EDC’s, Hormones and Fertility!
Did you know that young girls are starting puberty younger than ever?
Did you know that infertility is on the rise? (study)
And men's testosterone levels are dropping?
What is going on? What is messing up children’s, women’s and men’s hormones so much?
There are multiple things contributing to these statistics. One is that our waste water treatment plants in Canada are unable to remove pharmaceuticals from our drinking water and estrogen levels in water are steadily increasing from hormonal birth control. Your diet and lifestyle play a major role in this as well. Another huge reason is our chronic, long term, daily exposure to EDC’s.
First, I want to talk about WHO EDC’s Effect…
Short answer…. Everyone!
Children
Early onset of puberty causing long term health issues such as obesity and diabetes
Menstruating Women
Painful periods, irregular periods, fibroids, PCOS, infertility, low ovarian reserve, amenorrhea, brain fog, sleep issues, weight loss resistance, fatigue, acne, etc
Menopausal Women
Early onset of menopause, worsen symptoms, excessive weight gain and inability to lose weight, osteoporosis, memory decline, cognitive decline, etc.
Men
Low testosterone, low sperm count, low sperm quality, increase in estrogen, feminine features, weight gain, mood swings, irritability, sleep issues, cognitive decline, brain fog, etc
It affects everyone at all stages of life. Reducing your exposure will help you balance your hormones, improve your fertility, feel better and so much more! And it will also help your family’s health and how they feel!
What is an EDC?
If you use conventional personal care and household products then your hormones are being messed up by EDC’s!
EDC’s are Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and they do exactly that! These chemicals interfere with every aspect of our hormones leading women to serious hormone problems such as PCOS, endometriosis, low ovarian reserve, estrogen dominance, amenorrhea, infertility, heavy periods, painful periods, PMS, weight gain, mood swings, cravings and so much more! They are chemicals found in conventional products that are deemed “safe” in small amounts and added to our personal care and household products for various reasons. They are not natural or safe to be put on our body, in our body or around our body.. yet we do it every day!
You are probably thinking…
How did this happen?
How are companies putting harmful chemicals into our products?
and WHO is letting them do this!?
This is a really great question! There are specific amounts of these chemicals that are allowed in our products and not thought to cause cancer (most EDC’s are known as carcinogenic compounds), infertility and many other symptoms at low levels. BUT we are bombarded with exposure. We are being exposed to a significantly higher amount of these chemicals then what the safe limit is. The safe exposure limit is met by every company for every one of their products but we don't just use one personal care and household product a day, right?
Think about your morning routine;
You wake up and brush your teeth - toothpaste = 1
You have a shower - shampoo, conditioner, body wash/soap = 3
You get out of the shower - moisturizer/lotion, face cream, deodorant, hair care products, make up, perfume = 7
You get dressed - laundry detergent / scent beads and dryer sheets = 2
Total Exposure = 13 x the amount of exposure to these chemicals that is considered safe AND that is just in your morning routine. That doesn't account for everything else you are exposed to in your day.
This is how these “safe amounts” become unsafe and have a negative impact on your hormones, fertility and overall health!
Did you know that your face soap, moisturizer, and shampoo is messing up your hormones and reducing your fertility?
My Personal Story…
I want to share a personal story with you. I had severe hormone issues my entire life that had a really negative impact on me. All that conventional doctors offered was the birth control pill when I was 12 years old, to “balance” my hormones. My mom and I didn’t know any better so at 12 years old I started hormonal birth control. (FYI, Hormonal birth control DOES NOT balance your hormones). I first heard about EDC’s in school at CSNN. At first, I was really resistant to it. I thought there was no way all the products I used my entire life were having such a negative impact on my health. So I did nothing about it. I continued to use conventional products and changed everything else, my lifestyle, my diet, my mindset but guess what? I hit a plateau. I got better with these changes but I still was not feeling my best. I still had lots of symptoms of hormonal imbalance and it was still impacting my life and relationships. I thought that I might as well try to switch some of my products since I tried everything else. Low and behold…. my symptoms started disappearing. I had more energy, weight was falling off of me without changing anything else, my brain fog lifted, my periods were shorter, lighter and I had no cramps or pain! It blew my mind.
This experience taught me many things, the first is that I need to be less stubborn and that chronic, high exposure to EDC’s messed up my hormones really bad! I am sharing my story with you because I bet you're thinking the same thing or have thought the same thing about conventional products in the past. You’ve probably thought “that organic, natural shampoo is just a waste of money. It is so much more expensive than this *insert conventional brand here* ”. That’s what I used to think as well. But it's not. Your health, your happiness, your fertility is worth it. One of my favorite quotes is..
“You either pay now, or you pay later.”
You pay now with high quality products and food or you pay later with your health.
How Do EDC’s Impact Our Hormones and Fertility?
EDC’s mimic and interfere with our hormonal system (and every system in our body, as a matter of fact). They interfere in many different ways since there are many different chemicals. They each have their own mechanism and pathway. I am not going to get into the science today but will in the future! If you want to learn more, send me an email and I can share my nerdy stuff with you!
Where are EDC’s Found?
This can be overwhelming at first. It was for me. I was really overwhelmed when I learnt where EDC’s are found and how expansive the list is. BUT take it one step at a time. Every small change you do will have an impact. The goal is to change everything over time, NOT over night. Start with your personal care products since they have the biggest impact on our health and are a great place to start! As you run out of a product, swap it out with a natural, hormonal friendly option! I wanted to share the entire list with you so you are aware. Knowledge is power!
To help my clients, I have come up with a way to break this down into 3 digestible categories. I go into detail about each one of these categories in ‘My 90 Day Fertility Plan” online course that helps prepare you and your partner for pregnancy. Included is a step-by-step guide on how to start switching over your products, discount codes, helpful tips and tricks and so much more!
Toxins that are ON you
Personal Care Products; make up, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, etc. Anything you put on your body.
My favorite shampoo and conditioner
My favorite deodorant
My favorite makeup brand
Clothing; cloths are sprayed with harmful chemicals that off gas on our body, laundry detergent, scent beads (please throw these away ASAP), dryer sheets, etc)
My favorite laundry detergent
My favorite dryer “sheets” aka dryer balls
Receipt and thermal paper
Anything else you put on your body!
Toxins that are IN you
Food is the main one
Organic is my go too! Check out the EWG’s clean 15 and dirty dozen for an easy shopping guide.
Filtered Water
Plastic is the next biggest one! We use so much plastic these days from our water bottles, food containers, kitchen utensils (see this blog post for easy hormone healthy kitchen item swaps), and everything in between! Plastics also contain EDC’s that really impact your hormones, health and fertility.
Toxins that are AROUND you
Air quality
Conventional candles
here is a blog post all about non-toxic candles. You can visit my online store, The Shop to get yours today!
Cleaning products
My favorite is my homemade recipe! Blog Post coming soon!
Air fresheners
Fabric fresheners
The smell of gas at a gas station (#neurotoxin)
Anything that you can smell or see!
Here is a list on common EDC’s
Phthalates
BPA
PFAS
BFRs (and other fire retardants)
PCBs
Chlorpyrifos
Atrazine
Glyphosate
Dioxins
Phenol
Parabeans
Triclosan
Perfluorochemicals (PFCs)
Fragrances
Perchlorate
Organophosphate pesticides
Glycol Ethers
What Can We Do About it?
Reduce your exposure!
Switching to natural, nontoxic products are the best way to start reducing your exposure! Begin by focus in on the products you use most
EWG is an amazing resource for finding out if your products are harmful
Use their app, Think Dirty, to see how your products rate and to find safer products.
Make sure your detox pathways are working properly!
I go into detail in “My 90 Day Fertility Plan” online course all about how to know if your detox pathways are working properly and how to help them function better if they are not working well!
Make an Appointment with Me!
We can talk about how to balance your hormones, boost her fertility, get rid of your awful persisting symptoms and help you feel amazing!
OR! book a Free Discovery Call to chat!
PLEASE NOTE:
This is not an advertisement. The products I recommend are products that my family and I have been using for years and that we love! I do not receive any compensation for this. I just want to share with you these hormone friendly products!
