Household Danger Increases Diabetes Risk (Shocking!)
Modern comforts might be convenient… but they’re rarely healthy.
The health risks of being too sedentary is the perfect example.
Lack of activity increases your risk of obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes… and early death.
But there’s another major risk that comes from sitting on your couch that has nothing to do with being too sedentary.
The threat is coming from the sofa itself.
Sitting on your sofa too much could be a double whammy when it comes to type 2 diabetes.
The first reason is obvious… the more you SIT and the less you MOVE, the higher your risk of being overweight and diabetic.
It even increases your risk of an early death.
But there’s another reason your sofa could be causing diabetes.
A study in mice found that exposure to a certain chemical in sofas can increase glucose intolerance, high blood sugar levels, insulin insensitivity, and low blood insulin levels.
All of these are the hallmarks of type 2 diabetes.
This study also revealed something equally alarming—these dangerous chemicals could be passed from mothers to their babies, with equally damaging results.
The dangerous chemicals are called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, and they’re flame-retardant chemicals put in everything from sofas to upholstery, to electronics.
The good news is that PBDEs have been banned from production and import in the US. But years of including them in countless household products—coupled with inadequate recycling of products that contain them—has caused them to leach into groundwater, soil, and even the air.
And they continue to be found in the bloodwork of people all around the world.
This particular study was a mouse study, but it confirms what we already know about PBDEs… they’re bad news when it comes to your health.
If you’re in the market for new furniture, be sure it DOESN’T contain PBDEs.
In the meantime, the less you’re sitting on your sofa, the better.
