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Obesogens

The Seasonal Food Guide provided a great list of seasonal food items available to consumers in California. This is a resource that I anticipate to use moving forward because I want to support the local food systems and reduce food miles. It was great to see some items that I didn’t realize were seasonal. Searching up locally grown foods, I looked closely at the Natural Trading Company, which is only a few miles away from my home. It provided a nice comparison against the seasonal food items list and it’s great that I know exactly where my food is coming from. 


It would be a forward-thinking change to encourage hospitals in the area to purchase seasonal and locally grown foods to bring a nutritious variety of meals to patients, which will hopefully not only support the economic system and the environment, but also accelerate their recovery. This innovative idea would also combat the stereotype of “tasteless hospital foods.”

The harvest calendar I found was specifically for coastal Northern California and it was great to see many foods are listed across all the resources I’ve explored. Again, these all make for a wonderful combination of tools to build a healthier diet that is supportive of the local economy and food systems. 
I had no familiarity of obesogens prior to reading the other article, but felt it was a very informative piece. It raised the concern that we are consistently exposed to these harmful chemicals, but I felt some relief learning that choosing to be healthier in terms of materials used at home and foods consumed can help combat obesity. 

I chose to do some light research on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) using ToxNet, where I found that PFOA does have long-lasting reproductive effects on female offspring as seen in mice. It was interesting to learn that the severity of these effects depended on PFOA dosage exposure. It’ll be interesting to see the research outcomes of human studies, especially since PFOA is most commonly found in nonstick products, like cookware.

Comments

  1. JudyJudeOctober 7, 2018 at 5:17 PM

    The tasteless hospital food concept is one that makes me laugh, because people do not realize that the hospital is not a staycation, meaning that the hospital's purpose is to feed patients bland food for a speedy recovery. Unlike greasy, spicy, and fatty foods that would upset ones' stomach if consumed when sick or after a surgery. However, natural foods that are in season would help this tasteless dilemma.

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  2. Antonio SorianoNovember 9, 2018 at 5:04 PM

    I also laughed when you said "tasteless hospital food." Locally grown food is not only healthier, but can result in tastier food. It is a Hospital's responsibility to heal the people it serves, and the food that the hospital provides for it's patients and guests must also be nutritious and aid in the healing process.

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