Can Toxins Contribute to Weight Gain?

We understand that weight, and the disciplines of losing it and maintaining it can be a struggle. As part of our healthy journey - which weight is a huge part of - we are bombarded with diets, groups, coaches, and exercise routines (not to mention the gimmicks and gadgets). There are so many options available to help us shed the pounds and/or maintain our weight, but sometimes, no matter how vigilant we are, nothing seems to work. 

Most commonly we focus on diet and exercise to shed pounds. But as Dr. Eric Berg reminds us, you must be healthy in order to maintain a healthy weight. More and more research is coming available to support how environmental toxins - those in the air we breathe, the processed foods we eat, and the products we put on our skin - can lead to weight gain or stalled weight loss. Dr. Mark Hyman explains that toxic chemicals can hinder our body’s ability to balance blood sugar and metabolize cholesterol. It's not surprising since chemical toxins are known to be fat soluble. Simply put, when you have an excess of toxins, which the body cannot always expel, your body creates fat tissue to store them. 

 Some eye-opening food for thought:

• Toxins can cause inflammation, which keeps your body from performing at its best.
• Stress from toxins or inflammation can cause the body to call upon its “flight or fight response.” Among other things, this can result in a slowed metabolism.
• Toxic chemicals can disrupt hormones. 

Toxins easily enter our bodies in multiple ways: through our diet, the air we breath, and through the products we put on our skin. Our bodies do have some natural filters to help dispel the toxins. However, toxins can make their way into our essential body systems. There, they can manipulate hormones, slow metabolism, and call upon the body to make more fat.

There is a long list of toxic ingredients we regularly urge you to avoid. We could reiterate those now, but instead of making a list of "don'ts", it is easier (and more fun!) to talk about the ingredients and products you should trust for your skin care needs. 

Products made ethically and consciously, with organic ingredients, are our recommendations. Products formulated with clean, organic ingredients give your skin the results you crave without any of the lurking chemical toxins that can enter your blood stream and disrupt your body functions.

While there is no guarantee that reducing the toxins in your skin care, or even environment, will help you lose weight, there's no risk in trying.  In fact, you have everything to gain. Feeding your skin with enriching, thoughtful ingredients can improve the appearance of your skin, improve the quality of air that you breathe, and alleviate symptoms of some common skin care ailments. 

Outside of some well-known alternative healers, the mainstream medical community does not typically contribute to the conversation about the correlation of skin care and weight. We would be amiss to tell you that simply switching to non-toxic products will immediately result in weight loss. But, when you consider the chemicals we are exposed to, and the biology of our skin (it's a large organ that acts like a sponge), it makes sense that using clean ingredients would serve our health best. It makes sense to avoid food products without chemicals, so why should it be any different with the skin care products we put on our skin?

Please note that we are not medical professionals.