Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – this one’s for all!
There’s a disturbing trend in health from something called ‘xenoestrogens’ – compounds that act like estrogens from outside sources.
These are human-made chemicals that mimic estrogen, have estrogenic activity in the body and negatively impact hormone balance.
Medically these are called “endocrine disruptors”.
Estrogen mimickers can lead to:
- In men: larger breasts, smaller muscles, larger bellies, lower libido, prostate problems
- In women: rough PMS, increased depression, higher body fat, higher risk of breast cancer
- In kids: precocious (early) puberty
In everyone, excessive estrogen increases the risk of cancer, heart attack, and stroke! Scary right?
My intention isn’t to promote fear, but to highlight WHY it’s so important to eat organic (which also helps avoid glyphosate – another estrogen mimicker from pesticides) and live a low-tox lifestyle.
⚠️Bisphenol-A (or BPA) is a potent estrogen mimicker found in plastic bottles, plastic cups, containers labeled #7 in the little recycling triangle, and most canned food linings (even organic!).
Instead choose:
✔️stainless steel or glass water bottles and filter your home water
✔️cans certified BPA-free or foods in glass or paper cartons instead (better yet choose fresh whole foods!)
✔️replace plastic storage containers with glass
✔️ask the cashier for no receipt or as a minimum avoid touching the ink
⚠️Triclosan is another potent endocrine disruptor found in antibacterial soaps, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorants, and first-aid creams.
✔️Remember! Your skin is your largest mouth! Visit EWG.org and type in ‘triclosan’ to avoid brands using this ingredient.
⚠️Phthalates are commonly found in synthetic fragrances. Products that help make-up “stick” are also guilty. Instead:
✔️open windows or purchase a quality home air filter
✔️Switch to safer cosmetics
Glyphostate is another endocrine disrupting pesticide chemical sprayed on conventional produce. Choosing more organic foods can help reduce your toxic burden. If budget is a concern, prioritize your organic spend on animal products and produce found on EWG’s “Dirty Dozen” list of produce found to retain the most pesticide residues.
Final note…
My intent here is not to promote fear, but instead to raise awareness about the fact that the CUMULATIVE effect of all these human-made chemicals can unknowingly wreak havoc on our health.
Each person’s genetic detox abilities also plays a role. Some people make super clean/conscious health choices, and yet surprisingly still develop cancer due to genetic polymorphisms/SNPs that compromise their detox ability.
I see this often in clients with a strong family history of cancer. Therefore, the goal is to do our best to minimize our toxic burden as much as possible within our means.
Now I can understand how overwhelming this information can feel if you’re just starting out on your health journey, so if you need some hand-holding and an easy place to start, my Beginner’s Health Roadmap inside the B Better membership can help give you a step-by-step plan so you can feel confident and start making changes right away.
And if you have any comments or questions at all, please feel free to leave them below.
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