How to reduce your exposure to endocrine disruptors

luck spoke to experts about how these chemicals affect the body and what to do to reduce exposure to them.

What are endocrine disruptors?

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that disrupt our endocrine systems, which control the body’s hormones—such as insulin, testosterone, and estrogen—and many body functions, including metabolism and blood sugar regulation. These chemicals can mimic hormones and disrupt normal function, says Linda Birnbaum, retired former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. This can affect the metabolism of an actual hormone, causing you to get too much or too little of certain hormones.

These are some of the chemicals National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences It is listed as an endocrine disruptor:

• Atrazine: one of the most used herbicides in the world.
• Bisphenol A (BPA): it is used in manufacturing, food packaging, toys and can be found in the lids of some cans and drinks.
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): a large group of chemicals widely used in industrial applications such as fire-fighting foam, non-stick pans, paper and fabric coatings.
• Phthalates: it is used as a liquid plasticizer and is found in hundreds of products, including some food packaging, cosmetics, perfumes, children’s toys, and medical device tubing. Cosmetics that may contain phthalates include nail polish, hair spray, shaving cream, cleanser and shampoo.
• Phytoestrogens: in natural substances with hormone-like activity found in some plants; they can have a similar effect to estrogen produced by the body. Soy foods, flaxseeds and cruciferous vegetables, for example, contain phytoestrogens, but have been shown not to cause harm (in fact, studies show have a positive effect on health in general).
• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs): it is used to make fire retardants for products such as furniture foam and carpets.
• Triclosan: The ingredient was previously added to some antimicrobial and personal care products such as body wash and soaps. In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of triclosan in consumer antiseptic washes.

According to Tracey Woodruff, director of the Reproductive Health and Environmental Program at the University of California, San Francisco, the most common sources of exposure to the endocrine disruptor are:

• Cans and plastic containers
• No non-stick pans
• Stain-resistant products such as fabrics, food packaging, carpets
• Air, dust and water

Chemicals enter your system through your skin, breathing it in, or ingesting food contaminated with chemicals, Birnbaum says.

But it’s hard to know which chemicals are in which materials, as production varies by company, and while one company may say it has BPA-free plastic, it could have replaced it with another endocrine disruptor.

How do these chemicals affect our health?

The effect of endocrine disruptors is in the name: They disrupt the endocrine system, which “maintains our overall physiology,” says Birnbaum. luck. This suspension affects:

• Glucose metabolism
• Thyroid function
• Fat metabolism
• Bone metabolism
• Reproductive hormones can cause infertility and certain cancers, including breast, kidney and prostate. According to the EPA.

Woodruff says hormones act like signals, telling the body what to do. When these signals are disrupted, they affect appetite regulation, cardiovascular health, brain development, and things in the immune system that respond to vaccines.

Endocrine disruptors can have their greatest impact during periods when the body is going through developmental changes, Birnbaum says, such as infancy, childhood, adolescence and pregnancy, when chemicals can affect both mother and fetus. These health effects, like fertility problems or certain cancers, may not develop until later in life, Woodruff says.

Birnbaum says that normal hormone function is essential to ensure normal development. “Endocrine disruption during developmental periods causes irreversible changes,” he says. Recent studies have linked it to endocrine disruptors girls get kills earlier, obesityand infertility.

How can we limit exposure to endocrine disruptors?

Reducing exposure is important, Birnbaum and Woodruff say, especially when it comes to PFAS, the so-called “permanent chemicals.” They do not break down in our bodies or in the environment, and with further exposure only build up in concentration, in a process known as bioaccumulation.

Here are some ways to actively avoid exposure.

Avoid plastic cookware, non-stick pans and animal products whenever possible

Birnbaum says it’s one of the easiest changes you can make: “Never cook in plastic.” In other words, don’t microwave it in plastic containers or cook it with plastic utensils; freezing and storing food in plastic is also not suitable. She recommends avoiding plastic in general because it’s likely full of endocrine-dissolving chemicals, but especially when they’re heated, those chemicals can leach into the food. Birnbaum also says to avoid using nonstick cookware, which is likely to be coated with PFAS chemicals.

She adds that she stays away from certain makeup like waterproof mascara, as well as stain-resistant products or carpets, which usually contain PFAS. Personal care products such as soaps, shampoos, and lotions are often places where another endocrine disruptor (phthalates) can be hidden as a fragrance additive, so read labels carefully when choosing products for your skin and hair.

Woodruff says it’s not just the food packaging that’s important, it’s the food itself. She recommends eating organic fruits and vegetables to avoid pesticides, and aim to stick to foods lower down the food chain, not meat. Animals tend to have biomagnified levels of endocrine chemicals, and may experience higher concentrations of chemicals from consuming contaminated plants or prey.

Keep your water clean and dust away

Woodruff says vacuuming with HEPA filters, vacuuming, and using microfiber cloths to reduce dust around the home can also protect against inhaling dust containing chemicals.

Birnbaum recommends checking your local tap water to see if it’s contaminated with PFAS. The Environmental Working Group has a tap water database and recommendations water filters which specifically eliminate PFAS.

Woodruff and his colleagues at UCSF a comprehensive guide about avoiding toxic chemicals more broadly, for anyone looking to strengthen protective practices.

How should you worry?

The says the EPA that further studies are needed to fully understand the level of impact of these chemicals on public health. Although it is understood that high concentrations of endocrine disruptors lead to adverse health effects – in communities with high water pollution, for example – it is still uncertain how much daily exposure will affect your health.

“It’s not like you have to be 100 percent perfect,” Woodruff said luck. “Did I change everything in my life at once? No.”

Not all endocrine disruptors are created equal, either. Birth control, for example, is a safe endocrine disruptor, and the phytoestrogens found in soy are naturally occurring. But chemicals like PFAS and BPA are known to pose health threats, so choosing the above healthy habits is a safe bet, not only for reducing exposure, but for overall well-being, Woodruff said.

“As you start to change your patterns over time, it becomes part of your routine,” she says.

Finally, he says the most effective way to reduce overall exposure is to regulate or ban all classes of chemicals, such as bisphenols, phthalates and the well-known PFASs. The tricky part, though, is when a chemical is banned — like BPA, for example — another similar chemical takes its place, Woodruff says.

The EPA recently took a big step forward with news drinking water standards Specific to PFAS chemicals, endocrine disruptors continue to be monitored for further action.

“I don’t think you should be paralyzed by worry,” Birnbaum says, “but I think we should continue to agitate for better regulations that will be more protective.”