Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Quotes

the rise in the incidence in obesity matches the rise in the use and distribution of industrial chemicals that may be playing a role in a generation of obesity, suggesting Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) may be linked to this epidemic” (Perrine, 2010).

Mothers not only pass the harms of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on to their fetuses but on to even more distant generations. When a mother is exposed to EDCs, so too are her fetus's germ cells, which develop into eggs or sperm. "It's thought that during that exposure, the chemical can target those germ cells and do what we call reprogramming, or making epigenetic changes," says Flaws. "That can be a permanent change that gets carried through generations, because those germ cells will eventually be used to make the next generation, and those fetuses will have abnormal germ cells that would then go on to make the next generation." In the mid-20th century, scientists documented this in women who took a synthetic form of estrogen, called diethylstilbestrol or DES, to prevent miscarriages.? The drug worked as intended, and the women gave birth to healthy babies. But once some of those children hit puberty, the girls developed vaginal and breast cancer. The boys developed testicular cancer, and some suffered abnormal development of the penis. Scientists called them DES daughters and sons. "When those DES daughters and sons had children, we now have DES granddaughters and grandsons, and a lot of them have increased risk of those same cancers and reproductive problems," says Flaws. "Even though it was their great-grandmother that took DES and they don't have any DES in their system-their germ cells have been reprogramming, and they're passing down some of these disease traits." And now toxicologists are gathering evidence that mothers are passing microplastics and nanoplastics complete with EDCs and other toxic substances- to their fetuses. In 2021, scientists announced that they'd found microplastics in human placentas for the first time, both on the fetal side and maternal side.Later that year, another team of researchers found the same, and they also tested meconium-a newborn's first feces and discovered microplastic there too. Children are consuming microplastics, then, before they're even born.

The exception to the no legume principle is tofu as this is naturally low in starch and high in protein. As a vegetarian option, tofu can be a great option to help you hit the 30-40g protein target. Always look for organic, non-GMO tofu to avoid potentially endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the sprays used on soy crops.

Endocrine disruptors like Bisphenol A, which is found in plastic water bottles and the linings of canned foods, are chemicals that can affect sexual orientation and behavior. A report by the National Library of Medicine stated, “Bisphenol A (BPA) is an estrogenic endocrine disruptor widely used in the production of plastics. Increasing evidence indicates that in utero BPA exposure affects sexual differentiation and behavior…We hypothesized that BPA may disrupt epigenetic programming of gene expression in the brain…BPA exposure induced persistent, largely sex-specific effects on social and anxiety-like behavior, leading to disruption of sexually dimorphic behaviors.”232

We also live with rising levels of chemical contaminants, and researchers are finding more and clearer correlations between exposure to those contaminants, levels of obesity, and levels of diabetes. The main culprits are the so-called persistent organic pollutants—pesticides, PCBs, and other compounds that build up in our food, water, and bodies2—and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like bisphenol A (also known as BPA).

A recent study documented a 52 percent decline in sperm concentration and a 59 percent decline in total sperm count in men over a nearly forty-year period ending in 2011 (Levine et al. 2017). A decline in sperm count and concentration leads to a decreased probability of conception. The authors of the study speculated that increased exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment may be partly to blame for this trend.

Today’s technology is heavily contaminating the environment with many behavior-disturbing, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that include dioxin, phthalates, agricultural pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), industrial solvents, pharmaceuticals, and heavy metals. Exposure to these EDCs that have estrogenic, antiestrogenic, and antiandrogenic properties has been shown to perturb the same stress pathways that provoke a disease response. (Vaiserman 2014)

Estrogen metabolism is the healthy removal or detoxification of estrogen from your body. It’s a two-step process. First, your liver inactivates estrogen by attaching a little molecule or “handle,” which is called conjugation. To do that effectively, your liver needs a good supply of nutrients such as folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, zinc, selenium, magnesium, and protein. Your liver also needs to be relatively free from the toxic effects of alcohol or endocrine disrupting chemicals. Even one drink per day can increase your blood level of estrogen.

while “ten years ago, there simply was not the body of evidence that there is today about the . . . disease consequences of endocrine disrupting chemicals,” the state of evidence now “removes any doubt.