Worst Endocrine Disruptors Revealed, and They Could Be Raising Your
Family’s Cancer Risk
November 13, 2013
Story at-a-glance
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A number of common chemicals in your home and environment are known
as endocrine disruptors, many of which are found in plastic products
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Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are similar in structure to natural
sex hormones such as estrogen, thereby interfering with their normal
functions. Children are at greatest risk for adverse effects
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12 worst endocrine disruptors are: BPA, dioxin, Atrazine,
phthalates, perchlorate, fire retardants, lead, mercury, arsenic,
PFC’s, organophosphate pesticides, and glycol ethers
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The connection between endocrine disrupting chemicals and cancer is
of particular concern. Children who are exposed to these chemicals
from a young age may be predisposed to cancer at increasingly
earlier ages
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A recent report co-produced by the World Health Organization and the
United Nations Environment Program suggests a ban on endocrine
disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may actually be needed to protect the
health of future generations
By Dr. Mercola
Common household goods, personal care products, and even food
and water, are major sources of chemical exposure that can lead
to an accumulation of toxins in your body. For obvious reasons,
children are at greatest risk for adverse effects.
Many common household chemicals are known as endocrine
disruptors, a number of which are found in plastic products.
These chemicals are similar in structure to natural sex hormones
such as estrogen, thereby interfering with their normal
functions.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently published a
list of the 12 worst hormone-disrupting chemicals you may be
coming into contact with on a regular basis. As stated in their
report:1
“There is no end to the tricks that endocrine
disruptors can play on our bodies: increasing production of
certain hormones; decreasing production of others; imitating
hormones; turning one hormone into another; interfering with
hormone signaling; telling cells to die prematurely;
competing with essential nutrients; binding to essential
hormones; accumulating in organs that produce hormones.”
The 12 Worst Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals
The EWG report includes many of the most well-known hormone
wreckers, but also contains some that may surprise you, such as
lead, mercury and arsenic. While these are known for other
harmful health effects, hormone disruption is not typically
discussed in relation to them.
In all, the EWG’s “dirty dozen” list for the 12 worst
endocrine disruptors are the following2.
I’ve written about many of these in prior articles, so for more
information about any particular one, please follow the links
provided.
Landmark Report Links Common Household Chemicals to Human
Disease
Earlier this year, the World Health Organization (WHO)
announced3
a new report co-produced with the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP), titled: State of the Science of
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals. The report suggests that
outright banning endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may
actually be needed to protect the health of future
generations...
The joint study has been touted as the most comprehensive
report on endocrine disrupting chemicals to date, and it too
flags several of the most common culprits, including
Bisphenol-A (BPA), PCB’s, phthalates and agricultural
pesticides. According to the report, a wide variety of health
problems are associated with exposure to these pervasive
chemicals, including:
Non-descended testes in young males |
Developmental effects on the nervous system in children
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Prostate cancer in men |
Developmental effects on the nervous system in children
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Attention deficit /hyperactivity in children |
Thyroid cancer |
According to the report:
“The diverse systems affected by
endocrine-disrupting chemicals likely include all hormonal
systems and range from those controlling development and
function of reproductive organs to the tissues and organs
regulating metabolism and satiety.
Effects on these systems can lead to obesity,
infertility or reduced fertility, learning and memory
difficulties, adult-onset diabetes or cardiovascular
disease, as well as a variety of other diseases.”
Are Personal Care Products Driving Up Breast Cancer Rates in
Younger Women?
The connection between endocrine disrupting chemicals and
cancer is of particular concern, especially when it comes to
children, whose exposure to these chemicals from a young age may
predispose them to cancer at increasingly earlier ages. This is
precisely what we’re seeing, as record numbers of women under
the age of 50 are now being diagnosed with
breast cancer.
Dr. Christine Horner, a board certified general and plastic
surgeon specializing in breast reconstructive surgery due to
mastectomy, has also discussed how her patients kept getting
increasingly younger... Could exposure to endocrine disrupting
chemicals be to blame?
A study published last year suggests that parabens from
antiperspirants and other cosmetics indeed appear to increase
your risk of breast cancer4.
The research, which was also reviewed in an editorial published
in the Journal of Applied Toxicology, looked at where breast
tumors were appearing, and determined that higher concentrations
of parabens were found in the upper quadrants of the breast and
axillary area, where antiperspirants are usually applied5.
Quite shockingly, the paraben residues were found at
concentrations up to 1 million times higher
than the estrogen (estradiol) levels naturally found in human
breast tissue! Clearly these chemicals are accumulating at
alarmingly high concentrations, likely because of their
widespread and persistent daily use. Previous research has shown
that women absorb an estimated five pounds of chemicals
a year from their daily makeup routine alone.
While parabens are not included on the EWG’s list of the
worst endocrine disrupters out there, there’s plenty of evidence
showing that
parabens—which are some of the most widely used chemicals in
personal care products—can wreak havoc on your health. Parabens
inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeast, and molds, and are used
as preservatives in countless consumer products, including:
Deodorants and antiperspirants |
Shampoos and conditioners |
Shaving gel |
Toothpaste |
Lotions and sunscreens |
Make-up / cosmetics |
Pharmaceutical drugs |
Food additives |
Hormone Levels May Predict Your Breast Cancer Risk
In related news, preliminary research suggests that hormone
levels might in fact serve as useful markers to help predict a
woman’s risk for developing breast cancer6.
According to the study’s author, postmenopausal women with high
levels of estrogen, androgen and prolactin are at increased risk
of invasive breast cancer.
A woman’s hormone levels are currently not included in
conventional cancer risk prediction models. The author of the
study suggests that checking the levels of estrone sulfate,
testosterone and prolactin "may provide the biggest improvement
in risk prediction for breast cancer." While the research
is still considered preliminary, and more studies need to be
done to ascertain the accuracy of this theory, the finding is
“quite logical” according to Dr. Myra Barginear, a breast
medical oncologist in New York State, who said:
“If the study's findings are validated and confirmed,
a simple blood test to evaluate hormone levels, as the
Investigators did in the study, would be a very useful,
additional tool to evaluate a woman's risk of developing
breast cancer."
Simplify Your Life and Reduce Your Toxic Burden
In 2004, a six-month study was done about personal care
product use. More than 10,000 body care product ingredients were
evaluated, involving 2,300 participants. One of the findings was
that the average adult uses nine personal care products each
day, containing 126 different chemicals. The study also found
that more than 250,000 women, and one out of every 100 men, use
an average of 15 products daily.
Does this sound like someone you know? It’s important to
remember that your skin is your largest, and most permeable
organ. Just about anything you put on your skin will end up in
your bloodstream and distributed throughout your body. Once
these chemicals find their way into your body, they tend to
accumulate over time because you typically lack the necessary
enzymes to break them down. This is why I'm so fond of saying
"don't put anything on your body that you wouldn't eat if you
had to."
If you insist on buying commercial products, you’ve got a
little bit of work cut out for you in terms of researching the
ingredients. Still, it can be done. I recommend using the EWG’s
Skin Deep Cosmetics Database7
to research the potential toxicity of ingredients. Products
bearing the USDA 100% Organic seal are among your safest bets if
you want to avoid potentially toxic ingredients. Beware that
products boasting "all-natural" labels can still contain harmful
chemicals, so be sure to check the full list of ingredients.
Another alternative—and perhaps both the safest and easiest
one—is to make your own personal care and household cleaning
products. Coconut
oil, for example, is a multipurpose powerhouse that can be
safely used on your body from head to toe. When absorbed into
your skin, coconut oil helps to reduce the appearance of fine
lines and wrinkles by helping to keep your connective tissues
strong and supple. It also helps exfoliate the outer layer of
dead skin cells, making your skin smoother. Coconut oil is also
great for nurturing and
conditioning your hair, and many rave about the oil's
ability to prevent "the frizzies" in humid weather.
Baking soda is another inexpensive basic that can replace
multiple products.8
You can use it in lieu of shampoo9,
face- and body scrub, and
toothpaste, for example. It’s also a natural odor
neutralizer, so rubbing a pinch of it into your arm pit may be
all you need to replace your toxic antiperspirant.
As for
household cleaning products, tried and true items such as
liquid castile soap, hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, baking
soda, and lemon juice can get the job done just as well --
sometimes even better -- than their commercial counterparts. To
learn more, please see my
previous article on this topic. You can also search EWG’s
Healthy Cleaning Guide10
for safety ratings on more than 2,000 different cleaning
products.
More Tips to Help You Avoid Toxic Chemicals
Implementing the following measures—many of which are
included in the EWG’s recommendations for avoiding the worst
endocrine-disrupting culprit11—can
also help you protect yourself and your children from toxins
from a wide variety of sources.
- As much as possible, buy and eat organic produce and
free-range, organic meats to reduce your exposure to added
hormones, pesticides and fertilizers. Also avoid milk and
other dairy products that contain the genetically engineered
recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST).
- Rather than eating conventional or farm-raised fish,
which are often heavily contaminated with PCBs and mercury,
supplement with a high-quality purified krill oil, or eat
fish that is wild-caught and lab tested for purity. Wild
caught Alaskan salmon is about the only fish I eat for these
reasons.
- Buy products that come in glass bottles rather than
plastic or canned, since chemicals can leach out of plastics
and into the contents. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a serious
concern; make sure plastic containers and canned goods are
BPA-free.
- Also store your food and beverages in glass rather than
plastic, and avoid using plastic wrap.
- Use glass baby bottles and BPA-free sippy cups for your
little ones.
- Eat mostly raw, fresh foods. Processed, prepackaged
foods (of all kinds) are a common source of chemicals such
as BPA and phthalates.
- Replace your non-stick pots and pans with ceramic or
glass cookware.
- Filter your tap water—both for drinking and bathing. In
fact, if you can only afford to do one, filtering your
bathing water may be more important, as your skin absorbs
contaminants. To remove the endocrine disrupting herbicide
Atrazine, make sure the filter is certified to remove it.
According to the EWG, perchlorate can be filtered out using
a reverse osmosis filter.
- Look for products that are made by companies that are
earth-friendly, animal-friendly, green, non-toxic and/or
100% organic. This applies to everything from food and
personal care products to building materials, carpeting,
paint, baby items, upholstery and more.
- Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter to remove
contaminated house dust.
- When buying new products such as furniture,
mattresses, or carpet padding, ask what type of fire
retardant it contains. Be mindful of and/or avoid items
containing PBDEs, antimony, formaldehyde, boric acid, and
other
brominated chemicals. As you replace these toxic items
around your home, select those that contain naturally less
flammable materials, such as leather, wool and cotton.
- Avoid stain- and water-resistant clothing, furniture and
carpets to avoid perfluorinated chemicals (PFC’s).
- Make sure your baby's toys are BPA-free, such as
pacifiers, teething rings and anything your child may be
prone to suck on.
- Only use natural cleaning products in your home, or make
your own. Avoid products that contain 2-butoxyethanol (EGBE)
and methoxydiglycol (DEGME)—two toxic glycol ethers that can
damage fertility and cause fetal harm12.
- Switch over to organic brands of toiletries such as
shampoo, toothpaste, antiperspirants and cosmetics.
Remember, you can replace many different products with
coconut oil and baking soda, for example. The Environmental
Working Group has a great database13
to help you find personal care products that are free of
phthalates and other potentially dangerous chemicals. I also
offer one of the highest quality organic skin care lines,
shampoo and conditioner, and body butter that are completely
natural and safe.
- Replace feminine hygiene products like
tampons and sanitary pads with safer alternatives.
- Avoid artificial air fresheners, dryer sheets, fabric
softeners or other synthetic fragrances.
- Look for products that are fragrance-free. One
artificial fragrance can contain hundreds -- even thousands
-- of potentially toxic chemicals.
- Replace your vinyl shower curtain with one made of
fabric.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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