Can't lose that weight? 8 reasons other than calories consumed!

I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that obesity is a health crisis in the United States and many other developed nations.  The World Health Organization estimates there are 1 billion over weight adults and of those 300 million are obese. Everyone I know has been on some sort of "diet" at one time or another. Well the crisis may be about more than how much we eat and how little we exercise.  Below I list 8 factors that cause excess weight to hang around or even put excess weight on us. I have written about stress and insulin in past posts so every day for the next 6 days I will write briefly about the other factors listed.

Potential reasons for global weight gain

1. Environmental toxins
2. Viruses and Bacteria in the gut
3. Fear of fats
4. Toxic Liver
5. Water logged tissue
6. Excess Insulin and inflammation
7. Stress - producing cortisol
8. Lack of Support

There is a reason Environmental toxins is at the top of the list.  They come in many forms and are a part of our lives.  They can contribute to everything from psoriasis to cancer and did you also know that they may be disrupting your hormone systems and causing you to be over weight? Environmental toxins have been called Endocrine disruptors, chemical calories, and obsegens. They come into our everyday lives in the forms of chemicals and synthetic hormones. Chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are found in everything from produce to beauty products. Pesticides such as DDT are called organo-chlorine's. DDT hasn't been used for 50 years in the U.S. but it's still in the soil and guess what, we manufactured DDT here in the U.S. until the 1970's and then sold our manufacturing plants to countries where it was not banned. It now comes back to us in the produce from countries like India. Currently we use different organo-chlorines but they are all endocrine disruptors.  
Other chemicals we see on a daily basis are things like Bisphenol A, found in plastic containers, and phthalates, found in shampoo's, nail polish, and soap. Bisphenol A is a nasty estrogen mimicking chemical which happens to be one of the top 50 produced chemicals in the world and can cause everything from cancer to birth defects.  Phthalates cause obesity and insulin resistance and are absorbed through the cuticle.
Other than Chemicals we also come in contact with drugs such as DES, the pill, and hormone replacement therapy. These drugs are synthetic hormones that can wreak havoc on our hormonal systems. Non Organic raised cows are implanted with a synthetic estrogen chip to allow them to produce more milk and meat rapidly. The excess estrogen in cows has lead to more weight gain especially around the middle. We eat this estrogen in the meat.  Our society is estrogen and androgen (male estrogen related hormone) overloaded and this is not good; too much estrogen causes cancer and weight around the middle .  
One study found that Infants are now born with up to 260 toxic chemicals in their blood that have never been found before in newborns. So how do we avoid these endocrine disruptors?  

• Buy organic produce. Check out www.foodnews.org to get a list of the best produce to buy organic.  There are some that are safe to buy non organic.
• Buy only organic grass fed meat.  
• Swap your plastic containers for glass. Never buy anything bottled in plastic with a number 7 or 3 on the bottom.  Buy only Paraben-free nail polish, shampoo, soap, and cosmetics
• Stop having your nails done unless they use Paraben-free products.