Dubai: Trying to lose weight or get healthy? Don't worry about the calories, worry about the hormones.
Food products today are packed with extra hormones. Cows are injected with Bovine Somatotropin (rBST), a growth hormone that forces their udders to overproduce milk. Chickens are pumped full of estrogen to increase their egg production and make those chicken fillets you eat that little bit juicier. Most food contains soy, one of the most estrogenic foodstuffs (Yes, soy is unhealthy).
Everything's packaged in plastic. Plastic contains Bisphenol A (BPA), every year its use is raised as a concern by cancer research groups and food and drug administration groups worldwide.
Key fits the lock
Researchers have shown that when consumed these hormones mimic estrogen and cause an imbalance known as estrogen dominance. While most studies focus mainly on the impact of estrogen dominance on women, this imbalance can also affect men and children.
Gulf News spoke to Anisa Abeytia, an Integrative Health Specialist in Dubai who runs the Women's Healing Circle and has published many relevant articles. "When you put estrogenic hormones into your body they are immediately accepted by your estrogen receptors. The key fits the lock so it will go in. But when the key turns, it will break…. Disturb one thing, disturb it all," she says.
Create imbalance
She explains that this excess estrogen, rather than being digested and identified as waste, will be absorbed into the blood and create an imbalance, "All that excess estrogen, as well as all other toxins ingested, just get absorbed straight back into your blood and continue to build up over time, affecting your entire bodily system."
While this may sound very dramatic, Anisa explains that it is easy to fix. "The main way to tackle estrogen dominance is by tackling the liver. This can be done by adding coconut oil to your diet. Cook your food in it rather than vegetable oil. Two tablespoons a day will start to help your liver get rid of those estrogenic hormones. Another way to help your liver is to start eating more fibre. Fibre is nature's brush"
The list of all the products that contain estrogenic hormones is overwhelming. However, there are a couple that stand out from the rest as the most dangerous, one of these being plastics.
Packaging risk
"The thinner the plastic, the more likely it will leech into your food. Check the packaging date to make sure you are getting the food that was packaged the shortest time ago and make sure you do not chose the ones that have been exposed to direct light," Anisa says.
She also advises that "When you get home it is best to take any foods wrapped in plastics out of the plastic and wrap them in wax paper or parchment."
Another highly estrogenic product is soy. "Soy is in everything nowadays and it is one foodstuff that contains the highest levels of estrogenic hormones. It is not healthy. This is because it is so overly processed," she says.
"Soy formula is so bad for kids and can imbalance their hormones straight away". She explains that high estrogen levels can, not only, make everyone more prone to obesity and diabetes, but in children has also been linked to behavioural disorders, such as ADD and Autism.
No definite link
It is necessary to point out that there is no evidence yet to prove that there is a definite link between the consumption of estrogenic compounds and estrogen dominance. This is a point Bobby Krishna Thulasi, a senior in the Food Control Department of Dubai Municipality, seems adamant to make.
"Several research works have been done in Europe and the US to assess the safety of BPA used in plastics that come in contact with the food, but no studies have been conclusive," Thulasi said.
Are you concerned about the harmful effects of mass-produced food items? What do you do to make sure the food you eat is completely healthy and safe?
