6.7 Obesogens

California Harvest Calendar





Locally grown and in Season

Arugula
Asparagus
Bean, dried heirloom
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrot
Cauliflower, Carnival
Chard
Chicories
Collard
Corn
Endive
Fava greens
Fennel
Garlic, green
Kale, lacinato/dino
Leeks
Mustard greens
Nettles
Spinach, bloomsdale

After reading about the benefits of seasonal/local foods I am going to start buying from local farms because I found that there are quite a few to choose from in my area. I learned about seasonal fruits and vegetables last year and now I have been buying what is in season. I remember wanting to make better choices when eating and incorporating more fruits in my diet but I would get frustrated because I could not pick the right fruits. At the time I did not know that the fruits that I was picking was not in season and that it taste better during its season. I have a seasonal fruit and veggie calendar on my refrigerator that way I can just make my purchases based off of that. 

It is definitely important for hospitals to have local foods. Why wouldn't they? We go to the hospital to get healed and they should be responsible for making sure that we are getting the right foods in our bodies as well as helping our ecosystems. 

Obesogens

I have never heard of obesogens. It is unfair that we are exposed to these chemicals and are unaware of the side effects (short and long term). I am sure no one would want to put chemicals in there body to ruin it especially when they think that it is suppose to help to solve a problem. 

The Obesogen that I chose is diethylstilbestrol (DES) which is a man made synthetic form of estrogen. I chose DES because I am currently reading about it in the book Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival?-A Scientific Detective Story. The book and the article describes how DES was being prescribed to pregnant women to prevent miscarriages and preterm labor during the 1930s through the 1970s. 

Researchers found that it did not prevent miscarriages or premature birth but it did have adverse side effects on the fetus depending on the time that the mom was given the drug during pregnancy. DES is linked to cancer, infertility, higher risk of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and preterm delivery (CDC.gov). After learning about this drug I am curious to find out whether or not my grandmother had taken this during her pregnancy because my mom had 14 miscarriages and my brother was premature. My aunt also struggled with carrying full term babies. 

The table below shows DES-type drugs that may have been prescribed to women:



References:

https://www.cdc.gov/des/consumers/about/history.html
http://produceexpress.net/products/seasonal-chart.html




Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 5, 2018 at 5:02 PM

    Brittany, I agree with you on buying more local fruits and veggies! If you live in the Sacramento area, there's a ton of farm markets available year round that make buying local pretty simple! My favorite one is the one on W Street under the bridge on Sunday mornings. I highly recommend if you're ever interested.

    ReplyDelete

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