You may not think that hormones, plastics and our food (especially conventional / non-organic animal produce & dairy) seem related, but heres how they are..
Plastic (not so) fantastic
Most of us have heard of ‘BPA’. In a nutshell, BPA is a type of plastic. We see “BPA Free” labelled everywhere, but keep in mind, there was a time, not so long ago, when BPA was considered a’ok for us too.
BPA was first synthesised in the 1890’s and used as a synthetic estrogen until the 1930’s. Its use was replaced by a new drug, ‘DES’, which quickly became the synthetic estrogen of choice. DES was widely prescribed for preventing spontaneous abortion. Considered safe and effective, it eventually became the norm to prescribe it for healthy pregnancies too. An estimated 2 – 8million pregnancies worldwide were teated with DES. Like many other things (eg: smoking being recommended by Doctors), years later the detrimental effects of this caught up with us. We now know, the use of DES led to a high incidence of reproductive dysfunction and low incidence of vaginal cancer in offspring, due to its estrogenic activity.
BPA was also used to enhance the rapid growth of cattle and poultry, making it more profitable, and of course, via our ingestion, bringing it into our body’s.
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals
BPA is considered an endocrine disrupting chemical, or ‘EDC’. EDCs play havoc with our endocrine, or hormonal system. EDCs include fire retardants from new clothes, carpets and furnishings; insecticides; chemicals in personal care and cleaning products, etc. Keep in mind, those synthetic air fresheners that people like to hang from their rear view vision mirrors in cars too – they merely envelope you in a toxic cloud of sorts!
To our body, BPA looks like estrogen. Compounds like BPA are termed xenoestrogens, and our body cant tell the difference between natural estrogens and xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens can stop, start, up regulate or down regulate hormonal processes in the body, leading to all manner of health, hormonal and weight related problems.
BPA Free
So what about BPA ‘Free’ – they’re ok right? Lets keep in mind that not too long ago BPA was considered safe. The letters ‘BP’ in BPA stand for bisphenol, and we cannot make plasticisers without some form of this. I repeat, all plastics contain some form of BP..
Our body can’t tell the difference
We need estrogen, but in balance to other hormones. When we have too much, whether its our natural estrogen or external ‘xenoestrogens’, it can lead to estrogen dominant conditions such as reproductive cancers (especially estrogen dependent ones such as breast and ovarian cancers); infertility; obesity; diabetes; early puberty; autoimmune disorders; Alzheimers; ADHD; asthma, and many more.
So what can you do today?
- Dont buy food wrapped in plastic, and if you absolutely must, discard the plastic as soon as you can
- Store food and drink in glass or stainless steel containers, never plastic
- Opt for 100% plant based and organic skin care brands
- Clean with baking soda, vinegar and Eucalyptus oil. There are SO many green cleaning, plant based products on the market if you prefer to buy them this way too
- Ditch the air fresheners in the car. If you need these, opt for pure essential oil burners (yes, they are widely available!). If you find yourself in a car with one, open the windows!
- Opt for organic animal products only, including dairy. Conventional, non organic forms are loaded with chemicals including xenoestrogens
We offer a 21 Day Detox Program at Saltuary. We’ve had loads of people reset their health with this easy and effective program. Click here for more on this.
Keen to clean your body up?
If you are struggling with hormonal balance, stress, obesity, autoimmune conditions, etc., or if you are simply wanting to ensure you are the healthiest xenoestrogen free person you can be, book in for a consultation with our Naturopath or Chiropractor today!