Are We Eating a Dirty Diet? Is Our Food and Way of Life Making Us Sick?

We are exposed to a lot of unhealthy chemicals through our lifestyle and diet. In fact, ingestion is one of the main ways we are exposed to toxic compounds. In this sense, a clean diet isn’t just one that’s healthy or home cooked—it’s also one that limits exposure to these chemicals. 

One of the main issues most people run into is being too busy or overwhelmed to prioritize our diet and looking to foods of convenience. In our haste to be efficient and satisfy our taste buds, we develop habits that work temporarily but might hurt us in the long run.

 The way our food is produced matters. Opting for products in a container, box, can, or bag may increase your exposure to chemicals. Processed foods contain additives, artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, and other synthetic compounds. A focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods can help reduce your toxic burden. 

Cancer rates have been rising over the last few decades. For those born after 1960, the risk of cancer is 1 in 2 in your lifetime. Most experts agree that diet and lifestyle is one of the most significant factors in these increasing rates. The way we farm our food is also hurting our health. By consuming genetically modified foods and foods that are sprayed heavily with chemicals, we are increasing our chances of negative health outcomes. 

Your body is capable of eliminating many of these chemicals and potentially harmful compounds, unless you are taking them in to the point that your body becomes overwhelmed. PFAS, more specifically, have greater longevity and can take years to be eliminated from the body. In many ways, we haven’t yet scratched the surface as to how these toxic compounds are affecting us in the long term.

Endocrine disruption and obesity: A current review on environmental obesogens https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7326440/

PFAS Exposure and Risk of Cancer https://dceg.cancer.gov/research/what-we-study/pfas