Finding pleasure in small treasures, but not as small as microplastics

If last week’s newsletter didn’t inspire/shame you into watching THAT SHOW on Netflix, here’s one last takeaway: “BMI is dog sh$t,” quoth Amy Stanbery, CEO of DexaFit, an industry leader in body composition testing and biometric tracking.   BMI (Body Mass Index) was long the barometer of a “healthy” body, based on height, weight, and activity level, but in recent years has proved to be flawed.  The measurement is based on averages taken only from a population of white people, not accounting for the fact that people of different races and ethnicities tend to have a different body composition.  So, a white person with a BMI of 30 could be considered obese, where a Black person would be considered “normal,” when in fact they might be in danger of pre-diabetes and other avoidable/reversible conditions, and worse, might then be prevented from legally accessing proper treatment. The Dexa difference is that it scans in a panoramic way, measuring not only your body fat percentage instead of BMI, but also levels of visceral fat (not the muffin-top fat, but internal fat that surrounds your organs, even if you don’t “look fat”), muscular health, and bone density, helping to identify your overall long-term health risks in a more personalized way. 

 

This means that someone considered healthy, lean or even underweight by BMI might still have visceral fat on their organs which can lead to cardiovascular disease, or low bone density which causes osteoporosis–two very serious conditions that when detected early, can be reversed or avoided entirely.  Costs range from $200-$500, so the scan is unfortunately not cheap, but it could be a worthy investment in your future self. 

 

In unsurprising news, the USA continues to win for the slowest crawl towards protecting consumers from harmful endocrine-disrupting chemicals in our everyday products.  And it’s not just about plastic bottles.  Think sunscreen, diapers, canned food, candles, toothpaste, nonstick cookware, and most of your furniture if it’s flame-retardant.  There are over 80,000 chemicals in circulation in the US and less than 2% of them are tested for safety.  And over 900 of them, that we are routinely exposed to, have now been linked to breast cancer. 

 

Endocrine disruptors are natural or synthetic chemicals that can imbalance the hormone system by increasing the production of certain hormones while decreasing others, which can result in issues ranging from fertility challenges, obesity, autoimmune disorders, certain cancers, and neurological disorders.

 

The problem is layered–not only are these chemicals not subject to the same rigorous testing standards that exist in Europe and abroad, but much of the testing that has been done hasn’t included women in the cohorts, so breast cancer hasn’t previously registered as a risk.  

 

So since the EPA and FDA aren’t scrambling to help us, what can you do?  Here is a free downloadable guide to the eight categories of endocrine disruptors and how to avoid them.  And ICYMI, I’ve done not one, but two podcast interviews on environmental toxins hiding in plain sight.  Hide and eek.  Listen here and here!  

 

HERE’S A TIP, MAKE THE CHANGE
On a positive note, a new year often brings new goals and resolutions, and a popular item on this menu is a gratitude practice.  But on some days, especially the frigid gray kind when you feel like a crap sandwich, practicing capital-G Gratitude can feel forced or hard to muster, amiright? So instead of repeated uninspired thanks for your cozy bed, try taking it down a notch to just recognize the tiniest wins–you found the parking spot, you finished folding the laundry, your cat didn’t poop on the rug (sharing for a friend).  Acknowledging even the smallest victories is another way to help you focus on what’s working vs what’s not, to avoid negativity bias and shift your mindset into positive receiving mode.  

I leave you a with verse from the poet laureate of the OG gratitude song (so my mom doesn't have to listen all the way through):

 

Drunk as hell, but no throwin' up

Halfway home, and my pager's still blowin' up

Today, I didn't even have to use my AK

 

 

 

Did a friend send you this? Get on the bus, welcome aboard!