We talk a lot about endocrine disrupting chemicals on our social media.

What are they really? And why are they a big deal?

The big 4 categories of EDCs are

1. pesticides (our food is covered in it)
2. flame retardants (all our furniture and carpets are covered in them)
3. plasticizer chemicals (ex: like phthalates: almost all plastics have these, as well as candles and personal care products)
4. BPA (and its new relatives) (found in most plastic items)

Your endocrine system is a complex and sensitive network of glands that send out hormones which are chemical messengers.

This system does everything from:
-regulating blood sugar (pancreas)
-regulating metabolism (thyroid)
-physiological processes such as growth (pituitary)
-stress response (cortisol - adrenals)
-and all things reproductive (gonads)

So your endocrine system and hormone effect the brain and nervous system, metabolism, reproductive functioning.

EDCs are chemicals that either mimic (look like) your body’s natural hormones or they compete with these hormones (block them) or they alter the levels or hormones in other complex ways

So they disrupt your body’s natural hormones

The result of this disruption could include several adverse health outcomes. EDCs have now been linked to:
-lower iqs
-obesity
-type 2 diabetes
-birth defects
-infertility
-Endometriosis
-adhd
-fibroids
-Low sperm count
-testicular cancer
-heart disease
-autism
-breast cancer

As the community grows more and more unhealthy, EDCs (or Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals) are one of the main culprits causing or exacerbating many diseases. And these chemicals are more prevalent in our lives than ever before.

A book I’d highly recommend is Dr. Leo Trasande’s Sicker, Fatter, Poorer (can you spot it on the bookshelf?😊)

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