Something I wish we all knew about sooner, before we spent loads of money on expensive skincare, fake tan and plug in airfresheners is that there are chemicals in the products we use every day that mimic our sex hormones.
These are known as Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) and Xenoestrogens (fake/synthetic oestrogen). They mimic our natural hormones but give us none of the benefits of our natural hormones.
They affect things like your adrenals, your thyroid, as well as the hormones that your ovaries make (like oestrogen, progesterone, and even testosterone). This can lead to an overall imbalance in your hormones.
They’ve also been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, birth defects, infertility, and even lowered IQ!
They can also cause early-onset puberty, fertility issues, and early menopause.
So for example, the fake oestrogen found in everyday products will mimic your natural oestrogen. This means your ovaries might be producing oestrogen just fine but you still have the symptoms of high oestrogen - PMS, tender breasts, heavy periods, clots, and making oestrogen driven conditions like fibroids and endometreosis worse.
This is the way that environmental toxins can lead to excess oestrogen, or what's known as oestrogen dominance. Oestrogen dominance and low progesterone, particularly in the luteal phase is the root cause of so many hormone health and fertility issues.
Because our environment is so filled with these chemicals (both inside and outside our home), our bodies are constantly inundated with, and exposed to, xenoestrogens.
Through the products that we use every day.
Whether that’s personal care and make-up that we put directly onto our skin or spray onto us.
Home cleaning - products we inhale or come into contact with from our clothes, dishes etc
Or the material that we use when we’re cooking, that we sleep on and in. There are potential environmental toxins everywhere. So many places that I had never even considered until I started on this journey to heal my thyroid condition (hypothyroidism) so that I could ditch acne, brain fog, low mood, zero livido and chronic fatigue.
Environmental toxins are a HUGE topic that I go into great detail with my 1:1 clients and Hormone Harmony Collective members - but we are going to cover the basics here so you can get off to a flying start.
When it comes to the things you put on your skin it's as important, if not MORE important than what you eat.
How come? Up to 80% of what you put onto your skin gets directly absorbed into the bloodstream. There’s no filtration with your skin like you have with your gut.
I’m going to teach you the three most common ingredients to look out for when checking your products. To start you on your environmental toxin journey these are only ones you need to look for.
FRAGRANCE / PARFUM
A vague term that captures a chemical cocktail of up to 3000 undisclosed ingredients.
Effects: Endocrine disruptor, reproductive system disruptor, irritants that can trigger allergies, migraines, and asthma symptoms.
Commonly found in: laundry detergents, perfumes, lotions, and many more.
PHTHALATES
Used to make fragrances last longer or certain plastics uber-bendy.
Effects: Endocrine disruptor, carcinogen.
Commonly found in: laundry detergents, fabric softeners, hair spray, nail polish, perfume, and moisturisers.
PHENOXYETHANOL
A Preservative in cosmetics, often found in "clean" products.
Effects: Skin and eye irritant, reproductive toxicity.
Commonly found in: Cosmetics and personal care products.
The term fragrance can disguise over 3000 undisclosed ingredients.
The main ingredients of concern in fragrance are phthalates. This is what makes fragrances “sticky” One of the best examples I can give of this is fabric softener and how they boast that fragrances can last up to 12 weeks.
The problem with phthalates is that they're a known endocrine disruptor, which means they disrupt the normal function of our hormones, they can:
Anecdotally, from personal experience, I know that ditching environmental toxins was key to supporting my thyroid health and healing adult acne, brain fog, fatigue, low mood and to FINALLY get my libido back.
Removing these fake fragrances is also really going to help with things like headaches, migraine, allergies, skin issues.
The good news about phthalates is that they don't stay in the body for long like some chemicals. So ditching the synthetic fragrances out of your home is just about the quickest change you can make towards creating a nourishing environment.
Easy steps to ditch fake fragrances in your home graphic: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGAbzYOB1c/ZKXrUU0rWg0KOlBkJsK1xA/edit?utm_content=DAGAbzYOB1c&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutto
The primary source of exposure to BPA for most people is through the diet. BPA is used to line most food and drinks containers and accounts for the majority of daily human exposure.
Bisphenol A can leach into food from the protective internal epoxy resin coatings of canned foods and from consumer products such as polycarbonate tableware, food storage containers, water bottles, and baby bottles. The degree to which BPA leaches from polycarbonate bottles into liquid may depend more on the temperature of the liquid or bottle, than the age of the container.
A range of health organisations are concerned about scientific research which suggests that the hormone-disrupting properties of BPA can cause serious endocrine disruption and lead to significant health issues.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has classed BPA as an endocrine disruptor and “substance of very high concern,” https://echa.europa.eu/hot-topics/bisphenol-a
Research suggests that BPA mimics the hormone oestrogen in the body, throwing the endocrine system out of balance and contributing to breast cancer, prostate cancer, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, infertility and reproductive issues and damage to DNA. - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Seachrist+bisphenol
It is now estimated to be present in between 93-99.5% of the population and has been detected in human sweat, urine, breast milk and other body tissues and fluid
According to Breast Cancer UK, diet is the main cause of exposure to BPA, and the organisation is calling for it to be removed from all food packaging. https://www.breastcanceruk.org.uk/news/what-if-bpa-was-only-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/
The primary source of exposure to BPA for most people is through the diet. BPA is used to line most food and drinks containers and accounts for the majority of daily human exposure.
Bisphenol A can leach into food from the protective internal epoxy resin coatings of canned foods and from consumer products such as polycarbonate tableware, food storage containers, water bottles, and baby bottles. The degree to which BPA leaches from polycarbonate bottles into liquid may depend more on the temperature of the liquid or bottle, than the age of the container.
A range of health organisations are concerned about scientific research which suggests that the hormone-disrupting properties of BPA can cause serious endocrine disruption and lead to significant health issues.
Most of us are keen to reduce our plastic use to help our planet. You can easily ditch plastic by opting for metal water bottles (you’ve probably all seen the big bottle I carry around from Klean Kanteen and could do the same with lunch boxes and storage containers. Also opt for glass storage using old jars etc. linked in resource to go with this module
As I mentioned this is particularly important when using for food storage when the temp changes - freezing or hot meals, do not heat things up in a plastic container in the microwave. Salad in plastic etc should be fine as no change in temp
Thermal receipts – Say 'no thank you' to receipts you don't actually need to keep and don't get the ATM receipt when you get money out! BPA was to be phased out on receipts in EU but there’s concerns that it will be replaced with chemical BPS which may have similar health implications.
Same with coffee cup lids - take your keep cup or take 10 mins to enjoy - joyriding
Canned foods – Important to seek out non-BPA lined tins and for tomatoes, being acidic, to not get tins at all (aluminium and acid aren't friends and we don't want aluminium leaching into the tomatoes!) and moving to a glass jar "passata" or fresh tomatoes in the summer time, for cooking with tomatoes. Stick to these brands if buying canned: Fish4Ever, bioma (linked in resources)
This is another case of greenwashing I’m afraid as it's becoming apparent that some BPA-free plastics are worse than their BPA counterparts in terms of oestrogen mimicking and obesogenic properties. NO thanks, so it’s important to reduce our plastic use for planet and us as much as possible.
Don’t risk it when there are so many great options out there!