Can personal care products cause weight gain?

Jul 25, 2022 3:01 pm

Yes, sadly they can.

Good news: you can start taking steps toward avoiding these products, more specifically the chemicals in these products, now.

Just to point out.. the word "chemicals" doesn't mean something is inherently bad. A lot of chemicals are actually an important part of life and many of our innate, biological processes.

But the chemicals I'm talking about are the artificial ones created and used in many of our products that most of us are unknowingly using daily.

How do these products cause weight gain?

They affect our endocrine system, which is our body's hormonal system.

When these EDC's (endocrine disputing chemicals) are absorbed in the body, they can:

decrease or increase normal hormonal levels
mimic the body's natural hormones
alter the production of hormones

Keeping the topic strictly on weight: these chemicals can influence our leptin levels (hormone telling us how hungry we are), cause insulin resistance, and promote adipogenesis (the formation of fat cells).

Many of these EDC's are lipophilic, so they increase fat deposition and fat retention in the body. The main store of energy in the body is provided by fat in our adipose tissue, and it has now been concluded that this fat tissue acts as an endocrine organ and can secrete hormones. So interference of this through EDC's can actually cause deposits of fat in different areas of the body, leading to weight gain.

Which chemicals should be avoided?

These are a few of the most well know EDC's:

DES
Parabens
Phthalates
BPA
PBDE's
Pesticides

Tips on avoidance:

Try to eat as organic as possible, follow the EWG clean 15 and dirty 12 list
Minimize processed/packaged/canned foods
Swap out products that directly go on your skin: hair care, lotions, cosmetics, hand wash. Cross check the ingredient list, and absolutely avoid products with the word "fragrance" or "parfum" as this is an umbrella term for thousands of chemicals that can be used and EDC's are a known component
Eat a plant rich diet: the nutrients from these foods actually provide our detoxification pathways with the necessary components to help aid our body in flushing out these toxins so they don't store in our body

Consultations:

Environmental toxicants are probably the biggest missing link when it comes to our health journey. Not only do they cause weight retention/gain, they contribute to: infertility, PCOS, brain fog, fatigue, hormonal imbalances, gut issues (leaky gut, Crohn's disease, bloating, indigestion), acne, and more.

Due to repeated exposure, this build up in our body can cause a back up in our detox pathways, leading to our body's inability to get rid of them.

By identifying the source, supporting the body's gut and liver with specific nutrients, and adding in other lifestyle factors you can allow the body to start it's natural detoxication process again.

Book a free discovery call here.

The consults also include individualized plant based meal planning, exercise plan, mindfulness, bloodwork review, fasting protocols and more.