Hormone disrupting chemicals, concern or not?

Our body is made up of a complex system of hormones that act as messengers and transmit signals throughout the body. The human body is dependent on hormones for a healthy endocrine system, which controls many biological processes like normal growth, fertility, and reproduction. There is a very delicate balance of hormones required and even the smallest imbalances can lead to an array of health implications. In the world of women’s hormones, this can often look like PCOS, PMS, PMDD and endometriosis along with disruptions to thyroid function. The food we eat can have an indirect or direct effect on our hormones, but so too can many chemicals that we are exposed to on a daily basis.

What are they?

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are natural or manmade chemicals that mimic, block, or interfere with the body’s hormones. These chemicals are found in products we come into contact with everyday such as cosmetics, food and beverage packaging, toys, carpet, and pesticides. When we come into contact with these chemicals they may enter our body and cause an imbalance to the hormones that are already present. For example, strong evidence exists to show that ‘pesticide exposure during adulthood impairs ovarian follicular health in animal models, decreased ovarian sex steroid hormone production in animal models, reduced fertility in animal models, and was associated with reduced sex steroid hormone production, fertility, and a decreased mean age at menopause in women’ (Rattan, 2017). It is very hard to completely eliminate these chemicals, however we can reduce our exposure and make conscious choices.

Natural EDCs

Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring substances with hormone-like activity found in some plants. They are structurally similar to estradiol and therefore may elicit similar impacts on the body and increase oestrogenic action. The most common phytoestrogens are isoflavones and lignans. Isoflavones are found in soybeans and other legumes and lignans can be found in flaxseed, peanuts and some fruit and vegetables. The jury is still out regarding the impact of phytoestrogens on long term health as some research proposes benefits, where as other research identifies issues, particularly with hormonal imbalances. Women who typically have high levels of oestrogen compared to progesterone may benefit from avoiding phytoestrogens such as soy. However, phytoestrogens can also have beneficial effects of the body such as decreasing the symptoms of menopause by helping to increase declining levels of oestrogen in the body.

Synthetic EDCs

Synthetic EDCs are chemicals that disrupt endocrine properties in animals by either mimicking or blocking endocrine actions and come from a man-made source. Common chemicals you may recognise include Bisphenol A (BPA), Phthalates and Atrazine. There are many others however these are amongst some of the most researched. BPA and phthalates are often found in food packaging such as plastic products, lining of canned foods and take away coffee cups and atrazine is a common herbicide to control weeds in corn, sorghum, and sugarcane crops. Cosmetics and common household cleaning products often contain EDCs. There is strong evidence to show that exposure to EDCs during childhood and adulthood has harmful impacts on adult female reproduction. For example, EDCs have been linked to decreased pregnancy rates, increased risk for miscarriage and increased cycle changes in women.

Tips to reduce

Avoid plastic food packaging - many plastics contain BPA and/or phthalates and these chemicals can leach into the food stored, particularly when heat is involved.

• use glass or stainless steel drink bottles

• use glass or ceramic storage containers

• swap food from plastic containers to glass after food shopping

• shop products that are loose (e.g. fruit, veg, bulk foods)

• don’t heat food in plastic

• BYO coffee cup

• reduce takeaway food

• swap food from cans to glass jars or swap to dried legumes and beans

• swap to reusable lunch bags and beeswax wraps

Swap your cooking equipment - many non-stick pans contain polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) which can leach from the coating into your food when overheated or scratched.

• choose stainless steel pans

• use glass or ceramic in the oven

• avoid plastic cooking utensils

Reduce load from food - some products such as meat, dairy, processed foods and fruit and vegetables contain higher amounts of EDCs

• shop organic when possible

• avoid fatty cuts of meat (EDCs build in fat)

• increase plant based meals

• limit fish high in mercury (larger, deep sea fish)

To sum it all up

It would be impossible to completely avoid all EDCs (not to mention very stressful and expensive!) My advice is to start with one area and switch what is achievable for you. For example, swapping cooking pans or buying reusable coffee cups. It’s also important to note that there are many dietary and lifestyle changes that will have a much bigger impactful change to overall health. View reducing EDCs as the ‘cherry on top’ of an already healthy and balanced lifestyle.

References

Desmawati D, Sulastri D. Phytoestrogens and Their Health Effect. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2019 Feb 14;7(3):495-499. doi: 10.3889/oamjms.2019.044. PMID: 30834024; PMCID: PMC6390141.

Diamanti-Kandarakis E, Bourguignon JP, Giudice LC, Hauser R, Prins GS, Soto AM, Zoeller RT, Gore AC. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: an Endocrine Society scientific statement. Endocr Rev. 2009 Jun;30(4):293-342. doi: 10.1210/er.2009-0002. PMID: 19502515; PMCID: PMC2726844.

Patisaul HB, Jefferson W. The pros and cons of phytoestrogens. Front Neuroendocrinol. 2010 Oct;31(4):400-19. doi: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2010.03.003. Epub 2010 Mar 27. PMID: 20347861; PMCID: PMC3074428.

Rattan S, Zhou C, Chiang C, Mahalingam S, Brehm E, Flaws JA. Exposure to endocrine disruptors during adulthood: consequences for female fertility. J Endocrinol. 2017 Jun;233(3):R109-R129. doi: 10.1530/JOE-17-0023. Epub 2017 Mar 29. PMID: 28356401; PMCID: PMC5479690.