GSE
Estrogen dominance - What are xenoestrogens - "Endocrine Disruptors"
Xenoestrogens
-
"Endocrine Disruptors" xenoestrogens contribute to estrogen dominance
What are xenoestrogens ?
Xenoestrogens are molecules with a structure very similar to that of natural
estrogen
Our modern day environment is rife with
these estrogen "look-alikes", which demonstrate an
estrogenic effect in the body, by:
(1) Mimicking the
effect of
estrogen ;
or
(2) Indirectly
affecting the body's
estrogen levels by disrupting the way
estrogen is
produced or used in the body.
"In the Columbia River, a recent study found
that about 25 percent of the otters and muskrats were anatomically deformed.Estrogenic pollution kills birds, panthers,
alligators, old men, young women, fish, seals, babies, and ecosystems.Some of these chemicals are sprayed on forests by the U.S.Department of Agriculture, where they enter lakes, underwater aquifers, rivers,
and oceans.Private businesses spray them on farms and orchards, or put
them into the air as smoke or vapors, or dump them directly into rivers.Homeowners put them on their lawns and gardens."
"The Dire Effects of Estrogen Pollution" by
Ray Peat, PhD.
The extent to which xenoestrogens
have infiltrated our lives is nothing short of
shocking! - - -
They are found in fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, dairy
products, meat, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and personal products (a major source
for women, especially in things that touch the skin i.e. lotions, shampoos,
soap), squeezable toys, baby bottles, industrial effluent and by-products, car
exhaust and more. They are leaching into canned foods and many foods packaged in
plastic, and they exist in water, soil and air.
Xenoestrogens wreak havoc with the body's delicate hormonally balanced endocrine system
Natural hormones are subtly balanced and need only miniscule amounts to function
In particular,
estrogen
is delicately opposed by
PROGESTERONE in the body
- natural PROGESTERONE is no match for
invading synthetic, foreign estrogens
Although similar,
xenoestrogens
are not identical to natural
estrogen and have a
different effect - a hormone binds to its associated receptor on a target cell (much
like a key in a lock) to do a specific and complex job. If the molecular
structure is different, even by one atom, the instructions given to the cell are
different.
Synthetic xenoestrogens
are not easily broken down - and can accumulate and be
stored in the body's fat cells
xenoestrogens accumulate and bind to
estrogen
receptor sites,unbalancing the
endocrine system with devastating health consequences.
xenoestrogens are implicated in numerous
health problems -
including:
Infertility - due to high
estrogen levels in
both sexes, reduced TESTOSTERONE /sperm counts
Erectile dysfunction
(Viagra is a $1 billion business)
Deformed reproductive organs
Endometriosis
BPH (prostate enlargement)
Male breasts and
other reproductive abnormalities
Cancer of the breast, uterus, testes and
prostate
Immunodeficiency
Obesity
Chronic fatigue
(1)
Xenoestrogens
can mimic or block hormone messages with the same, weaker, or stronger responses
- by docking (binding) to an estrogen receptor and mimicking or
blocking normal estrogen response.
(2)
Disrupting normal
estrogen
metabolism (by operating independently of the hormone receptor):
(a) They can prevent or promote
estrogen from being made, broken apart, or carried in the bloodstream (by
attaching to estrogen
transport proteins (Sex Hormone Binding Globulins or SHBGs) - and pushing off
the natural estrogen
so it doesn't reach its target).
(b)
They can change hormone production and disposal - by interrupting enzyme relay systems inside cells or by
stimulating or slowing CYP enzyme production, to change the natural
estrogen balance.
Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) are
involved with the production and breakdown of all steroid hormones (e.g.
estrogens ,
androgens progestins ).
See the shocking number of
sources of
estrogenic endocrine disruptors
now present in our diet and environment . . .
XenoestrogenChart
