesticides and herbicides. It joins glyphosate, another extremely dangerous pesticide, that is an obesogen as well as a carcinogen. The solution for this? Go organic. Go organic all the way!

As mentioned in this article describing my food pollution disorder model, American foods are obesogenic, autogenic, carcinogenic, allergenic, neurotoxic, and in some cases psychogenic as per the model. Eating them instead of their clean version causes deficiencies that drive Dys-Ruption, Dys-Regulation, Dys-Function and finally Dys-Ease.

So why can’t we see something that is so destructive? Two primary reasons; First, the disorders resulting from polluted foods develop slowly and present with a broad spectrum of symptoms, some of which are actually conditions themselves. And second, our government and the food industry systematically lie to us about the safety of our food.

For example, US foods are loaded with addictants such as GMOs, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and MSG. These ingredients are in the foods by design to get us addicted to them, so that we continue to buy them. This is a whole new spin on consumer loyalty. The impact of these practices had been catastrophic. 

If you just look at the percentage of Americans that are overweight or obese, the number is over 70% of all Americans, in that 30.7% are overweight with an additional 42.4% who are obese. In other words, significantly more Americans are overweight than are normal weight. Worse still is the fact that the American obesity rate is still going up. In 2018 the obesity rate in America was 42.4%, and the most recent studies suggest that it is likely still climbing. Childhood obesity is at an all time high with ⅓ of all US children obese. 

The results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey show this progression clearly:

In 2007-2008, 33.7% of Americans were obese.

In 2015-2016, 39.6% of Americans were obese.

In 2007-2008, 5.7% of Americans were severely obese.

In 2015-2016, 7.7% of Americans were severely obese.

In 2017-2018, 42.4% of Americans were obese.

In addition to these disappointing statistics, we also ingest 34% of the world’s glyphosate, while representing only 4% of the world\’s population. Besides being an obesogen, Glyphosate is also a carcinogen, allergen, and autogen. 

Finally, not only are we one of the unhealthiest/wealthiest countries in the world, our life span is getting shorter. Instead of living longer, beginning in 2016, our life expectancy went in the opposite direction, meaning our life expectancy since 2016 has decreased. This is unheard of in the history of the world! The only explanation is that we are literally poisoning ourselves to death with our food.

Ergo my food pollution disorder model.

The issue is serious. Our food is so polluted that it is aging us and robbing our children of a healthy future. It is imperative that you understand the impact that it may be having on you and/or your loved ones. Without this information, you are more at risk for Food Pollution Disorder, which has far reaching and often deadly consequences.

FPD is a result of consuming a diet so devoid of the necessary nutrients, or so full of pollutants, that the body, which is under constant attack, can no longer regulate itself and loses functionality over time, ultimately succumbing to weight gain or loss, gastrointestinal problems (leaky gut) hormonal disturbances, chronic diseases, allergies, autoimmune disease, cancer, psychiatric disturbances, or neurological problems.

I believe that FPD is also at the heart of the epidemic of autoimmune diseases we are seeing currently. Autoimmune diseases are caused by a leaky gut, which is the result of the foods we eat (mostly GMO’s sprayed with glyphosate or Trazine) tearing holes in our guts allowing the contents to leak out. The immune system sees it, and attacks. The inflammation that follows is epic, causing all manner of problems. Autoimmune disease is interesting because the immune system, which is designed to protect us against attacks, is so overworked presently that it ends up attacking the very entity that it was designed to protect, you.

Autoimmune disease is also troubling because it is so difficult to diagnose, since every tissue, organ, and system in the body requires protection, and is therefore subject to attack. The upshot is that the symptoms of autoimmune diseases are all over the map, making them very difficult to interpret. This is a particularly dangerous situation; big impact, but limited awareness and understanding.

Today the 8th leading cause of death among women is autoimmune disease. Although that is shocking enough, the really shocking thing is that it usually goes undiagnosed. Worse still, if you have one autoimmune disease, you are more likely to develop other autoimmune diseases, which also go undiagnosed. 

The good news is that we can reverse the vast majority of the problems that plague us if we know how to look at them. The Food Pollution Disorder Model is a framework for doing just that. For more information about exactly how polluted foods may be harming you or your loved ones, and what you can do about it, contact me at (513) 205-6543. I am the Eating Disorder Pro and I can help.