It’s time to look at the products you are using at home and on your body!
Do you have endometriosis, PCOS, irregular, missing, painful periods, hormonal acne?
If you’ve already addressed your nutrients, sleep and stress, it may be time to look at the products you are using at home and on your body!
It might seem crazy but did you know that there are over 80,000 toxic chemicals that are registered in the world but only about a third of them have any safety data and even worse, some still have yet to be tested as to their safety levels ?!
Unfortunately, our Food and Drug Administration has very little oversight on these chemicals and frankly the individual companies are doing a poor job banning these toxins from American homes. Where European Countries have banned over 2000+ toxins, America has banned less than 30! This leaves it up to us to be conscious consumers in order to support our hormonal health by avoiding these toxic products.
Of the toxins we know about we know that they can cause significant endocrine (hormone) issues – everything from decreasing some hormones to increasing others to contributing to birth defects, causing premature cell death, and replacing crucial nutrients needed to build healthy hormones.
So what are some of these toxins? what personal care products are they found in? and what can we replace them with!?
Let’s narrow our focus to some heavy hitters – Phlatates, Parabens and Heavy Metals. For a more in depth list you can check out the EWG – DIRTY DOZEN FOR ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS.
PARABENS
The concern with these chemicals is that parabens can disrupt hormones in the body by acting like the hormone estrogen. They have been linked to cause harm in fertility and reproductive organs, affect birth outcomes, and increase the risk of cancer, particularly breast cancer in women. A human study linked butylparaben with decreased fertility, as indicated by decreased menstrual cycle length.
These chemicals have been lurking around in our shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, face and skin cleaners, sunscreens, deodorants, shaving gels, toothpastes, makeup since the 1920s as a way to keep these products from growing bacteria and mold as they sit on the shelves.
SWAP: Look for ” Paraben free” or check out the ingredient list. Parabens can be listed with the precurors of “methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, isopropyl-, butyl” before the word paraben.
PARABEN-FREE SWAP
Look for ” Paraben free” or check out the ingredient list. Parabens can be listed with the precurors of “methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, isopropyl-, butyl” before the word paraben.
PHLATATES
Phthalates, is used as a plasticizer inside everything from perfume to hair products to deodorants to lotions and even food containers. These widely used group of hormone-disrupting chemicals have been linked to problems of the reproductive system, including hormonal changes, thyroid irregularities and birth defects in the reproductive systems of baby boys.
PHLATATES-FREE SWAP
Look for “Phlatate free” on your products and keep in mind that they are not always explicitly identified on the ingredient list, for example the EWG found that companies were using the word “fragrance,” as a vague term that can hide a multitude of ingredients including phthalates. You can easily swap synthetic fragrance based products for “fragrance free” or use essential oils. Another good place to start is avoiding plastic food containers. For zip lock backs you can switch to Stasher and for Tupperware you can switch to glass containers!
As the demand grows for cleaner products many products have been changing their ingredients list to be paraben and phlatate free which is fantastic news for us consumers!
HEAVY METALS
Aluminum is one I see ALL the time on the heavy metal mineral testing I do at SHE Talks Health. It is most commonly found in deodorant and aluminum cook ware. Other heavy metals can be found in lipsticks and eyeliners!
Heavy metals build up in body in tissues and muscles – they are a neurotoxins and some have been linked to various menstrual cycle issues because they bind to estrogen receptor sites. Long and short – we DON’T want to be building up heavy metals in our tissues.
HEAVY METAL-FREE SWAP
You want to look for companies that screen for heavy metals – I personally use Beauty Counter that triple screens. Crunchie also has great options!
I know this can feel overwhelming so please don’t do it all at once! Unfortunately these chemicals are ubiquitous in our environment, some are even in our drinking water. But you simply can’t change all your beauty products, kitchen supplies, and personal care products all in one swoop. So take it easy on yourself, make a list and replace things as you can or as you run out of them.
If you aren’t sure if your products are safe you can find clean cosmetic products using EWG’s Skin Deep Database or download the “Detox Me” app for endless and reliable healthy lifestyle guides to empower you to eliminate these toxic chemicals.
By the way did you listen to the recent podcast where I spoke with clean beauty expert – Arden Martin about the ins and outs of some of our favorite personal care products and what swaps we can easily make?
Navigating and addressing toxic products can be complex, confusing, and frustrating when you try to go it alone. But it’s our job to take all the guesswork and stress out of the equation for the women we work with.
Ready to dive deep into your health? To take a root cause approach to your hormonal health?
Now let’s keep the conversation going in the comments below!
Are you concerned with the products you are using?
Ask us questions below so we can continue to help you on your hormonal health journey!
Ready to get your hormones back on track? I’m here to support you.