Losing weight can release pollutants into the blood

Adipose tissue (fat) is the body's primary storage depot for environmental toxins. There they can be sequestered from the circulation and other tissues. A study just published in the International Journal of Obesity reveals that weight loss can release toxic pollutants into the circulation with potential adverse consequences for health. The authors state:

"There is emerging evidence that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can increase the risk of various chronic diseases. As POPs mainly bioaccumulate in adipose tissue, weight change can affect serum concentrations of POPs."

The authors set out to examine serum concentrations of seven POPs in association with weight change over 1 year and 10 year periods in 1,099 adults age 40 or older. What did their data show?

"Serum concentrations of most POPs were higher in those with long-term weight loss, whereas they were lower in those with long-term weight gain. Weight change for 1 year showed similar but weaker associations, compared with those of long-term weight changes."

Their conclusion contains a note of irony:

"Although both beneficial health effects after weight loss and harmful health effects after weight gain are generally expected, changes in serum concentrations of POPs in relation to weight change may act on health in directions opposite to what we expect with weight change."

There are ample resources in the functional medicine model to objectively investigate the release of toxins into circulation, the presence or absence of harm from them, and the capacity of the individual to metabolize and eliminate them efficiently. The complete picture is too extensive for this post, but the casual reader may be interested in simple tests for blood contamination by volatile solvents, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and chlorinated pesticides.