Is this the real reason you can’t lose that belly?

You’re eating better, exercising more, and even doing that “far away” parking trick that makes you walk more every day.

So… why is it you’re not losing an ounce? You might even be gaining weight!

It could be because of a sneaky, almost invisible menace known as “chemical calories.”

And I’m not talking about chemicals you might be eating. No, these substances lurk where you would least expect to find something that can cause you to pack on the pounds.

You could say, they’re right under your nose.

A growing dust dossier
Could house dust be causing you to gain weight?

Dust particles aren’t just something that coats tables, bric-a-brac and books — they’re also carriers for bits of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, which are generated by all kinds of things found right in our homes.

They can come from things like flame retardant chemicals added to furniture, as well as phthalates used in items ranging from carpets to shampoos and scented laundry detergent.

When inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through our skin, they can interfere with or even imitate the hormones in our bodies.

But what the latest research out of Duke University has confirmed is that these chemicals found in dust can also stimulate the growth of fat cells!

In fact, extracts from 7 of 11 dust samples collected from typical North Carolina homes actually caused cells taken from mice to develop “mature fat cells.” Those dust chemicals also acted like an “easy pass” for the fat cells to accumulate more triglycerides.

And triglycerides are not something you want high amounts of in your blood, as they’ve been clearly linked to an increased risk of hardening of the arteries, stroke, and heart disease.

On top of that, nine of the samples caused those cells to divide and multiply, making the conditions just right for “a larger pool” of fat cells to form!

And these harmful effects have been found in very small amounts – a mere 3 mcg that represents a tiny fraction of the 50-mg dose of dust the EPA estimates an average child gets every day.

Only one dust sample they experimented on had no effect. Just one!

So, the first thing you probably want to know is how to boot these EDCs out of your home.

Well, while that’s easier said than done, there are some very effective ways to keep levels down as much as possible.

Of course, living in a totally dust-free environment isn’t possible unless we move to a sterile bubble! But what we can do is take three steps to lower that dust burden as much as we can:

#1: Never “dry dust” furniture, which only spreads the dust around. Either use a damp cloth, a duster sprayed with water or a non-toxic cleaner, or the dusting attachment on your vacuum.

#2: If you don’t already have one, buy a vacuum with a HEPA filter to keep more dust trapped in the canister instead of sending it back into the air.

#3: Buy a portable room HEPA air filter. That will further reduce dust along with animal dander, pollen, and other allergens.

And if you’re going to be doing any furniture shopping, make sure that what you buy has a label saying it contains “NO added flame retardant chemicals.”

What you don’t want to see is a notice saying the item complies with “technical bulletin 117,” as it likely means the piece was doused in one of those flame-retardant chemicals.

“House dust spurs growth of fat cells in lab tests” American Chemical Society, July 12, 2017, ScienceDaily, sciencedaily.com