M6.7: Obesogens

• Discuss what is locally grown and what is currently in season in your area.

There are tons of produce in season in California right now. These are a few of my favorites:

• basil
• chestnuts
• dates
• okra
• persimmons
• spinach 

• Discuss your thoughts on seasonal/local foods and hospital menus. 

I love that the UK NHS brought together a group of leading chefs to create a database of over 300 recipes that use seasonal local ingredients. Food is medicine so I completely believe that hospital menus that incorporate seasonal/local produce will find positive correlation in patients' health. 

• Find a Harvest Calendar for your state (or a state you are interested in) utilizing the link in the first article.

• What are your thoughts on the second article? Have you heard of obesogens before?

I hadn't heard of the term obesogens before but I've learned about many of them separately. The article mentions that obesity is strongly associated with exposure to risk factors during fetal and infant development and the list of potential obesogens are growing. Which is concerning... 

Dr. Blumber at UC Irvine says "eat organic, filter water, minimize plastic in your life," to reduce exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals which is a doable statement for some but sadly easier said than done for many others. 

• Pick one of the potential obesogens discussed in the article and using your resources from earlier modules (such as toxnet), do some research on this potential obesogen. Share what you found! 

BPA (Bisphenol A) is a chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic for some food and drink containers and epoxy resin used to coat metal, such as in canned foods. Some of the health risks of BPA include childhood asthma, abnormality of reproductive organs, coronary artery disease, and change in structure in mammary glands (used for lactation).