Avoiding Endocrine Disruptors

Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Doctor Pat Nardini, Naturopathic Doctor. I’d like to talk to you today about chemicals called endocrine disruptors.

Have you ever wondered what chemical pollutants can do to your body? I’m talking about chemicals that are in the air, water, food, and the things that we use every day. It turns out that some of them can have an extremely negative effect on your endocrine system – they’re called “endocrine disruptors”. And you may be surprised where some of these chemicals come from.

Endocrine System and Hormones

Firstly, why is this important? The endocrine system is comprised of several different glands, which produce their own natural chemicals called “hormones” that travel through the blood and help to maintain proper organ function. For example, a hormone called “cortisol” is produced by your adrenal glands and travels to your liver to tell it to make sugar for your body. Because hormones are specialized chemicals, they can be disrupted by similar chemicals that are in our environment.

To the body, these endocrine-disrupting chemicals often look like the real hormones. So the body is fooled. The organs that interact with the hormones think they’re getting a hormone signal when they’re not. This causes the organ to malfunction. If this happens often enough, the organ may become diseased.

Sources of Endocrine Disruptors

Where do these disrupting chemicals come from? Pesticides, like Round-up, that are sprayed on food contain many endocrine disruptors. Plastics, especially soft ones, including those little water bottles, contain these chemicals. Some pharmaceutical medications can act as endocrine disruptors and there are several within household cleaning products and cosmetics.

Avoiding Endocrine Disruptors

So, what can you do to minimize your exposure to these endocrine disruptors? First – buy as much of your food organic as possible. The Environmental Working Group maintains a list of the “Dirty Dozen” most heavily sprayed fruits and veggies. You can find it at ewg.org. Avoid storing food in soft plastic containers that contain BPA and phthalate chemicals. And buy personal care and household cleaning items that use natural ingredients. In fact, vinegar and baking soda can take care of about 95% of your cleaning needs.

Thanks for listening. For ongoing information and tips about your health, tune into my YouTube channel and read some more of my Articles of Health. They just may save your life!

In short, read labels and buy organic.

Until next time, this is Dr. Pat Nardini, ND, putting “Your Wellness First!”