Hypothesis: Rubidium connection to weight loss?

I've been tracking my food and food preparation methods and comparing those to when I seem to have an easier time dropping pounds. Based on my notes so far, here is my newest hypothesis about fighting obesity.

Rubidium. It needs to be used to modulate Na/K-ATPase signaling. 

"Obesity is a multifaceted pathophysiological condition that has been associated with lipid accumulation, adipocyte dysfunction, impaired mitochondrial biogenesis and an altered metabolic profile. Redox imbalance and excessive release of inflammatory mediators have been intricately linked in obesity-associated phenotypes. Hence, understanding the mechanisms of redox signaling pathways and molecular targets exacerbating oxidative stress is crucial in improving health outcomes. The activation of Na/K-ATPase/Src signaling, and its downstream pathways, by reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been recently implicated in obesity and subsequent nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which causes further production of ROS creating an oxidant amplification loop." ("Mechanistic Insight of Na/K-ATPase Signaling and HO-1 into Models of Obesity and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitism" Pratt et. al. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/1/87) 

Rubidium is apparently pretty reactive--more so than all the alkali metals save lithium, which incidentally is high in two things that seem to correlate with weight gain in me: milk and legumes (except peanuts)--so inserting it into the correct molecule is important. 

I think that desired molecule is Rb(CH2CH3)4, i.e., 4 ethyl groups bonded to the same rubidium atom, which looks a bit like a wavy 4-pointed star. Making it seems to be done using chloroethane as an intermediate. It can be made with ethylene (C2H4) or ethanol as a starting point and with chlorine ions and silicon as catalysts [7/21/2021 update: I think tin/lead/palladium/platinum are likely better catalysts than silicon, due to their historical and mostly vanished appearance in dishes (especially tin) and similarity in possible oxidation states. If I am correct about that, then titanium/manganese/chromium should also be possible catalysts, since they can be in the same oxidation states as tin.]. 

See the Esperanto-language wikipedia page on chloroethane for a summary of ways to form and utilize/destroy chloroethane: https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kloroetano. Here are excerpts from that page as downloaded July 10, 2021.

Unfortunately, we now have much less rubidium in our diet, due to using lots of potassium to fertilize our fields. This abstract from a paper about rubidium explains:

"According to some specialists, rubidium belongs to ultra trace elements essential for plants and animals. On the basis of the literature data and our own investigations, the rubidium contents in soil, plants and animal tissues were analyzed and the factors affecting their contents, and absorption in the trophic chain soil-plants-animals were evaluated. In the soil, the contents of rubidium are inversely correlated with the soil pH, i.e. the highest amount of rubidium can be found in the sour soil. Also, the rubidium intake by plants increases with the lower soil pH. The absorption of rubidium by plants is inhibited by a high potassium level in the soil extract. The rubidium level in plants decreases with age. Depending on the species of plants investigated in Poland, they can be arranged in accordance to the decreasing rubidium level: red clover, greenness growth, wheat and rye. The indispensability of low concentrations of rubidium was demonstrated in animals (a few mg/kg) as well as the toxicity of this element (> 1,000 mg/kg). The passage of rubidium concentrations naturally occurring from plants to animal tissues is difficult to prove. Animal brain and rib accumulate small amounts of this element, irrespective of its natural contents in plants." ("Rubidium in the trophic chain soil–plants–animals" Kosla et al. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235424761_Rubidium_in_the_trophic_chainsoil-plants-animals)

Since the "mad cow" worries of the 1990s, humans have been eating much less in the way of animal brains. 

I invite others to test this hypothesis while I continue to gather data. Red clover and fish brains have been notable in helping me lose fat in the past. 

Higher obesity rates do correlate with 1) low ethanol intake (ethanol can be easily used to make chloroethane), 2) modern cooking fuels/tools that reduce the production and persistence of ethylene (ethylene can be easily used to make chloroethane), 3) modern potassium-heavy fertilization of fields, 4) avoidance of mammal brain consumption in wake of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy scare of the mid-1990s, 5) pH increases in rain and surface groundwater due to efforts to prevent "acid rain" (the higher pH reduces Rb uptake by plants)), 6) disappearance of tin from cookware, and 7) the use of a wide variety of water filters/aerators that can remove/produce chlorine ions from water. I think this hypothesis has merit and should be investigated by people with more resources than I.