Xenoestrogens and Breast Cancer

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While I was looking for testosterone information I happened to come across Xenoestrogens.

Basically xenoestrogens are a family of man made chemicals that can enter the body and mimic the action of the hormone estrogen.

A hormone (such as estrogen) attaches to a receptor on a target cell in your body and exerts its message or causes a biological activity. You only produce a small, required amount of estrogen each day.

Xenoestrogens attach to the same receptors as estrogen and cause the same message or biological activity. Xenoestrogens can also cause the formation of more receptors, amplifying the effect of the message or biological activity. In other words whatever estrogen does (or causes) xenoestrogens can do 100 times greater.

Xenoestrogens are chemicals that provoke or mimic estrogen in the body. Examples of xenoestrogens include many insecticides and pesticides, certain chemicals used in the manufacturing of plastic, and even some food preservatives used to extend the shelf life of processed products. Removing xenoestrogens from your life can have a strong, positive impact on your health.

I read that progesterone is the precursor of estrogens in females and testosterone in males, and that low levels of progesterone may lead to miscarriage in females and infertility in males. Then another article told how the human body begins to convert that progesterone into cortisol, needed to make adrenaline to deal with stress. The readings went on to reveal how carbohydrate metabolism, thyroid production, serotonin and dopamine functions in the brain, lipid metabolism, immune functions…all depended on progesterone to function correctly. If the stress has stolen all the progesterone to make cortisol to keep you going in stressful situations, that explains some of the fatigue, depression, rise in blood sugars and fats, frequent infection, when we are near a "burn out" state.

 

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Xenoestrogens and Breast Cancer

Organochlorine pesticides are "complete" carcinogens, which both initiate and promote tumor growth, and whose presence (or absence) can change cancer statistics quite rapidly.

Actually, animal experiments conducted back in the 1960's proved that organochlorine pesticides caused breast cancer in rats. Like so many other animal studies, however, the results and their suggested human parallel were totally ignored when they proved inconvenient to the international chemical industrial machine. Other research conducted nearly thirty years ago demonstrated that organochlorine pesticides concentrate in animal and human fat tissue.

Unfortunately, organochlorines are merely one type of a current flood of xenoestrogens recently introduced into our environment. The synthetic hormone Diethylstilbestrol (DES), given to women in the 50's and 60's to (ineffectively) prevent miscarriage, with cancerous results for both the women and their children, is still widely used in the meat industry as a feed supplement to put weight on animals scheduled for slaughter; the hormone is, of course, passed on to people in the meat. The dairy industry is currently awash in rBGH, a artificial hormone developed to stimulate dairy cows into producing more milk for an already glutted market, with dire results for the cows and as yet unknown effects on human consumers.

Xenoestrogenic material leaches out of polycarbonate plastics, often used in food and cosmetic packaging - even tin cans thinly lined with polycarbonate plastic leak estrogen into their contents.

Light pollution, the global trend toward filling the environment with artificial illumination, also seems to be compounding the problem; melatonin, a natural hormone secreted at night by the pineal gland, has anti-estrogenic properties and may inhibit the development of cancer, but is suppressed by the presence of artificial light. The production of melatonin is also reduced by the presence of even very weak electromagnetic fields, such as those associated with radio waves and household microwave ovens.

 

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List of Xenoestrogens - Chemical Estrogens: How to Avoid Xenoestrogens

List of Xenoestrogens

• Organ chlorines, are one of the largest sources. They are used in pesticides, dry cleaning, bleaching of feminine-hygiene products and the manufacture of plastics.
• Bisphenol-A, a breakdown of polycarbonate, is used in many plastic bottles. It’s found in the lining of many food cans and juice containers.
• Avoid heated plastics, plastic lined items and Styrofoam (microwave, oven, sun), as the polycarbonate escapes
• Use glass, ceramics or steel to store/consume foods and liquids.
• Choose organic produce. Always go organic with thin skinned fruits and vegetables.
• Buy hormone-free animal products (eggs, poultry, meats, dairy). To avoid xenoestrogen injections, supplements, bovine growth hormone.
• A common food preservative in processed foods (BHS: butylated hydroxyanisole).
• Avoid non-organic coffee and tea.
• Use reverse-osmosis filter water or purchase your own filter (drinking and bathing).
• Many creams and cosmetics contain parabens and stearal konium chloride. Choose natural brands (preservatives made with minerals or grapefruit seed extract).
• Most skin lotions, creams, soaps, shampoo, cosmetics use parabens and phenoxyethanol as a preservative. Substances are 100% absorbed into the body. Go natural or organic.
• Phthalates are commonly found in baby lotions and powders.
• Sunscreen can contain benzophenone-3, homosalate, 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor, octal-methoxycinnamate, octal-dimethyl-PABA. Go organic.
• Many perfumes, deodorizers, air fresheners have artificial scents and contain phthalates.
• Most perfumes are petrochemically based.
• Nail polish and removers contain harsh chemicals.
• The birth control pill contains high concentration of synthetic estrogen. Choose a condom or diaphragm gels without surfactants. Use a condom without spermicidal.
• Hormone replacement therapy (contains synthetic estrogens) - opt for paraben-free progesterone cream.
• Research ingredients in your pharmaceuticals.
• Dryer sheets, fabric softeners and detergents put petrochemicals right on your skin. Use laundry detergent with less chemicals or use white vinegar and baking soda.
• Be aware of noxious gas that comes from copiers and printers, carpets, fiberboards, new carpets.
• Do not inhale and protect your skin from: electrical oils, lubricants, adhesive paints, lacquers, solvents, oils, paints, fuel, industrial wastes, packing materials, harsh cleaning products, fertilizers.
• Become educated on: pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, parathion, plant and fungal estrogens, industrial chemicals (cadmium, lead, mercury), Primpro, DES, Premarin-cemeteries, Tagamet, Marijuana, insecticides (Dieldrin, DDT, Endosulfan, Heptachlor, Lindane/hexachlorocychohexan, methoxychlor), Erythrosine, FD&C Red No 3, Nonylphenol, Polychlorinated biphenyls, Phenosulfothizine, Phthalates, DEHP.

The human body is being bombarded with these harmful chemicals every day creating an over burdened liver, weakening the immune system and disrupting the delicate hormonal balance.

Xenoestrogens - Danger Ahead!

Top tips to avoid xenoestrogens

While it is impossible to avoid all these toxic chemicals you can help reclaim your heath with these easy steps:

Avoid plastic containers.

In favour of glass products.

1. Do not reheat (or store) foods in plastic containers or covered in cling wrap. Use glass containers instead.
2. Eat certified organic fruit and vegetables where possible. If you buy from the supermarket then thoroughly wash and dry your fresh produce before you eat them.
3. Buy hormone free of free range animal products whenever possible. Cut off any visible fat from meat before cooking, since chemicals and hormones from the feed collect in the fat. Avoid processed meats, because they have fat ground in.
4. Eat more high fibre, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels' sprouts, and cabbage. They help you excrete excess estrogen
5. Use only natural cleaning and personal hygiene products. Most health food shops have these products.
Seek to expand you knowledge when it comes to your health. Build your health through smart nutritional choices, regular exercise and limit your exposure to toxic chemicals.

 

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Was concerned by it and thought it good to be aware of.

 

[PuddleRiver]

Great information! Thank you. I've been trying to stay away from plastics, but this crap's in everything!!

 

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Great information! Thank you. I've been trying to stay away from plastics, but this crap's in everything!!

Yeah I know, its unfortunate that this is so, kind of gobsmacked by it. My engineering maths teacher was right, but I didn't pay attention to her.

Another eye opening read is this about plastics - Get Plastic Out Of Your Diet

I wonder whether its so common people assume its safe.