GSE
Estrogen dominance - Shocking sources of xenoestrogens - 'Endocrine Disruptors'
Shocking sources of xenoestrogens
("Endocrine Disruptors")
Xenoestrogens contribute to estrogen dominance
Livestock/Agriculture
Our food is a significant source of
xenoestrogens. Food eaten by fish, poultry, animals
or humans may contain xenoestrogens - stored in
their fat, flesh, and milk in increasing concentration
Commercially raised meats and dairy introduce large amounts of
xenoestrogens.
Estrogenic growth hormones are commonly injected into
and fed to livestock in:
Dairy industry. rBGH (recombinant bovine
growth horomone) or rBST forces cows to produce more milk;Meat production. Makes animals grow faster
and gain weight by retaining water;
Livestock feedlot effluent. Another source of aquatic
hormonal contamination.
Estrogenic insecticides.
Applied directly to the animals, often automatically.
Pesticides /herbicides on plant food. Pesticides/herbicides
sprayed on grain, vegetables and fruit (sometimes many times /season) contain
xenoestrogens , E.g. dioxin (an organochloride
- a by-product of chlorine processing); DDT and Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs);
Although now banned, DDT and PCB residues still persist in soils.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that ~50% of U.S. Sewage sludge
is recycled onto the land for fertilizer
"Biosolids" (the PR version). Thes are what's
left over after sewage is treated and processed, not just from human waste, but
from every time a paintbrush gets rinsed, an old bottle of medications is flushed,
or solvents are hosed off a factory floor. Ironically, this recycling into food
crops began when it was realized that dumping them into rivers, lakes and bays was
an environmental hazard! As a poignant example of xenoestrogen contamination via
this route, consider that excretions of women using birth control pills and
hormonal replacement therapy can "recycle" back to us in our food and water. Effluent
from sewage plants are returned to the environment, where, through run-off, they
end up back in our water supply water treatment plants are not designed
to remove hormones ).Also, sewage spillage directl y into waterways is
not uncommon -The New York Times reported in 2009 that in the previous
three years more than
9,400 of the 25,000 U.S. sewage systems had violated the law
by dumping untreated or partially treated human waste, chemicals and other
hazardous materials into rivers, lakes and other waterways.
In 1988, an Environmental Working Group analysis of sewage sludge found
>100 synthetic organic compounds (E.g. phthalates, toluene,
chlorobenzene), 80% of systems contained dioxins, 42 different pesticides
(averaging 2/sample), 9 heavy metals (often high concentrations)
http://www.ewg.org/research/dumping-sewage-sludge-organic-farms .
Sewage sludge was more recently blamed for some of the lead contamination of the
White House lawn and Michelle Obama's organic veggie garden.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) has petitioned the city of San Francisco
to stop distributing sewage sludge (PR-presented as "organic compost")
to homeownersand schoolyards. Given that in 2008,
its sludge was found to contain industrial chemicals, disinfectants, phenol, pesticides
and solvents.
Water from Sewage treatment plants is tainted.
With cleaning solutions, personal care products, and natural and synthetic
hormones.
For more than 10 years, researchers worldwide have observed that fish in our
lakes and rivers are actually switching gender due to their high levels of polluted
effluent estrogens and/or industrial
xenoestrogens - The most publicized study concerned
alligators in Lake Apopka, Florida, after a pesticide, now known to be a powerful
xenoestrogen , was spilled into the lake. The male
gators'gonads shrank and there was a marked decrease in the local gator population
because of their inability to reproduce. Even more shocking - in the Potomac River,
and many other areas in the U.S. male smallmouth bass have been found laying
eggs!
Science
Daily, 2008
A staggering
HALF of all male fish in British lowland rivers
have been found to grow
eggs in their testes
2009 ChemTrust report .
Plastics
"I want to say one word to you. Just one word. . .
Plastics!"
When this one word of career advice was given to "The Graduate"
in the classic 1963 movie, no-one could have imagined the impact plastics were going
to have on our world . . .
Different types of plastics are identified by
number to enable you to make better choices when shopping:
Polyethylene terephthalate
(PET or PETE)
Soft drink bottles, medicine containers, cooking oil bottles, peanut
butter jars;
High density polyethylene
Toys, bottles/jugs for milk, water, detergent, shampoo, motor oil
Polyvinyl chloride
(V or PVC)
common in plastic pipes, meat wrap, cooking oil bottles, outdoor
furniture, siding, floor tiles, shower curtains, clamshell packaging;
Low density polyethylene
Wrapping films, grocery bags, Some bread and frozen food bags and
squeezable bottles, produce bags, trash can liners, dry-cleaning bags.
Polypropylene
Syrup bottles, yogurt containers, diapers, some ketchup bottles and
margarine tubs, bottle caps, drinking straws;
Polystyrene
Products: Coffee cups, clam-shell take-out containers, packing peanuts,
plastic cutlery, meat trays; BTW, there is no such thing as a "Styrofoam
cup"-Styrofoam is a trademarked material made by the Dow Chemical Company,
but they do not make cups, plates, egg-cartons or any food packaging
from it.
Usually polycarbonate
Medical storage containers, some Nalgene water bottles, Tupperware,
baby bottles
Unfortunately, along with their benefits, plastics have also introduced
us to some seriously harmful xenohormones, especially
xenoestrogens :
Phthalates / "Plasticizers"
To soften #3 PVC plastic into its flexible form, and to add transparency, durability,
and longevity, manufacturers add various toxic chemicals known as "plasticizers"
during production. One of these chemicals is a xenoestrogen ,
known as phthalate, and can leach out of PVC in trace amounts, even more so in the
presence of heat.On contact or when heated, trace amounts of phthalates can leach
into food from PVC-based containers and wrap, particularly when the food is oily
or has a high fat content. Of considerable concern, studies have revealed that phthalates
exposure can also be via the skin or mouth through dust and air.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/indoor-measure-of-airborne-contaminants/
Phthalates have been found at high concentrations in human plasma
and urine.
Swan et al. 2005 Phthalates are released from source by heat, agitation, and prolonged
contact/storag ePhthalates can cross the placenta DEHP (di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) is the most
abundant environmental phthalate. Chronic exposure
to low, environmentally relevant DEHP levels increased serum concentrations
of TESTOSTERONE and
ESTRADIOL by >50% - by inducing high levels of
gonadotropin LH (luteinizing hormone).
Benson T et al, Phthalate-induced
Leydig cell hyperplasia is associated with multiple endocrine disturbances,
PNAS, 2004 Cling-wraps. Originally PVC-based, but due
to health concerns, brands including Glad Cling Wrap, Handi-Wrap and Saran
Premium Wrap (newer version of Saran Wrap) are now LDPE.HOWEVER,
food caterers still prefer to use PVC-based wrap - since it is generally
more clingy, not so permeable to oxygen, aroma, and flavor, and more resistant
to freezer burn. Phthalates are found in: PVC plumbing pipes, irrigation
systems, PVC-based cling wrap, flexible plastic kitchen utensils and microwave
ovenware, medical tubes and devices, processed food packaging, plastic shower
curtains, vinyl flooring and wall coverings, nail polish, hair spray, shampoo,
deodorants, fragrances, toys;
Bisphenol A (BPA)
A building block of rigid #7 plastic polycarbonates and epoxy resins. BPA is
a xenoestrogenic chemical invented during the
search for synthetic estrogen s in the 1930's.Many
studies confirm BPA as a hormone disruptor, even though it has a potency ~ 10,000
times less than pure estrogen.
Some examples of BPA health effects
Adverse effects on pregnancy. A 2009
in vitro study on
cytotrophoblast cells has found cytotoxic effects in exposure of
BPA doses from 0.0002 to 0.2 µg /ml and concluded this finding "suggests that
exposure of placental cells to low doses of BPA may cause detrimental effects,
leading in vivo to adverse pregnancy outcomes such as
pre-eclampsia ,
intrauterine growth restriction, prematurity and pregnancy loss"
Effects of Neonatal Exposure to Bisphenol A on Steroid
Regulation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression and Endothelial
Cell Proliferation in the Adult Rat Uterus, Biol Reprod January 2010
Low doses promote breast cancer cells in vitro.
In 1993, a Stanford university school of medicine team found
that 2-5 parts per billion of BPA was enough to cause breast cancer cells to
proliferate in vitro In 1998, an Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP)
study found that BPA simulates the action of estrogenwhen tested in human breast
cancer cells. A more recent study published in EHP
shows a significant decrease of TESTOSTERONE in male rats exposed to low levels
of BPA.BPA has more potent effects at certain times in the life of an organism
and lower doses produced greater effect than low doses.
A study in Environmental Health Perspectives reveals
that BPA is particularly potent in mice exposed near the time of birth. Pregnant
female mice exposed to low levels of BPA near the time of birth produce offspring
that gain excessive weight early in life and maintain excessive weight thereafter.
This effect does not occur in mice fed BPA as adults. (The study also found
that low doses of BPA produced a greater effect than higher doses). According
to the authors of the study, their BPA data "suggest the need for careful evaluation
of the current levels of exposure [of humans] to this compound."
EHP Vol. 109, No. 7 (July 2001), pgs. 675-680
Estimated DAILY intake of BPA by U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services
Adult Child
On average, humans ingest ~ 6.3 µg / day of BPA just from the linings
of food cans
In 2009, more than 6 billion pounds of BPA was manufactured.
These provided nearly $7 billion in sales
What products contain BPA?
Polycarbonate plastic. Rigid, clear and nearly shatter-proof,
polycarbonate is used to make:
Baby bottles, large water bottles (used in dispensers), drinking glasses;
Food-storage containers;
Sports equipment;
Medical and dental devices, dental fillings and sealants, eyeglass lenses;
CDs and DVDs, household electronics.
Type 3 PVC - can contain BPA as an antioxidant in plasticizers.
BPA-containing epoxy resins coat the inside of almost all food and beverage
cans and boxes. Acidity increases BPA-leaching into food.E.g.
canned tomatoes have higher BPA levels than other non-acidic foods. The linings
of canned food-linings are our largest exposure source.
BPA contamination researcher Laura Vandenberg, PhD,
postdoctoral fellow in
For clarification, Types 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6plastics do NOT use BPA during
production (polymerization) or package-forming.
Metalloestrogens
What are metalloestrogens? Metalloestrogens are
organic xenoestrogens , which can affect the gene
expression of human cells responding to estrogen .
Metalloestrogens have shown affinity for estrogen
receptors, and can thus mimic estrogen activating
the receptor. They are considered harmful and potentially linked with breast cancer.
Include: aluminum, antimony, arsenite, barium, cadmium,chromium
(Cr(II)), cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, tin, and vanadate.
NPEs
NPEs (Nonylphenol ethoxylates). In many
common household products
