Stubborn fat making you want to toss your scale off the roof? Yep, we’ve all been there.
There’s nothing more frustrating than following a calorie-controlled diet, exercising daily, taking all the right vitamins, and watching the scale stall out.
Many people find that weight loss comes easy at first. Those initial pounds seem to slide off with dietary shifts. But what stops the momentum?
More often than not, it has nothing to do with your diet or your exercise plan—it’s a hidden culprit lurking in the environment: heavy metals.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- How heavy metals take over your hormonal system
- The critical connection between hormone balance and weight
- How toxic compounds lock themselves in your fat cells
- Why your stubborn weight is your body’s way of protecting you
- The #1 way to train your body to release fat once and for all
Heavy Metals, Hormones, And Stubborn Weight
Heavy metals belong to a class of toxins known as endocrine-disrupting compounds, or EDCs for short. EDCs are uniquely dangerous to the body because they not only behave as toxins, but they also have the ability to directly influence your endocrine system by mimicking the activity of hormones.
Due to their chemical structure, EDCs are able to dock on hormone receptor sites and either increase or decrease the activity of specific hormones. A handful of mechanisms by which EDCs create chaos in your endocrine system include[1]:
- Blocking hormone receptors by docking on the receptors themselves
- Altering hormone levels by stimulating or inhibiting their production
- Increasing or blocking the metabolism of hormones
In addition to mimicking the activity of hormones, heavy metals may also cause structural and functional changes to the glands that govern your hormones, further instigating imbalance in the endocrine system[2].
Where does the stubborn weight connection come in?
Your hormones play a myriad of crucial roles in your body, including regulating metabolism, hunger, fat deposition, and blood sugar—to name a few. When EDCs come in and start to invade the delicate balance that your hormones work so hard to maintain, your ability to burn fat and regulate your hunger goes to the wayside.
Some endocrine hormones involved in weight management include[3][4][5][6][7]:
- Thyroid hormone — secreted from your thyroid and controls metabolism. Too little slows metabolism. Mercury impacts the thyroid and prevents the production and conversion of thyroid hormones.
- Cortisol — secreted from your adrenal glands and regulates blood sugar. Too much causes belly fat. Metals poison hydroxylase enzymes needed to make hormones like cortisol.
- Growth hormone — secreted from your pituitary gland and affects fat distribution. Too little causes poor muscle tone needed to burn fat.
- Insulin — secreted from your pancreas to control blood sugar and stimulate the metabolism of glucose, protein, and fat. Too much causes fat storage. Metals like mercury[8], cadmium[9], and arsenic[10] poison the body’s ability to make and metabolize insulin.
- Estrogen—primarily secreted by the ovaries, estrogen affects fat distribution, food intake, energy expenditure, and other metabolic functions that can lead to weight gain when imbalanced.
- Ghrelin—primarily secreted in your stomach, ghrelin is known as your hunger hormone as it instigates a desire to eat. This hormone takes its orders from your hypothalamus, which controls your appetite. Research shows, however, that in the presence of EDCs, the hypothalamus’s signaling pathways for appetite control become altered, favoring behaviors such as overeating.
As you can see, there are various ways that heavy metals can interfere with your hormones resulting in difficulty with weight loss, maintenance, and metabolism in general.
Heavy Metals Directly Interact With Fat Tissue
In addition to impacting hormonal balance, heavy metals may directly interfere with fat tissue, instigating weight gain and stubborn fat.
There are two known mechanisms by which EDCs interact with fat:
- They can increase the number of fat cells in your body
- They can make it more challenging for your body to want to let go of fat tissue
Let’s dive a little deeper:
EDCs Can Increase The Number Of Fat Cells In Your Body
EDCs interact with a specific receptor in your body that regulates the development of fat cells from stem cells. Stem cells can turn into all kinds of tissues—liver, kidney, bone, and so on.
When activated, this receptor (known as PPARγ) programs stem cells to turn into fat cells, resulting in a greater number of fat cells in your body. PPARγ also acts on cells already on their way to becoming fat cells, increasing the amount of fat they can hold.
Simply put, PPARγ is pro-fat, and in the presence of EDCs, this receptor is turned on and goes about its business of adding fat stores to the body[11].
EDCs Hide In Your Fat Tissue
EDCs, along with most other toxins that you ingest, frequently end up stored in your fat tissue.
Why?
Because fat cells are the safest place for your body to store toxins. Can you imagine if your body stored toxins in your heart, kidneys, or liver? You would be in big trouble. But since fat is (mostly) metabolically inactive, these cells are a safe place for your body to shuttle toxins in an effort to protect your vital organs from toxic harm.
The problem is that the more toxic compounds you take in, the more fat cells you need to store them. If you’re not properly detoxing toxins regularly, your body has no choice—it will need to create more storage units (AKA fat cells)[12].
Toxic fat cells are one of the most common reasons we deal with stubborn fat. It’s not your body working against you but the innate intelligence of your body trying to protect you from potential harm.
Things only get worse when we look specifically at EDCs because these toxins not only store in your fat but also instigate the production of more (and larger) fat cells. Thus, they create a nifty little feedback loop that ultimately increases your body’s capacity for their own retention[13].
Heavy metals, in particular, are also able to substitute other vital nutrients that your body requires for a healthy metabolism. In this way, heavy metals are truly a triple threat when it comes to weight loss[14].
Can You Avoid Heavy Metals?
It is nearly impossible to avoid heavy metals altogether today. These toxic compounds are everywhere in our environment—our food, our air, our water, our cosmetics…, and the list goes on.
Below are some of the most common places heavy metals are lurking in our environment:
- Drinking water
- Shower water
- Cosmetics (lipstick, eyeliner, etc.)
- Protein powder
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Root vegetables
- Grains
- Seafood
- Tea
- Herbs and spices
- Milk and dairy products
- Ceramics (dishes, mugs, etc.)
- Medications
- Supplements
- Paint
- Hair dye
- Skin lightening and anti-aging creams
With heavy metals around every corner, the real question isn’t how to avoid these toxins but how to reduce their impact. The answer: detox.
Choose Detox Over Dieting To Get That Scale Moving
With the sharp influx of toxins in our environment in the last several decades, the weight loss game has changed. The perfect diet and the most dial-in exercise regimen are simply not enough these days—if you want that scale to budge, you must detox as well.
The hormonal dysregulation that toxins cause in your body primes your cells to hold onto and make more fat while slowing your metabolism and increasing your hunger. And if that wasn’t enough, the very toxins causing the hormonal chaos then tuck themselves away into your fat tissue, making it even more challenging to convince your body to release its fat stores.
Regardless of what type of weight loss regimen you plan to follow, the first step is to ensure that your body is detoxing properly so you can open the door to those fat cells.
As you now know, heavy metals are among the most insidious toxins in our environment (and in our body). Detoxing these metals takes a tailored approach, as they can bury themselves deeply within your tissues. And once they’re liberated, you’ll want to ensure a swift elimination so they don’t redistribute into your circulation.
Through years of research, I found the ideal formula to cover all your heavy metal detox bases, and it’s called CitriCleanse.
CitriCleanse combines three functional ingredients that help to loosen toxins from your tissues, release them into circulation, and escort them out of your body once and for all:
#1. Mineralize With Humic and Fulvic Acid
Humic and fulvic acid are rich in minerals that help to push heavy metals out of your tissues. In this way, they act as natural chelators, loosening the toxins from their stronghold in your fat cells while also enhancing your digestion and absorption of nutrients[15].
#2. Mobilize With Cilantro Extract
Cilantro extract comes in next to mobilize heavy metals that have accumulated in your tissues—bones, nervous system, and other cells. This phase is crucial for setting the stage for binding and excretion[16][17].
#3. Bind With Grapefruit Pectin
The grapefruit citrus pectin in CitriCleanse is amazingly effective at aiding your body’s innate ability to mobilize toxins and heavy metals. You need a binder like CitriCleanse when you’re doing any type of detox protocol that encourages your body to excrete and transport these impurities so that they are prevented from being reabsorbed or redistributed elsewhere in the body.
Additionally, grapefruit citrus pectin improves digestive health by supporting healthy gut bacteria! This nutrient is also a fantastic ally for weight loss as it can help reduce appetite and cravings[18][19].
On their own, fulvic and humic acid, cilantro extract, and grapefruit pectin are all powerful nutrients for detox. But when you combine the three, they are truly an unstoppable trio. CitriCleanse offers an all-in-one approach to supporting heavy metal detox, and all it takes is about 30 seconds a day.
Takeaway
If you’re losing the war with your scale, chances are you need to support your body’s detox pathways before you’re going to see any significant shifts. That said, it’s amazing how fast our bodies are willing to let go of fat once they’re liberated of toxic compounds. It may feel like your body is working against you, but the truth is that the stubborn weight you’re holding onto is there to protect you.
The best way to get rid of it? Don’t give it anything to protect you against—liberate and help eliminate those toxins.
*These statements have not been reviewed by the FDA. The information herein is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Nor is it meant to replace or act as a substitute for speaking to a medical doctor and/or licensed health practitioner. Any products discussed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. They are not intended to replace any medication, medical test(s), or healing modality prescribed by your medical doctor. Please consult with your doctor before beginning a new supplement regimen.
