Xenoestrogens are environmental chemicals that mimic the effects of estrogen in the human body. Although their health-related dangers are well documented in scientific literature, most people are unaware of their toxic effects. These endocrine-disrupting chemicals are everywhere, and they trigger a dangerous, underdiagnosed health condition called estrogen dominance. Read on to discover where xenoestrogens come from, how you can actively reduce your exposure to them, and the simple steps you can take to prevent and reverse estrogen dominance.
Xenoestrogens are lurking everywhere in the environment and complete avoidance is impossible. However, you are not completely powerless, when you educate yourself on the leading sources, you can then notably reduce your exposure. Xenoestrogens are found in many of the foods we eat because most are grown with pesticides. They’re a component of car exhaust and interiors, adhesives, the chemical film that coats your receipts, and industrial waste products such as dioxins (cancer-causing chemicals inadvertently formed during many industrial processes).
It’s enough to make you want to hide inside your house—except that’s not safe either. Xenoestrogens are in your drinking and shower water; your carpet, paint, mattresses, and furnishings; your children’s toys, your cleaning and personal care products, your plastic and tin food containers, and many of your other material belongings.
Estrogen dominance is a condition that occurs when you have too much estrogen in relation to the other hormones in your body. Although estrogen is often thought of as a female hormone, estrogen dominance affects men, women, and children alike. Estrogen dominance can cause a wide range of symptoms, some of the most common of which include: acne, stubborn weight gain, loss of libido, impotence, sexual dysfunction, PMS, persistent fatigue, hair loss, mood swings, and breast swelling (in both males and females). Estrogen dominance may also increase your risk for osteoporosis, endometriosis, allergies, depression, gallbladder disease, thyroid disorders, obesity, diabetes, and cancer.
When you’re exposed to xenoestrogens, they enter your body and bind to estrogen receptor sites, triggering many of the same chemical reactions as estrogen does. The presence of xenoestrogens also means that true estrogens have fewer places to go, and will thus appear in greater amounts in your bloodstream. The accumulations of estrogen in your body can tip the scale of hormonal balance and lead to estrogen dominance. Xenoestrogens also accumulate in your organs, compete with essential nutrients, alter the production of other hormones, and even trigger otherwise healthy cells to die prematurely. It’s no wonder that so many chronic diseases are on the rise!
Fortunately, the biggest hurdle to recovering from estrogen dominance is simply realizing that you have it. Once diagnosed, it can be treated. And once you become aware of all the sources of xenoestrogens in your life, you can make choices that allow you to reduce your exposure. I recommend you use organic, all-natural cleaning and personal care products, buy a filter for your shower and tap water, purchase a mattress that is not sprayed with fire retardants if money allows, and use glass containers to store your food.
You should also modify what you eat, and focus on consuming a high-fiber, plant-based diet. Choosing organic when possible is important because conventionally grown produce is almost always sprayed with pesticides and herbicides which are xenoestrogens. I recommend you also vastly reduce or eliminate your intake of animal products because they are by far the biggest source of estrogen in the American diet.
Finally, consider taking an estrogen clearing nutritional supplement. EstroBlock (or EstroBlock Pro if you are overweight) and Liv-D-Tox are two clinically proven supplements that work synergistically to help clear toxic estrogens from the body and restore hormonal balance. These neutraceuticals in conjunction with the protocols outlined above will help you to safely reverse estrogen dominance and it’s nasty symptoms, and restore your health and vitality.