Younger Skin Starts in the Gut by Nigma Talib

Author:Nigma Talib
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781612435930
Publisher: Ulysses Press
Published: 2016-01-26T05:00:00+00:00

I’ve just discussed some of the reasons why specific hormones might become imbalanced. These, as well as inflammation and poor gut health, are factors that affect every single one of my patients (and their hormone levels) to some extent. However, absolutely the biggest factor unbalancing our hormones today is chemical exposure.

Every day we’re exposed to thousands of chemicals. They enter our lungs via the air, our bodies via drinking water and the food we eat, or our skin via the cosmetics and toiletries we use, and they even appear in the clothes we wear or the furniture we sit on. It’s been estimated, for example, that we are exposed to up to 515 chemicals each day from our beauty routine alone.10 In one recent trial, monitoring chemical exposure with the use of absorbent wristbands, a group of 30 random volunteers were shown to be exposed to 49 of 1,182 of what researchers called “chemicals of concern” within just 30 days11 and, shockingly, when experts at the Environmental Working Group sampled the umbilical cords of 10 newborn babies, they found traces of more than 200 chemicals.12

While, of course, not every chemical is harmful and not every chemical impacts your hormone levels, there are a number of chemicals that have been linked to hormonal disruption in the body. I touched on them briefly when I spoke about the role of xenoestrogens and how they might imbalance estrogen, and fluoride and its potential links with thyroid problems. But this group of chemicals known as endocrine disruptors have also been shown to impact adrenal hormones and testosterone. There are many of them, but some you could be commonly exposed to include:

•Bisphenol-A (BPA): Found in plastic packaging, including water bottles, drink containers, yogurt containers and microwave packaging, BPA also forms the lining inside of tin cans. This is believed to mimic reproductive hormones, including estrogen.

•Dioxins: These are by-products of industry but we mainly encounter them via the food supply, as they collect in animal fat. They interfere with the ways that hormones, particularly the reproductive hormones, communicate.

•Phthalates: Used to soften plastic, these are commonly found in plastic food containers and plastic wrap. They also appear in beauty products as they are used in fragrance. Again, they are suspected to affect the reproductive hormones—for example, women with the highest levels of phthalates in their system were two-and-a-half times more likely to report disinterest in sex than those with lower levels as reported in a study by the University of Rochester.13

•Mercury: We are most commonly exposed to mercury via the food we eat, specifically oily fish. Mercury has been shown to impact the hormonal system in five different ways, including changing concentrations of hormones, binding to testosterone and altering levels of the enzymes needed to create hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. It’s been shown to affect thyroid hormones, adrenal hormones and the reproductive hormones.

•Arsenic: Found in drinking water and foods—particularly rice. Arsenic has been shown to interfere with the genes that control the production of stress hormones, such as cortisol, and also affect estrogen receptors and the signals they send out.

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