Hormone Disrupting Chemicals-Do You Avoid and How?

flannelette · June 2015

Here's something I tried today and it was so easy.....washed the floors with vodka plus eucalyptus oil. Yes, expensive but the vodka came to me free and i don't drink. I have used it for cleaning weird stains or mildew off leather and other non-washable items. so, floors vacuumed, just dumped a bit into a pail, added a few splashes eucalyptus (was out of lavender or geranium my fave) and used the floor-washer mop thing that has strips of fabric-like cleaning "ribbons" - swished that over my floors - there is never a residue, dries in a few minutes, and on a hot muggy day when things seem gritty underfoot it left the floors so fresh - I'm not sure I'd do this often as it might eventually damage wood floors. I also use geranium oil straight onto a cloth for cleaning really grimy stuff - works beautifully and smells divine.

For face & body creams use only shea butter or virgin coconut oil - I guess good products are out there but I'm not into shopping much...

My partner's daughter, who has no idea about this, sprayed Febreze air freshener in a room where I'd been sorting and collecting clothing for a fundraising bazaar. I noticed tiny dots of what looked like chlorine bleach spots - hundreds of tiny ones - on all the sleeves that were sticking out of the packed racks of clothes & wondered what on earth? emailed her about it - she'd used Febreze!!!! ugh! imagine inhaling that! she's also crazy about every Glade product to make everything "smell" clean. I got in our car and there was a car glade airfreshener that smelled sickening she'd bought for us! arghhh - I threw it out. But she smokes, too, so i guess is not at all concerned about carcinogens.

abigail48 · June 2015

if she smokes tobacco she simply can't smell the horrible chemical odor of these freshener things

windingshores · June 2015

I cannot handle the smell of lavender or eucalyptus. Or should I say, those things in the air- it really isn't the scent. My lymph nodes swell up, my nose runs and my lungs hurt. You never know what "natural" solutions will do to some people.

abigail48 · June 2015

have I said I'm "sensitive"? not 10 years and 2 hrs a day for a cell phone to cause tr, but a few months & 5 muintes a week for me. but essential oils I tolerate quite well, though some have said the scent too strong & that they act like chemo"therapy"

SelenaWolf · June 2015

I, basically, use my microwave oven to de-frost (if I'm under a time constraint) or - like leggo - to heat up coffee. I have rarely, if ever, actually cooked with it. I prefer a good, old-fashioned oven and have collected quite a few ceramic and terracotta roasting dishes and casserole dishes. Ironically, it's a convenience I wouldn't want to do without, yet I rarely use it. Go figure.

ceanna · July 2015

Another interesting article about endocrine disruptors and what to avoid:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/07/15/10-common-sources-endocrine-disruptors.aspx?e_cid=20150715Z1_DNL_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150715Z1&et_cid=DM81825&et_rid=1035743777

scvmom65 · July 2015

I agree with what others have said, it is a journey. For me when I started with the personal products, I consulted the EWG database and started with the things that covered the most exposure on my body like body wash, lotion, shampoo, and things that touched my mouth like lip balm rather than worry about mascara at the beginning. Some people like coconut oil for a multitasker but it gave me a rash, so I tried different oils and now use almond oil. It is a great makeup remover and I use it as my body moisturizer. I also agree with others, I do not touch anything with the word "fragrance" on it since I have no idea what is in it. I stay away from dairy, eat organic and pesticide free foods. Dr Mercola sells cookware and a teapot, it is expensive so I asked for each one at Christmas and I got a few pieces after a few years, they are great! I drink and cook with reverse osmosis water and once a week I take a "detox" bath with salts or clay to pull toxins out of my body too. At first it was a lot of work but after a few years of reading labels and educating myself, it seems more like common sense.

Anna

Metta · July 2015

Hi, thanks for keeping this thread going. Have you all given up traditional perfumes, too, you know, like Chanel and whatnot? I guess I should toss those in the trash, too. I'm going through a phase where I feel like I'm surrounded by poison; I won't even touch receipts.

However, although I have eaten organic for years, kept in shape, etc., I got breast cancer anyway (I blame genes and red wine). So lately I feel a little defeated and hopeless. I need a pep talk!

I trust the Mayo Clinic, but they are still saying that there's no connection between parabens and cancer. That is baffling to me since parabens are endocrine disruptors. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/canc...

Here is the list of Dr. Mercola's tips (verified by other outlets, too) in case people want to read through:

As much as possible, buy and eat organic produce and free-range, organic meats to reduce your exposure to added hormones, pesticides, and fertilizers. Also avoid milk and other dairy products that contain the genetically engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST). Rather than eating conventional or farm-raised fish, which are often heavily contaminated with PCBs and mercury, supplement with a high-quality purified krill oil, or eat smaller fish or fish that is wild-caught and lab tested for purity. Wild caught Alaskan salmon is about the only fish I eat for these reasons. Buy products that come in glass bottles or jars rather than plastic or canned, since chemicals can leach out of plastics and into the contents. Store your food and beverages in glass rather than plastic, and avoid using plastic wrap. Use glass baby bottles and avoid plastic sippy cups for your little ones. Eat mostly raw, fresh foods. Processed, prepackaged foods (of all kinds) are a common source of chemicals such as BPA and phthalates.Replace your non-stick pots and pans with ceramic or glass cookware. Filter your tap water—both for drinking and bathing. If you can only afford to do one, filtering your bathing water may be more important, as your skin absorbs contaminants. To remove the endocrine-disrupting herbicide Atrazine, make sure the filter is certified to remove it. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), perchlorate can be filtered out using a reverse osmosis filter. Look for products that are made by companies that are earth-friendly, animal-friendly, green, non-toxic, and/or 100% organic. This applies to everything from food and personal care products to building materials, carpeting, paint, baby items, upholstery, and more. Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter to remove house dust, which is often contaminated with traces of chemicals.When buying new products such as furniture, mattresses or carpet padding, ask what type of fire retardant it contains. Be mindful of and/or avoid items containing PBDEs, antimony, formaldehyde, boric acid, and other brominated chemicals. As you replace these toxic items around your home, select those that contain naturally less flammable materials, such as leather, wool, and cotton. Avoid stain- and water-resistant clothing, furniture, and carpets to avoid perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). Minimize your use of plastic baby and child toys, opting for those made of natural wood or fabric instead.Only use natural cleaning products in your home or make your own. Avoid products that contain 2-butoxyethanol (EGBE) and methoxydiglycol (DEGME) — two toxic glycol ethers that can damage fertility and cause fetal harm.14Switch over to organic brands of toiletries such as shampoo, toothpaste, antiperspirants, and cosmetics. You can replace many different products with coconut oil and baking soda, for example. EWG has a great database15 to help you find personal care products that are free of phthalates and other potentially dangerous chemicals. Replace feminine hygiene products like tampons and sanitary pads with safer alternatives. Avoid artificial air fresheners, dryer sheets, fabric softeners, or other synthetic fragrances. Look for products that are fragrance-free. One artificial fragrance can contain hundreds – even thousands – of potentially toxic chemicals. Replace your vinyl shower curtain with one made of fabric.

scvmom65 · July 2015

Hi Metta,

Yes, I gave up perfumes right away. Those companies are protected by "trade secrets" so as long as the word fragrance is listed, they do not have to disclose what is in it. healthychild.org explains it pretty well too.

I know what you mean about feeling you are in a toxic enviroment, I think it is part of the journey. I felt like that about a year ago and was googling everything and purging things. My hubby finally had enough when he went to work and I removed the DVR from our bed room and put a Himalayan salt rock lamp in its place to neutralize positive ions in the air, hahaha. Then I met with my oncologist who told me that the stress I was causing by freaking out about all the toxins could cause more harm than the toxins themselves so after that I calmed down and just decided to worry about the big stuff and not sweat the small stuff. Everyone has their own journey through cancer it seems. Congratulate yourself on being proactive!

Anna

Englishmummy · July 2015

Anyone have any thoughts on dairy? I am reading a book and they talk about dairy cows wearing estrogen patches so as they produce more milk.....I called the company that used to deliver our milk - we now do the raw milk from a small organic farm, they only use kelp tablets and molasses - but the mass market dairy confirmed it was true but only at times when the cows produce less!!! I don't eat ANY dairy now since I was diagnosed, but I did and quite a bit of it - yogurt, cheese (love cheese, now it makes me gag - silly I know), milky latte's but it was organic, except the milk ... I had no idea how shady the dairy industry is until I started asking questions last year before my diagnosis but too late me, obviously....they feed cows all kinds of weird things if you don't buy certified organic dairy...candy, mash from beer/liquor making, gmo sugar beets, gmo corn, gmo soy, any thing bar grass I guess. Now I freak every time my 3 children drink a glass of milk, even though it is as pure as we are likely to get and we visit the farm regularly to see the cows.

I am with you Metta, I kept in shape, only ate organic, rarely ate meat and only organic-hormone free meat when I did, loads of veggies, never eating out, never had a microwave.... I tried to eliminate everything from our home that I thought would be a disruptor - from cleaning products, to shower curtains, detergents, perfumes, make-up... you name it - it went, my hubby thought I was crazy, and that was before I had my eldest who will be 13. Still I got bloody BC and I can't even blame the genes,.....as it is just me in the whole family {sigh}

abigail48 · August 2015

the one i dislike the most. & don't pay too much attention to it, but always on my mind: apparently "golden brown & delicious" is plastic. acrylamide specifically

Momine · August 2015

Metta, the reason the Mayo clinic says that is because research was done on the question and so far no research suggests any link between parabens and cancer.

labelle · August 2015

Parabens are proven estrogen disruptors. Whether or not they contribute to cancers is debatable, but for me personally, switching to natural products has been easy. Why take the chance when essential oils smell heavenly and the natural products available not only work well but are better for the environment than the chemical laden products?

http://www.breastcancer.org/risk/factors/cosmetics

dlb823 · August 2015

Here's an excellent article by Jon Barron on the problem with chemicals in our environment.

http://jonbarron.org/cancer-alternative-cancer-the...

"...an international research group of 174 scientists affiliated with leading research centers in 28 countries (no kidding, they're all listed in the citation) just published the results of a study assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment, and the results were not good."

"Our analysis suggests that the cumulative effects of individual (non-carcinogenic) chemicals acting on different pathways, and a variety of related systems, organs, tissues and cells could plausibly conspire to produce carcinogenic synergies."

april485 · August 2015

Wow, although I have made some changes (parabens, plastic containers, organic whenever possible, etc.) I feel like we have to live in a "plastic (no pun intended) bubble" to avoid all of the things on that list by Mercola...ugh! We don't have a chance in hell of avoiding everything so am just going with what we can do reasonably I guess...sigh! Great thread btw!

ThumbsUp

DianaNM · August 2015

I started this journey about 15 years ago when I had a chemical injury at work. The water supply actually had a leak from an old underground jet fuel tank and I drank a LOT of water. Not surprisingly I got very sick. I am still very sensitive to chemicals. Try explaining THAT to a cancer doctor. Oh, and I had radiation exposure from working at a nuclear weapons assembly plant for almost a year in my 20s. They actually have a class action award for former employees that got cancer, but I'm five days short. Yeah, cancer doctors don't get that one, either. I guess breast cancer for me wasn't if, but when.

Anyway. One of the most important places to clean up is your bed! You spend a lot of hours there. My current bed is natural latex, with a fluffy bamboo mattress pad, down pillow, and cotton sheets. Which are washed in fragrance free natural detergent. We bought a wool ball that acts as a fabric softener. When I was sickest, I actually had a smoker's cough for two years (never smoked) until I changed the detergent! When we switched to latex and bamboo, my husband noticed that he was no longer sweating at night. And he has no chemical sensitivities at all.

So lucky to be able to buy raw dairy, Englishmum. It's really hard to do in the US. I have added some dairy back in my diet, but only full fat plain from grass fed cows. You can find some at places like Whole Foods, brands like Strauss and Wallaby. Avoid some of the organic brands that contain carageenan. It's nasty. The yogurt is really good for probiotics, and real cream is so much better than a substitute in recipes. I've been trying to work on my gut health lately. Sauerkraut is good too, but only the kind that's just made with sea salt.

Another consideration for "cleaning up" your environment is electronics. You don't need the strongest wifi, really, and you definitely don't need phones, pads, and laptops next to your body. There's a guy on the internet that measures the radiation from these devices, will try to find a link. It's very interesting. And for your kids, iPads are pretty ok while in Airplane Mode.

And I have not thought about shoes! I constantly wear Teva Mush around the house, and Crocs (with socks) in the winter. I need to look into this.

Englishmummy · August 2015

Diana, thanks for posting that - I am thinking about cutting dairy completely for the whole fam but my hubby absolutely believes that children need it. My daughter is 12 and her skin breaks out, neither my hubby or I have ever had any type of acne and hers is not yet acne but it does seem to flare up with dairy. She actually came to me today and told me she wanted to skip dairy for 2 weeks to see if it improves. I never thought about the connection but I googled (yes,I did!) and found this acne, breast and prostate cancer dairy link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2715202/pdf/de0101_0012.pdf not sure what the old man will think about that, as he is defo brainwashed into thinking everyone needs dairy!

I have read a lot on gut health too and I feel it is a very valid component, we take a coconut probiotic and eat fermented foods, so I am not even sure the kids 'need' yogurt. I make almond milk as I can't stand all the additives in the ones in the store.

Cleaning up your bed is brilliant advice. Does the latex smell? How long does it take to air out? My DH is super sensitive to smell - he blames his roman nose but he doesn't tolerate weird smells at all.lol! I am looking at mattresses for my children and was debating on going with organic wool or natural latex. The organic ones are an insane price and all 3 need one. You can make your own dryer balls inexpensively, my 3 love winding the wool then just wash and tumble dry a couple of times - they last for ages.

abigail48 · August 2015

receipe for your almond milk?

Englishmummy · August 2015

Of course!
1 cup of almonds - blanched or otherwise

3 cups of filtered water (less if you want it creamier)

2 pitted dates

*optional is 1/4 tsp vanilla or almond essence - I make my own vanilla or use the scrapings of half a pod

Whir in blender (disclaimer, I do have a vitamix) for 30 seconds. Strain through cheesecloth. Refridgerate in sealed glass container.

I have recipes for sesame, soy, coconut and rice milk too. I'll PM if you wish? Unless anyone else is interested, I'll gladly post just don't want to take up all the airspace:)

I have not really found what to do with the almond mush as my little one calls it. I have made cookies with it......any ideas?? I need a dehydrator I guess....

abigail48 · August 2015

almond mush in pasta sauce?. the dates for the sweetness is a genius idea

Englishmummy · August 2015

ohh, like a pesto with parsley and cilantro?

abigail48 · August 2015

or a sauce for a brown rice dish

DianaNM · August 2015

Englishmum yes, latex can be expensive. I aired mine out for maybe a day before putting it together? It's not like memory foam, which outgasses for a long time. If you have an Ikea nearby, they have the very best prices on latex mattresses. and wonderful sheets and pillows. No bamboo though.

leggo · August 2015

Englishmummy, thanks for posting that recipe. Just tried it out. Every once in a while I crave a bowl of cereal and this was DELICIOUS!

Englishmummy · August 2015

Diana, I already have organic bamboo sheets so good to go there, and we are going to Denver this weekend so I shall pop in to IKEA to take a peek at those mattresses.I am hoping they might work, the organic ones are $850 a piece, so times 3 is a wallop in one go. Thanks again

Leggo - so happy you got your cereal fix! I love that milk too... forgot to say it does not stay long a week max - I think, but it never lasts that long around here. Oh, also if you have time to soak the almonds overnight, it seems to yield more. Night all.

DianaNM · August 2015

I slept on an Ikea latex/cotton mattress at an Airbnb place recently, and it was so comfortable! I think it is the not the top of the line, but the second.

Momine · August 2015

May I ask what the rationale for bamboo sheets is? Is there something wrong with plain old cotton sheets?

Englishmummy · August 2015

Momine - Nothing wrong with cotton sheets at all! Although I find it pretty tough to find 100% cotton sheets anymore, I even love ironing fresh hung cotton sheets.

Bamboo is *supposedly* greener in many ways..mainly environmentally.....grows with less/no herbicides, pesticides, takes less water to grow and doesn't have to be bleached. It uses less dyes and last longer due to the filament structure. It is great at wicking away moisture and has antibacterial properties. Plus, it is sustainable as it grows so fast. This article talks about the highlights.

http://thegreenlivingcenter.com/node/137

All of the above I can only assume is true but I can vouch that my organic bamboo sheets are 10 years old and still look new - no sign of fading or wear. They are so incredibly soft, warm in winter and cool in summer. I love them!

DianaNM · August 2015

Bamboo is especially great if you have foam in your bed, topper or whatever. It cools you off in the summer. It really works, ask my husband!

ceanna · August 2015

Mercola posted another article today. Some info is a repeat but there is more explanation about risky chemicals, products containing them, and how to avoid:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/08/05/common-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals.aspx?e_cid=20150805Z1_DNL_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150805Z1&et_cid=DM83948&et_rid=1064207448

Where are you all buying bamboo sheets and mattress pads?

Thanks for the almond milk recipe. Would this work with cashews since I'm allergic to almonds?

Hormone Disrupting Chemicals-Do You Avoid and How?

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