Maybe you've heard of xenoestrogens but don't really know what they are or how they work in your body.  I'm going to explain what they are and why I try to minimize them in my life and more importantly to me - in my <strong>children's</strong> lives.

<strong>Xenoestrogen</strong> means <strong>foreign estrogen</strong> - which basically means any outside substance that acts like estrogen once inside our body.  It includes chemical compounds and pesticides, as well as synthetic estrogen that we ingest or apply to our skin.  <strong>Phytoestrogens</strong> are another type of xenoestrogen - plants such as soy and flax can behave like estrogen inside your body.  This post won't delve into phytoestrogens as endocrine disruptors because plants like soy have been touted as either beneficial or harmful depending upon who you listen too.  It is a whole other conundrum and I've read mixed studies.)

<strong>Endocrine disruptors </strong>also called <strong>hormone disruptors </strong>are similar but actually refer specifically to chemicals and/or compounds that disrupt our endocrine (hormone) systems.

I've known about xenoestrogens for a while now but didn't really "get" what they were or how a chemical could possibly disrupt my hormones in my body. Researching xenoestrogens made me realize that it's even more complicated than I could have imagined, scientists really have their work cut out for them on this one but damn I wish they'd get to it!

For me it helped to visualize the process going on in our body. Chemicals can disrupt our hormones in several ways but without getting too scientific on you here is one simple explanation to help you visualize how a chemical could possibly disrupt your hormones:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><span style="color: #000000;">One way to think of it is like a game of musical chairs - let's imagine the chairs are the estrogen receptors - there's only a limited number of them to go around.  When the endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) enters your body &amp; jumps onto the estrogen receptors there's no where for your own estrogen to go! Those special receptors are supposed to be there for the estrogen <em>your body</em> is producing but instead your own estrogen has to roam freely in your body. Sometimes those EDC's activate the receptors but sometimes they inactivate them!  The bottom line is that every time EDC's win the game -  your hormone health loses.</span></strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Check out this<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a title="GreenFacts.org - Endocrine Disrupting Animation" href="http://www.greenfacts.org/en/endocrine-disruptors/l-2/endocrine-disruptors-1.htm#2" target="_blank"> animated illustration</a></span> to watch an endocrine disruptor in action on GreenFacts.org.</p>
This is a good example of how your body doesn't even have to be producing too much estrogen to show symptoms of estrogen dominance.  Now imagine your poor liver has to deal with all this excess re-circulating estrogen.  (I'll talk about why you need to "Show Some Love to Your Liver" in a future post, especially if you have hormone issues.)

Endocrine disruptors are being blamed for our rising rates of:
<ul>
	<li>Endometrial cancer</li>
	<li>Breast cancer</li>
	<li>PCOS - Poly-cycstic Ovarian Syndrome</li>
	<li>Endometriosis</li>
	<li>Fibroids</li>
	<li>Infertility</li>
	<li>and other problems, including testicular &amp; prostrate cancer in men.</li>
</ul>
Xenoestrogens are found in plastic, metal food cans, household cleaners &amp; detergents, food, flame retardants, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides.

Like I said, there are other ways your hormones can get disrupted, here are some links explaining the mechanisms:

<a title="Todipedia - Endocrine Disruptors" href="http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Endocrine+Disruptors" target="_blank">Toxipedia - Endocrine Disruptors</a>

<a title="Mechanisms of Endocrine Disruption" href="http://website.lineone.net/~mwarhurst/mechanisms.html" target="_blank">Mechanisms of Endocrine Disruption</a>

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