Living in California, I have many opportunities to access healthy seasonal food. There is a wide variety of vegetables and fruits available in the Fall.
With so much variety and relatively short food miles in California, seasonal hospital menus can be a beneficial solution to support local farms, provide healthy options, and continue patient education on the importance of healthy nutrition with local seasonal fruits and vegetables.
In the future, I would like to live in Washington state. Washington state also produces a lot of food and I decided to look up their Harvest calendar. This would be a shift if I decided to move there and eat local seasonal food. I would have to learn new and be okay in not eating as much citrus fruit.
The article Obesogens, An Environmental Link to Obesity introduced a new explanation that chemicals can also impact our metabolism. There is overwhelming evidence that the cause of obesity is poor nutrition and limited physical activity that it is astonishing that there could be other environmental contributors. What stood out the most for me was that “the most known or suspected obesogens are endocrine disruptors”. This is alarming because many personal care products have endocrine disruptors. Another chemical also suspected to be related to obesity in humans is phthalates, plasticizers a chemical used in PVC items as well as scented items like air fresheners, laundry products, and personal care products. In a quick search on Toxnet I found that “Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (also known as diethylhexyl phthalate, DEHP) is added to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics to make them flexible. PVC materials containing DEHP have been used for consumer household items, building products and medical supplies. DEHP has been found in a long list of items including: tablecloths, shower curtains, furniture and automobile upholstery, imitation leather, garden hoses, floor tiles, swimming-pool liners, sheathing for wire and cable, rainwear, shoes, toys, dolls, food packaging materials, tubing used in commercial milking equipment, and weather stripping. Medical devices containing DEHP include: blood and intravenous solution bags, catheters, tubing for dialysis and intravenous solutions, oxygen masks, and urine and colostomy bags. In 2005, about 40% of DEHP made in the U.S. was used for medical devices. About 30% was used for consumer products and 30% for building products.” DEHP is pretty much all around us and there is limited research on the effects of it on humans.
In the future, I would like to live in Washington state. Washington state also produces a lot of food and I decided to look up their Harvest calendar. This would be a shift if I decided to move there and eat local seasonal food. I would have to learn new and be okay in not eating as much citrus fruit.
The article Obesogens, An Environmental Link to Obesity introduced a new explanation that chemicals can also impact our metabolism. There is overwhelming evidence that the cause of obesity is poor nutrition and limited physical activity that it is astonishing that there could be other environmental contributors. What stood out the most for me was that “the most known or suspected obesogens are endocrine disruptors”. This is alarming because many personal care products have endocrine disruptors. Another chemical also suspected to be related to obesity in humans is phthalates, plasticizers a chemical used in PVC items as well as scented items like air fresheners, laundry products, and personal care products. In a quick search on Toxnet I found that “Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (also known as diethylhexyl phthalate, DEHP) is added to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics to make them flexible. PVC materials containing DEHP have been used for consumer household items, building products and medical supplies. DEHP has been found in a long list of items including: tablecloths, shower curtains, furniture and automobile upholstery, imitation leather, garden hoses, floor tiles, swimming-pool liners, sheathing for wire and cable, rainwear, shoes, toys, dolls, food packaging materials, tubing used in commercial milking equipment, and weather stripping. Medical devices containing DEHP include: blood and intravenous solution bags, catheters, tubing for dialysis and intravenous solutions, oxygen masks, and urine and colostomy bags. In 2005, about 40% of DEHP made in the U.S. was used for medical devices. About 30% was used for consumer products and 30% for building products.” DEHP is pretty much all around us and there is limited research on the effects of it on humans.
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