Obesogens

Hello!

This week I will be writing about locally grown food and obesogens. I hope you enjoy this post!

Living in California is a blessing. There is so much produce that is grown in California and the list is quiet long. In Sacramento, there are several items that are grown locally. It appears that most of these items are in season. Here is a list of items in season (early October):

·         Almonds

·         Rice

·         Tomato

·         Grapes (for wine too)

·         Mandarins

·         Sunflower seeds

I think that it is essential that hospitals incorporate locally grown food to their menu. The food that is being provided to patients should be fresh and free of preservatives. In order to maintain a healthy patient hospitals need to provide healthy food. I work at UCD Med Center and they recently changed their menu to fit a farm-to-fork style. The menu will change quarterly as new items are in season. UCD Med Center has done a great job of providing fresh food options to its patients and daily visitors. As a matter of fact, today we had a Fresh Food Festival at the Med center where there were local vendors and every Wednesday there’s a farmers market open to the public on campus. I think it’s essential to provide accessibility to fresh produce.

This is the harvest calendar for California from www.pickyourown.org

CROP	MONTH
Asparagus	March - June
Strawberries	Apr.10 - July 30
Peas	May 1 - September 30
Cherries	May 5 - June 25
Blueberries	May 15 - July 30
Blackberries	May 15 - July 30
Boysenberries	May 15 - July 31
Apricots	May 25 - July 10
Grapes	May 25 - December. 15
Olallieberries	June 1 to July 31
Tomatoes	June 1 - September 30
Pears	August 20 - September 30
Peaches	June 20 - September 10
Plums	June 15 - July 30
Green Beans	June 15 - September 15
Nectarines	June 15 - September 15
Corn	June 25 - September 30
Raspberries	July 1 - September 15
Apples	July 25 - November 30
Okra	July 15 - September 15
Almonds	August 20 - December. 13
Figs	September 05 - October 31
Walnuts	September 25 - Jan. 10
Persimmons	September 20 - October 31
Asian Pears	September 10 - November 20
Oranges	December to June,
Other Citrus	November to July
Avocados	Year round

I had not heard about Obesogens, so reading the article introduced this new topic to me. I thought the article was a fascinating read but also a bit alarming. It’s disheartening to read that there is proven science about obesogens and our government is not acting on regulation of chemicals that we are exposed to. Even more shocking, some obesogenic effects may be passes to later generations. This causes a problem for the population and a public health concern.  Based on the list of “known and suspected obesogens” there are several items listed that the general population uses on a regular basis. For example, fructose is used in many food products and although it had gained some negative attention it is still being consumes. We really need to work on our food system.

Having worked in pharmaceutical clinical trials I always had a trial with estradiol, so I think it was interesting to research this hormone commonly used by women. Estradiol is known to cause and increased risk for endometrial cancer, cardiovascular risks, dementia risks, and breast cancer. Populations at risk are people who wear contact lenses, women using oral contraceptive, and post-menopausal women using estradiol as a hormone replacement therapy. It’s really important to stay informed when taking medications and the risk it poses.

-Iliana