METRO, Tuesday May 7, 2002

Hidden Chemicals COULD IT BE PESTICIDES THAT ARE MAKING US FAT?

The enemy within

Here's a calorie conundrum. You're trying to lose some weight and are faced with a bowl of lettuce, an avocado and a glass of red wine. Which do you choose? Accepted wisdom says the lettuce. However, Dr Paula Baillie-Hamilton, who has caused seismic ripples in the diet industry, says anything but. She has spent three years researching her theory that certain foods contain chemicals which frustrate our natural slimming ability. The revolutionary claim has had a powerful impact on the slimming industry because it has scientific basis and was independent of any interested parties. Her research began after the birth of her second child when she was unable to shift a few stubborn pounds. Her conclusions were published last week in the American Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Dr Baillie-Hamilton claims it is not all weak-willed gluttony that is triggering the obesity epidemic; it's far more sinister than that. She believes it is chemicals - in the form of additives, pesticides, preservatives and contaminants - that are making us pile on pounds and fall ill in the process. Our bodies, she explains, have highly effective natural slimming systems which, when unimpeded, are able to process food and ditch toxins with ease. But, she says, when faced with the artificial compounds in our environment and diet, our bodies can't find the proper processing mechanism, so they promptly store them as body fat.

Baillie-Hamilton's theory is far from unfounded. It is known that, without a sophisticated filter system, the chemicals in pesticides simply pass through the food chain - through animal products, vegetables and water - and into our bloodstream and body cells. While killing insects in large doses, in smaller doses, these chemicals make us sedentary, reduce our desire to exercise and bolster our fat stores. Baillie-Hamilton suggests we are not only being fattened up, but also being poisoned. Thankfully, the prognosis is not all bad. The harmful effects of chemicals can be countered by fortifying the system with supplements and eating organic. Baillie-Hamilton introduces the concept of the 'chemical calorie' - empty calories with the ability to corrupt the natural slimming system. She claims certain foods - fish oil, oranges, mint leaves, cocoa butter, salmon and winter lettuce - are perilously high in them. As a rule, the frailer the crop, the more it needs to look good and be chemically strengthened. Lettuce, therefore, with its frail make-up, is regularly sprayed with pesticides and is higher in chemical calories than the hardy-skinned avocado. In turn, Baillie-Hamilton says that, because the grapes in wine do not need to look good to be pressed, they are sprayed less and consequently wine has fewer of these calories. The good news is that organic foods tend to be much lower in chemicals and high in natural slimming nutrients. It is also believed that we can further decrease chemical levels by washing and peeling skin, which holds the most chemical calories.

And the really good news is that, if Baillie-Hamilton is right, we can lose weight without omitting the foods we love. Even if she isn't, it's still a cracking justification for a spot of guilt free gluttony.