What you choose to cook, clean, and put on your body can all play a critical role in overall health. Cleaning products and personal care products can expose you to environmental toxins that can impact your hormones, metabolism, and mental health. The most common environmental toxins are endocrine disruptors. These disrupt your hormones by mimicking your own hormones, blocking hormone receptors, or altering hormonal pathways.
Xenoestrogens, mimic estrogen in your body and add to the total estrogen in your body, leading to estrogen dominance. One common xenoestrogen that we are exposed to regularly is BPA. BPA can be found in canned food linings, plastics, store receipts, baby bottles, and some dental sealants. BPA can build up in the body and has been linked to obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, infertility, hormone imbalances, late puberty onset, and behavioral issues in children. We come into contact with these chemical daily and it is increasingly becoming hard to avoid them! So how can you reduce your exposure to BPA? Choosing BPA free products is a great first step! Choose products that are sold in glass over plastics, swap your plastic water bottle for stainless steel or glass, and avoid handling receipts. You can always choose to opt for an email receipts instead, this way your saving yourself form BPA exposure.
Conditions associated with disruptions in our hormones due to exposure to endocrine disruptors include PMS, fibrocystic breasts, estrogen dominance, painful periods, infertility, endometriosis, and cervical dysplasia. We come into contact with many endocrine disruptors daily and it is hard to fully avoid our exposure to them.
Don’t fret! There are many simple ways to reduce your environmental toxin load. Begin with a few small steps and work your way through this list as you reduce your toxic burden. Here are a few of the easiest ways to reduce your toxic load:
- Avoid drinking from plastic water bottles
- Avoid collecting or holding receipts, chose email receipts instead
- Choose BPA free products
- Never microwave plastic
- Switch from plastic food containers to glass or stainless steel
- Avoid Teflon non-stick cookware. Instead choose cast-iron, stainless steel, or ceramic.
- Choose organic tampons or try a menstrual cup
- Try a cleaning solution of white vinegar , baking soda, and essential oils
- Avoid all synthetic fragrances including home fragrances and scented candles
- Choose organic foods when possible
- For clean skincare , visit EWG.org Skin Deep database and choose products that are certified by the EWG
- Use a high quality air purifier with HEPA filter
- Filter your water! I like the Aquasana or Berkey water filters
- Support detoxification by sweating regularly or using a infrared sauna
- Exercise daily
- Take your shoes off in your home
- Keep windows open to get fresh air inside the home
- Avoid synthetic home fragrances and scented candles
I’m also including a list of the top endocrine disruptors to avoid. These include:
- BPA and BHT
- Phthalates
- Parabens
- Fragrances
- Perchlorate
- Fire Retardants
- Dioxin
- Lead
- Mercury
- Arsenic
- Perfluorinated chemicals
- Atrazine
- Organophosphate
- Glycol Esters
- Plastics
I know the process of reducing your exposure of endocrine disruptors might feel daunting at first. Remember you don’t have to make all these changes at once. Instead, start with a few changes until you are ready to take on more changes. Remember the benefits these changes have on your overall health and the benefits for your hormones and your children’s. You got this!
