XENOESTROGENS
Can your nail polish remover delay your menses ? Can your commercial sanitary pads make you gain weight ? Can your Creams , shampoos , toothpaste cause Breast cancer? Research shows that the answers to all these questions is “YES”, as all these cosmetics products are high in Xenoestrogen, popularly known as Estrogen Imposter or Man Made Estrogen. These imposters are responsible for symptoms of Estrogen dominance like hair loss, mood swings & irritability,increased PMS, breast tenderness,ovarian cysts, infertility, water retention & bloating, fat gain, especially around hips & thighs and many more. So,let me reveal the dirty secrets of these cosmetic and some of the daily use products and how they are influenzing our hormonal balances. But, firstly…….
WHAT ARE MAN MADE ESTROGEN ?
Xenoestrogens are a type of xenohormone that imitates natural estrogen. Popularly known as "Foreign Estrogen” . Though we find some plant-derived xenoestrogens as well i.e. phytoestrogens which are mainly found in soy, oats, barley, some fungi etc,but many of these foreign estrogen are Man Made. And as too many chef spoil the cake , too much estrogen spoil our health.
The man-made toxins like plastics, cosmetics, insecticides, pesticides are all estrogen imposters overstimulating the cellular activity to an uncontrollable extent and contribute in creating a havoc on internal balancing mechanisms of the body. Thus resulting in estrogen burden and estrogen dominance diseases.
ESTROGEN IMPOSTERS : Silent killers
Research has shown that constant exposure to these xenoestrogen not only leads to hormonal imbalance but also increases the risk of many potential diseases (1,2,3,4,5,6,7) like
1. Breast cancer
2. Endometriosis
3. Precocious puberty
4. Infertility :male – female both
5. Miscarriages
6. Decrease sperm count
7. Prostrate and testicular cancers
8. Thyroid disorders
9. Diabetes
10. Behavioral abnormalities in children
HOW AM I GETTING EXPOSED TO XENOESTROGEN ?
In our daily lives, we are in constant exposure to these foreign estrogens and it is our ignorance and lack of awareness which is making us unhealthy day by day. We cherish these sources as they make our lives easy and convenient , but are they really our friends? Well may be not. Though there are many ways by which we allow these xenoestrogen enter our system, but few very frequently used products which are laden with these imposters are as follows:
1. Food :
Commercially-raised meat and diary products
Foods with insecticide or pesticide residues
Artificial food additives esp. Propyl gallate and 4- hexylresorcinol, artificial ,preservatives and MSG
Canned foods
Soya protein and soy isolates
Plastic wrapped food esp. when heated in microwave
2. Tap water as contaminated with petroleum derivatives
3. Cosmetics and personal care products : The most dangerous fact about the skin products with xenoestrogens is they are taken up by the tissues directly through skin without undergoing the detoxification process in liver.So they’re 100% absorbed by the body and can be 10 times more potent than those consumed orally. Following are few products loaded with xenoestrogens :
Products containing Paraben or Phenoxyethanol chemical compounds used as preservative in many daily products like Shampoos, lotions, soaps, toothpastes, cosmetics and other personal care products and pharmaceutical industries
Acetone in nail polish and nail polish remover.
Menstrual disposable products treated with chlorine, fragrance, wax, surfactant, rayon. In conventional tampons, the FDA has detected dioxins, a class of chemical contaminants that may increase the risk of cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, heart disease and diabetes. (8).
Fragrance products, everything which smells good except for essential oils is actually a xenoestrogen.
4. Plastics : Soft plastics used as packaging materials .
5. Dryer sheets
6. Birth control pills and conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
WAYS TO MINIMIZE THE EXPOSURE…
Cut down your consumption of commercial meat and diary, and consume hormone-free, grass-fed, and humanely raised animal products and local fruits , vegetables whenever you can.
Avoid all pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Choose organic foods and avoid processed foods as they are loaded with preservatives. Eat organic soybeans, edamame, tofu or tempeh instead.
Use filtered water to drink and bathe in to avoid chlorine. Do not leave plastic containers, especially your drinking water, in the sun. or reuse plastic water bottles or for freezing water.
Avoid the use of plastic wrap to cover food for storing or microwaving and do not microwave food in plastic containers. Use glass or ceramics whenever possible to store food. Avoid drinking coffee or other hot liquids in Styrofoam cups
Use chlorine free tampons, menstrual pads, toilet paper, paper towel, coffee filters, etc. Use chemical free toothpastes ,soaps and biodegradable laundry and household cleaning products whenever possible.
Consider using Biodegradable pads or organic disposable pads like Saathi, Purganics, and Natracare. Reusable pads or cups like Saukhyam ,Ecofemme or DivaCups, Bamboo Mama Cloth Reusable Menstrual Pads or Diva Cup Reusable Menstrual Cup instead.
Read the labels on condoms and diaphragm gels.
Avoid creams and cosmetics that have toxic chemicals and estrogenic ingredients such as parabens and stearal konium chloride. Use naturally based fragrances, such as essential oils.
Minimize your exposure to nail polish and nail polish removers.
Be aware of noxious gas such as from copiers and printers, carpets, fiberboards, and at the gas pump.
Avoid dryer sheets. Use a natural liquid fabric softener or ½ cup of baking soda in the rinse cycle instead.
For ladies who use birth control pills as a way to regulate their periods, I can tell you that this is not a viable long-term solution, and it often does not address the underlying root causes of the imbalance.
The intension of this article is not to make you paranoid but rather aware of your environment. Knowledge is power, but sometimes wisdom leave you fearful and many times it make you careful. Right from the beginning I always took great care about the menstrual hygiene and yet everytime I would land up into lots of discomfort post menses. So,after I learned about the organic pads, i personally used them and trust me I no longer experience those irritations and rashes anymore and ofcourse i took a step to limit my exposure to these xenoestrogen.
So, let us use this knowledge for ourselves and our families to live a simple and organic life and give our body a chance to heal itself, and our endocrine system will regain its natural balance and harmony. Also you may seek the help of your physician if you are facing the issues of hormonal imbalance as sometimes medical intervention becomes a necessity and you may get it treated in a natural and gentle way through homoeopathy.
If you like this article don’t forget to share and like it. Also I would like to hear from you. How enligtening this article was for you ? What are some of the ways that you have reduced your xenoestrogen exposure? What are you willing to try removing based on above list? Please share your thoughts in the comments below:
Refrences :
1) https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/xenoestrogen
2) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jat.1200
3) https://academic.oup.com/carcin/article/27/8/1567/2476178
4) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1521690X05000746?via%3Dihub
5) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1365-2605.2003.00367.x
6) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128008720000081
7) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1365-2605.2003.00367.x