What Are Endocrine Disruptors And How To Avoid Them

The endocrine system is your body’s chemical messenger system, and it influences every single function your body performs.

There are many factors that may affect your hormone levels, and keeping your hormones healthy is necessary to ensure your whole body functions as it should.

Certain chemicals can interfere with your body’s production of hormones, and these chemicals are called endocrine disruptors.

As the name suggests, endocrine disruptors tend to harm your hormones by disrupting your endocrine system.

The consequences can be vast, and they can also accumulate with each exposure.

Endocrine disruptors are found in many different kinds of household products and it’s crucial you know what they are so you can avoid them.

For more information on how to eliminate these harmful chemicals from your life, you can consult with me, Dr.Sheila Dyer, a naturopathic doctor in Toronto for guidance.

In the meantime, let’s dive into what endocrine disruptors are, how they affect your body, and how you can avoid them.

What Are Endocrine Disruptors?

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals known to interfere with your endocrine system, which is the collection of glands that produce and regulate hormones.

They can be natural or artificial, and they are connected to various health issues affecting your body’s development as well as your reproductive, cognitive, and < href=”https://sheiladyernd.com/solutions/autoimmune-conditions/”>immune systems.

These chemicals can be found in various everyday products and materials, which is why it’s important to know what they are and how they can make their way into your life.

Some endocrine disruptors are difficult or slow to break down over time, so they may remain hazardous for the long term.

Exposure to these harmful chemicals may occur through water and air contact as well as through your diet or skin.

Even small amounts of endocrine disruptors can have a negative impact on your body.

But how exactly do endocrine disrupting chemicals affect your health?

Why Are Endocrine Disruptors Harmful?

Different endocrine disruptors can have different effects on your body, but what they all have in common is they affect your hormone production in some way.

They can mimic certain hormones, thereby increasing or decreasing production of others.

Endocrine disruptors can also turn some hormones into other hormones, interfere with hormone signalling, compete with essential nutrients, and accumulate in your endocrine system.

Let’s look at twelve endocrine disruptors most common in our society, how they negatively impact your health, and how you can avoid them.

1. Atrazine

Atrazine is a herbicide widely used in crop production, specifically corn crops.

It’s also sometimes used on turf such as private lawns and golf courses.

Due to its role in food production, it has been found to be a common drinking water contaminant — 94% of US drinking water tested by the USDA was found to contain atrazine.

Although atrazine is banned in the EU, it remains in use in Canada today.

Atrazine has been connected to the development of breast tumours, prostate inflammation, and delayed puberty in animals.

It has also been linked to prostate cancer in humans.

How To Avoid It

Since atrazine is most prevalent in drinking water, the best way to ensure your h2o is atrazine-free is to use a suitable water filter.

Choosing organic produce will help you make sure your produce hasn’t been treated with this herbicide.

2. Dioxin

Dioxins are a group of endocrine disruptors known to wreak havoc on your body’s reproductive hormones.

These chemical compounds form when bromine and chlorine are burned in the presence of oxygen and carbon, which occurs during various industrial processes.

Exposure to even low levels of dioxins early in life can permanently affect sperm count and quality.

Dioxins do not break down easily, and they can accumulate in your body with each exposure.

Additionally, they are carcinogens and may have a negative impact on your reproductive and immune systems.

How To Avoid It

Unfortunately dioxins are very prevalent in our food supply, especially in animal products such as fish, milk, butter, and eggs.

Cutting down on such products can help you avoid dioxins, as well as choosing low-fat or no-fat dairy options.

3. Fire Retardants

Polybrominated biphenyl ethers, also known as PBDEs or fire retardants, are persistent chemicals used to slow down or stop the spread of fire through chemical reactions that reduce flammability.

Fire retardants are also applied to materials to ensure they do not catch fire, such as electronic devices, furniture, building materials, and transportation products like vehicle seats and compartments.

PBDEs can imitate your body’s thyroid hormones, disrupting their production and activity.

How To Avoid It

Fire retardants can be difficult to avoid due to their prevalence.

You may consider upgrading your vacuum to a model that contains an HEPA filter, which can help you reduce levels of toxic house dust from furniture and other products.

If you’re replacing old carpet or old upholstery from foam furniture, take care to avoid breathing in the dust — these items often contain PBDEs.

4. Arsenic

Many recognise arsenic as the poison of choice from murder mysteries.

The reality of this chemical is much more banal, though still dangerous to your health.

Arsenic is found in water and various foods, and even a small amount has been linked to various kinds of cancer.

This endocrine disruptor can interfere with how hormones function within your glucocorticoid system, which helps your body process sugars and carbohydrates.

This means arsenic can cause weight fluctuation, insulin resistance, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and protein wasting.

How To Avoid It

As with other chemicals that affect your endocrine system, a proper water filter can help you ensure your drinking water is arsenic free.

Certain foods are known to contain small amounts of arsenic, including seafood, shellfish, seaweed, and rice/rice-based foods.

5. Mercury

Another chemical you may have heard of, mercury is a naturally occurring toxic metal produced through burning coal.

Mercury binds itself to hormones that regulate menstruation and ovulation, interfering with their ability to transmit signals.

This chemical is also known to damage the pancreatic cells responsible for producing insulin.

Pregnant individuals should take special care to avoid mercury exposure, as it is known to accumulate and interfere with fetal brain development.

How To Avoid It

The number one source of mercury is seafood, as mercury builds up within the ocean and contaminates the sea creatures within.

Fatty fish such as tuna and swordfish are known to contain higher levels of mercury, as well as mussels and other bivalves that exist to filter compounds such as metals from the water.

There are still sustainable and healthy seafood options, however — wild salmon and farmed trout are considered to contain significantly lower levels of mercury than other kinds of seafood.

6. BPA

BPA, which stands for bisphenol A, is an industrial chemical used to create certain plastics and resins.

When this synthetic chemical enters your body, it imitates estrogen and has therefore been linked to various endocrine disorders as well as breast cancer, early puberty, and heart disease.

How To Avoid It

Fortunately, BPA can be easy to spot and avoid.

Many food cans are lined with BPA, so you can either choose fresh foods or look into specific companies online to determine whether or not they use BPA in their packaging.

Plastics labelled “PC” for polycarbonate or recycling level #7 often but do not always contain BPA.

Also, say no to a paper receipt not only for the environment — the thermal paper your receipt is printed on is often coated with BPA.

7. Organophosphate Pesticides

This group of chemical compounds were manufactured in large amounts (and thankfully never used) as weapons in World War II, though scientists continued developing them as pesticides.

Organophosphate compounds are neurotoxic chemicals used to eliminate insects by targeting their nervous systems, and they are one of the most commonly used pesticides today.

Exposure to these chemicals can have a negative impact on fertility and brain development, plus many more harmful potential outcomes.

Organophosphate compounds are also known to interfere with how testosterone communicates with other cells, which can lower testosterone levels and alter the levels of other thyroid hormones.

How To Avoid It

The best way to avoid these harmful pesticides is to purchase organic produce.

For produce to be certified organic, the farms have to comply with a wide variety of regulations, including no synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers such as organophosphate compounds.

8. Perchlorate

A common component of rocket fuel and explosives, perchlorate is a chemical that, upon exposure, competes with the nutrient iodine within your body.

This chemical is found as an impurity in hypochlorite solutions, which are used for drinking water treatment.

Your thyroid gland requires iodine to produce hormones, which is how perchlorate interferes with your balance of thyroid hormones.

Proper thyroid hormone levels are necessary for growth, organ and brain development, and the regulation of your metabolism.

How To Avoid It

You can avoid exposure to perchlorate by installing a reverse osmosis water filter.

Although there’s no real way to eliminate the presence of this chemical through food supply, you can instead ensure you’re getting sufficient amounts of iodine.

Speak to your naturopathic doctor about your iodine levels – supplementing with iodine is often unnecessary and can sometimes do more harm than good.

9. Glycol Ethers

Glycol ethers, or PGEs, are a group of chemicals used as solvents in cleaning products, paints, brake fluid, and some cosmetics.

These chemical compounds have been linked to fertility issues as well as development problems in young children.

PGEs have also been linked to the development of asthma and allergies in children exposed through the fresh paint in their bedrooms.

How To Avoid It

The first step is to educate yourself on the different chemicals contained within household cleaning products.

Glycol ethers are a group of chemicals such as 2-butoxyethanol and methoxydigylcol, which you should look to avoid when purchasing products.

You should also wear proper protective gear such as goggles and gloves when handling products containing glycol ethers — both skin contact and vapours should be avoided.

10. PFCs (Perfluorinated Chemicals)

Although non-stick cooking pans are found in most households across the country, you may want to switch to cast iron.

Perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, are used to create the non-stick layer on such cookware.

PFOA, one chemical in the PFC family, is completely resistant to biodegrading, which means it will never break down in the environment.

These harmful chemicals have been linked to kidney disease, low sperm quality, low birth weight, high cholesterol, and thyroid disease.

Research is ongoing into how exactly PFCs affect your endocrine system, but animal studies have shown an impact on thyroid and reproductive hormone levels.

How To Avoid It

Perfluorinated chemicals were widely used as coatings on various products.

They may leech from these coatings onto your skin through contact.

Clothing, furniture, and carpets labelled as stain- or water-resistant should be avoided, as well as non-stick pans.

11. Phthalates

This next endocrine disruptor triggers your body’s natural process that tells your cells to die, which is a problem for obvious reasons.

Phthalates are used in plastic production to make them flexible and difficult to break, which is why they’re called plasticizers.

They have been observed to trigger cell death, or “death-inducing signalling” in testicular cells, causing them to die sooner than they should.

Phthalates have also been connected to low sperm count and quality, hormone imbalances, birth defects, diabetes, and thyroid irregularities.

How To Avoid It

Phthalates can be found in many plastic products, from food contains to children’s toys to plastic wrap.

These products may be labelled with the recycling label #3.

If you’re concerned about a particular product, you can call the company or do some online research to ensure your specific product doesn’t contain phthalates.

Skincare and other personal care products sometimes contain hidden phthalates labelled as “fragrance”, so you should look to avoid these products next time you’re at the pharmacy.

12. Lead

This final endocrine disruptor on our list, another heavy metal, is widely regarded as toxic and has been recorded as one of the oldest known environmental hazards.

Lead can have a wide variety of impacts on your health, and exposure can cause harm to nearly every system of your body.

It can disrupt the hormone signalling that regulates stress, as well as lower sex hormone levels.

Additionally, lead can cause brain damage, hearing loss, increased blood pressure, premature birth, and miscarriage.

How To Avoid It

Old paint is at risk of containing lead, due to how lead paint was commonly used up until the 1970s.

If you’re looking to dispose of crumbling old paint in your house, consider contacting a professional and limit your exposure to the material.

Sadly, lead paint has a sweet taste to it, which can sometimes draw young children to eat chipped paint with lead in it.

This can lead to major developmental issues.

Lead can also be present in drinking water, which is why a good drinking filter may be a good addition to your household.

Book An Appointment With Dr. Sheila Dyer, ND

Endocrine disruptors are everywhere, from food to building materials to everyday items.

However, you can make choices to avoid exposure and help rid your body of these harmful chemicals.

Ensuring your hormone levels are healthy and balanced is immensely important for your overall health.

For more information on how to ensure the health of your endocrine system, book an appointment with me, Dr. Sheila Dyer, naturopathic doctor in Toronto.

I’d love to work with you, address any concerns you may have, and help you achieve optimal health.

Book an appointment with me today – I can help.