Normal Day 54 - 124.8

I keep getting more and more convinced that some kind of chemical is creating the obesity epidemic that is spreading across the earth. I know I mentioned this already in an earlier post. I was wondering, if it is a chemical ... say a fertilizer or pesticide or whatever... wouldn't the health problems show up in the people picking the crop? These are people who work 16 hours a day doing hard labor (by my standards) in the fields -- you would think they would be extraordinarily healthy. Yet, from what I have been able to research so far, the rate of Diabetes is quite high in immigrant farm workers. The irony is that American's aren't really hearing about it because of the way illegal immigrants are treated in this country and many of the workers do not have their citizenship. They are hesitant to get health care for fear of being deported.

Another group I wondered about is the people working in the factories that make these chemicals. Do they have insulin resistance problems? Yes, yes, yes they do! Several studies of factory workers exposed to chemicals have linked high dioxin levels in the blood with an increased risk of diabetes and insulin resistance.

Now the question to ask yourself, "Can you recall a time where you might have been exposed to a high concentration of chemicals?" At fist, nothing came to mind. But I wonder.... When we first moved to Oregon, the apt we rented was heavily flea infested. The fleas didn't bother my boyfriend, but me and my son and our cat were getting bit fiercely. I started bombing the apartment and even sprayed down the sheets on my side of the bed every night. I started developing a really weird acne and had to see a dermatologist who prescribed tetracycline and topical solutions and nothing worked to clear it up. I hadn't experienced acne since I was a teenager. This was all just a couple of months before my first sudden gain in weight -- 20 pounds in about 3 weeks! My weight had always been difficult to control, but suddenly it became impossible. My diet was exactly the same as it had always been.

I'm believing more and more that there is some kind of artificial chemical that is interfering with the insulin pathway in humans ... and its slowly spreading around the globe.

Food:
20 raw almonds
6 oz DHA soymilk
1 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal
4 cups air-popped popcorn
2 tsp coconut oil
2 T nutritional yeast
1 whole wheat tortilla
1 T vegetarian taco filling
1 T grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped lettuce
1 T chopped cilantro
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 T peanut butter
4 milk chocolate kisses
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup yogurt raisins
1/2 cup tuna salad with mayo, celery & onion

Exercise:
walk 1 hour