Considered harmful chemicals, endocrine disruptors are found virtually everywhere-in our food, water, the air we breathe, and the products we use in our homes and on our bodies. Here are endocrine disruptors 5-8 that Betty shares in her podcast:
5. Perchlorate.
This chemical component found in rocket fuel contaminates a lot of the water supply. When perchlorate gets in your body, it competes with nutrients like iodine and keeps iodine from working, which is important to the thyroid gland. If you’re ingesting too much of this chemical, that will affect thyroid function, which may be an underlying cause of thyroid dysfunction, which is at an all time high.
What you can do: Drink filtered water and buy organic foods, and avoid foods that have been overly exposed to perchlorate. Also, be sure to get enough iodine, but not too much.
6. Flame retardants.
These are those chemicals we put on products like furniture to keep it from burning easily. Flame retardants are major endocrine disruptors and have been found to contaminate people and wildlife all over the world. These chemicals imitate thyroid hormone and can mess with the thyroid and disrupt its activity. Major exposures result in a lower IQ and have been related to SIDS.
Reduce your exposure: Choose a vacuum cleaner with Hepa filters, and buy organic bedding. If you like to remodel, be careful about removing old carpeting, as pulling up old carpet and particularly the padding underneath will expose you to significant flame retardants.
7. Heavy metals.
These metals, specifically lead, harm every organ in your system. They have been linked to brain damage, lower IQ, hearing problems, miscarriage, premature birth, kidney disease, high blood pressure, and nervous system problems. Lead can disrupt our body and affect our hormones.
Mercury gets incorporated into fatty tissue like the brain. Most of our current mercury exposure is through fish, especially bigger fish, like swordfish, and even salmon, if waterways are toxic. Tuna is highly contaminated and binds directly to particular hormones that affect the menstrual cycle and ovulation and interfere with that cycle activity. Mercury gets stored in fat cells and plays a role in diabetes, as it also produces insulin.
Avoid contaminated fish: Opt for smaller fish like sardines, anchovies, and mackerel. If you’re a fan of salmon, make sure it’s wild caught.
8. Arsenic.
This toxin lurks in our food, and in smaller amounts can cause cancer and also interfere with hormone functioning, particularly your cortisol and glucose metabolism. If you’re exposed to arsenic, you may have significant weight gain or loss of lean muscle mass, as well as insulin resistance. Many people are exposed to arsenic by consuming rice, in particular rice grown overseas in water that may be contaminated with the toxin. So if you’re not eating organic, you may be getting exposure.
What you can do: Eat less rice and rice-based products, and substitute other grains.
Check out our next blog to find out the last four endocrine disruptors on Betty’s list. If you missed part one, you can read it here.