Ok, first of all, this is not a post about body image. If you've got booty, you go girl!
This is a conversation about synthetic fragrance and its effects on your weight. Yep, serious.
If you have ongoing issues with weight you just can't shed despite a healthy diet and exercise, or if you find yourself gaining unexplained weight, you'll probably want to read on...
Research is pointing to strong links between xenoestrogens (synthetic oestrogens), often now referred to as "obesogens", and weight gain, the formation of fat cells, and metabolic disorders such as diabetes, meaning that is a viable proposition that your perfume (and other cosmetics and personal care products could be making us fat and unwell.
Over recent years, many environmental chemicals have been shown to disrupt the actions of hormones and have been termed endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), or endocrine disruptors.
There are increasing reports that some EDCs can interfere with regulatory processes in metabolism and in the control of fat cell function, can modify our body's sensitivity to neurotransmitters, and alter the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in imbalances in the regulation of body weight, which can lead to weight gain and obesity despite a normal healthy diet and exercise.
In addition, many environmental chemicals are fat -soluble, meaning when they get into your body they are stored in your body fat, making it difficult to lose the extra weight as your body endeavors to protect itself by holding onto fat stores where these chemicals reside.
These hormone-disrupting chemicals can be found in perfumes, cosmetics, plastics, pesticides and paint (to name a few). Specifically in perfumes, the biggest culprits are synthetic musks, DEP and other phthalates, UV filters, synthetic colours and preservatives such as BHT and parabens.
We know, it's a lot to swallow. And a lot to get your head around.
If you want to do a deeper dive, you can start doing your own research with search terms like "obesity and xenoestrogens", or you can begin with the published research we used for this article.
So when you are considering the ways in which you can improve your health and well being, or you are stuck and don't know which anchor to pull up next, considering the impact fragrance has on your health could be a key to a big improvement.
