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What are Endocrine Disruptors and How to Avoid Them
What are Endocrine Disruptors and How to Avoid Them? In the spirit of always reminding you that the health of our body goes beyond the food we eat and the supplements we take, I want to take some time to share more about endocrine disrupting chemicals and why you should care. Hormone disruptors can affect the health of our body as much as the food we eat and they can be found not just in our food, but in our skincare and cosmetics, household cleaning products, furniture and more. It can be overwhelming and scary to think about, but I think knowing what they are and why it matters – is the first step to being informed and empowered!
Before we get into the harmful chemicals the have been shown to interfere with development and reproduction, and may cause serious neurological and immune system effects, I think it’s first really important to go back to basics and chat about what the endocrine system is and the roles it plays in our overall health.
What is the Endocrine System?
The endocrine system is comprised of a network of hormones (chemical messengers produced and used by the body) and glands that coordinate and regulate many essential body functions such as:
- Growth, development and maturation.
- Metabolism.
- Behavior.
- Reproduction and embryo development.
- Production, use and storage of energy.
- Balance and maintenance of water and salt (electrolytes) in the body.
- Reaction to stimuli (e.g., fright, excitement).
The endocrine system includes the ovaries; the testes; the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, and pituitary glands; the pineal body; the pancreas; as well as cells releasing hormones found in the gastrointestinal tract, kidney, heart and placenta.
As you can assume, altering these precise and delicate systems in any way can certainly be “playing with fire”, but yet it can happen quite easily on a day-to-day basis when you use “normal” everyday products in your home. Part of what makes endocrine disruptors so threatening is their ubiquitous nature and the fact that for most of us we are exposed to many of these chemicals on the daily.
(video from The Endocrine Society)What are Endocrine Disruptors and Why Should You Care?
It may be a term you have heard in passing, maybe in regards to plastic bottles or chemicals in your household cleaning products, in our water or food supply. But it can all be confusing. What are the biggest offenders we should be avoiding immediately, where should we begin when trying to clean up our home and personal products, how worried should we be?
Endocrine disruption is, simply, any disturbance in the proper functioning of hormones in the body due to chemical exposure. Endocrine Disruptors (EDs) or Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) are defined as an exogenous chemical, or mixture of chemicals, that an interfere with any aspect of hormone action.
The many ways that endocrine disruptors can wreak havoc on our bodies in unending, interfering with the steps in hormone signaling from increasing the production of certain hormones to decreasing production of others. Some chemicals can mimic hormones by binding to receptors; they can turn one hormone into another; cause too much of a hormone to be produced or released and in some cases they can interfere with hormone signaling blocking the activation of a hormone causing too little of a natural hormone to be produced or circulated. Additionally some chemicals can tell cells to die prematurely; compete with essential nutrients; binding to essential hormones preventing appropriate hormonal processes from taking place; accumulating in organs that produce hormones and so on.
In fact, the data linking some EDCs or entire classes of EDCs to chronic disease is comparable in strength and breadth to the evidence that links tobacco smoking with lung cancer.
Commonly we know these chemicals to be found in common household items like plastics and food packaging, fragrances, personal care products, pesticides or herbicides found in food and even our tap water.
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Safer Sun Protection. From Sunscreens to Superfoods. How to Protect Yourself in the Most Non-Toxic Way.
Safer Sun Protection. From Sunscreens to Superfoods. How to Protect Yourself in the Most Non-Toxic Way. Check out this post to learn more about non-toxic sunscreen, how much sun is too much, how to eat to support your body’s natural defenses and more.
The topic of sun protection, like SO many things, has gotten a bit confusing for folks. “The sun is bad”. “The sun is good and absolutely necessary to avoiding vitamin D deficiency.” “Sunscreens are necessary, don’t ever leave the house without sunscreen on.” “Most sunscreens are loaded with so many toxic chemicals that they may be more harmful to our bodies than the sun itself.”
Recently, reports from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Consumer Reports have warned consumers against using many types of conventional sunscreens, especially on children. Of the 1,400+ sunscreens tested by the EWG, only 5% met their safety standards and over 40% were listed as potentially contributing to skin cancer.
So, where do we go from here for safer sun protection?
With 1 in 5 Americans being affected by skin cancer, it’s amazing to learn that the majority of folks aren’t wearing sunscreen daily or worse, there aren’t doing anything at all to protect themselves appropriately. By simply wearing a non-toxic, protective SPF sunscreen daily, we can prevent skin cancer and premature aging. But, we need to know what to look for and what to avoid and all the many ways beyond sunscreen that we can support our body for safe sun protection and safe sun exposure – while still reaping the necessary benefits of the sun.
Why Most Sunscreens are Harmful
Chemical Sunscreens vs Physical (or Mineral) Sunscreens.
There are two ways that a sunscreen protects the skin from sun damage – either with a mineral barrier or a chemical one. Chemical sunscreens contain compounds, which create a chemical reaction and work by changing UV rays into heat, then releasing that heat from the skin. They are often referred to as chemical or organic absorbers. Chemical sunscreens are technically sun filters. Mineral sunscreens typically include ingredients like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which create a physical barrier to protect the skin from the sun, they sit on the surface of the skin and physically bounce or reflect sun’s rays away from the skin. Mineral sunscreens are great for people with sensitive skin as well as babies and kids.
Chemical Sunscreens
Chemical sunscreens, the type you’ll most often find at the store, contain a slew of chemicals, including oxybenzone and octinoxate, which are absorbed by the skin and both of which are linked to health hazards and have been shown in scientific studies to harm coral reefs. (These are the two chemicals Hawaii recently banned in all sunscreens, effective in 2021). Additionally, many sunscreens also contain avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene and homosalate. Laboratory studies indicate that some chemical UV filters may mimic hormones, and physicians report sunscreen-related skin allergies, which raises important questions about unintended human health consequences from frequent sunscreen application.
Spray sunscreens have also become quite popular in recent years, and these carry their own additional dangers, especially when inhaled.
Many sunscreens also contain methylisothiazolinone, which has been found to be a top allergen.
Here’s a scary statistic: The chemical oxybenzone, that has been shown to pose a hazard to human health and the environment, it is an allergen and a hormone disruptor that soaks through skin and is measured in the body of nearly every American – in 2018, over 12 years after first reports from EWG were published in regards to this chemical – it still appears in 2/3 of the commercial sunscreens on the market. The reason that hormone and endocrine disruptors are so scary is because they’re especially harmful in small amounts, as they mimic the hormones our body creates daily and can interfere with everything from our reproductive systems to our metabolism. They’re particularly bad for young ones whose systems are rapidly developing.
Recent research shows that many chemical sunscreens may carry more of a risk than moderate sun exposure, so it’s best to simply avoid these sunscreens, unless you have absolutely no other option, there is no shade and you have no cover-up options with clothing. But I would suggest this to be a last ditch effort simply to avoid overexposure and extreme sunburn.
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How-to Make Essential Oil Holiday Room Sprays
The various aromas of the holidays and the feelings they evoke are certainly synonymous with this time of year. The rustic evergreen of a fresh cut christmas tree; spicy, warming cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; bright, citrusy orange or the fresh, minty smell of candy canes – these can all bring the good feelings of seasonal cheer, the reminder or family and love and the promise of a season full of joy and happy memories.
As someone very triggered and often driven by scent, I am also someone who is very sensitive to scent. I always have been. Would that make me scentsitive? heh. I find the fake, synthetic aromas to cut through the air, not in a good way, and often times they provide an instant headache. They linger and simply mask any existing odors, they can overpower a room and even more alarming, they are often loaded with so many chemicals. The more I clean up my life and the more I cut out, the more I am aware of and sensitive to where all nasty stuff is hiding. That connection of your brain to your body and that innate knowing of what to avoid, certainly becomes more heightened. The more connected and in-tune I become the more I seek for natural, clean alternatives.
These holiday inspired all-natural scents will not only provide a welcoming and cozy, seasonal setting perfect for holiday gatherings, but you’ll also be reaping the many therapeutic benefits of the essential oils, too. Purifying the air, warming your soul and uplifting your spirit, these room sprays are inexpensive to make, you can customize your scents and your blends to make your own personalized aroma and of course, they make an amazing gift.
This formula and the various blends fill a 4oz bottle, but feel free to double or triple your recipe. As always, I provide you with printable labels to customize your gifts. I left the area where the oils are listed, blank, so you can make your own custom blends.
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Wild Mint Eco-Friendly Giveaway
If you’ve been reading Tasty Yummies for sometime, you know that my passion for living well, extends past the yummy foods I choose to nourish my body with. I try to evaluate all areas of my life for ways that I can be living more mindfully and more consciously.
I can admit that even with all my work and attention in this area, I am far from perfect and as I am sure most of you feel, there is much room for improvement. I choose to look at all of it as an ongoing, ever evolving practice and I try to take small simple steps while enjoying every bit of the journey.
For me, choosing household and lifestyle products that support my healthy way of living is just as important to me as each and every one of the ingredients that go into my dishes. Why should what I cook that food on, clean my home with, what I eat off of and drink out of, what my food is stored into, be treated any differently than the food I am consuming? To me, with this realization has come lots of changes – some small and simple, many very large and cumbersome. It’s a hard way to navigate and it’s hard to know where to even start.
I am so happy that there are so many incredible companies, large and small, creating beautiful eco-friendly non-toxic products that support my choices. Finding all of these amazing, mindful companies can be where the real challenges lie. When Wild Mint contacted me about working together to introduce their brand to my readers, I instantly knew that they would be a perfect fit and I immediately began perusing their beautiful online store that is filled with exactly the products that I am always on the look out for.
Wild Mint’s Mission
At Wild Mint, we are dedicated to providing the best non-toxic and eco-friendly products to help you build a healthier lifestyle and environment. We are continually learning, growing, and making sure we are as up-to-date as possible on research about harmful chemicals, new products, and green practices. We want to make change easier and hope to portray that no matter how big or small the changes you make in your life are, you are making a difference!
To learn how Wild Mint got started, check out their About Us page for their story.
Here are just some of the wonderful Eco-friendly products that Wild Mint carries:
- Lunch boxes for kids
- Reusable sandwich bags
- Reusable snack bags
- Stainless steel food containers
- Glass food storage containers
- Glass water bottles
Wild Mint’s commitment to an eco-friendly and conscious way-of-living extends past the products they sell, Wild Mint has gone as far as creating a Learn page where they share articles, tips and guides to the chemicals we should be avoiding, recipes and more!
