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 both synthetic and natural estrogen that we ingest or apply.  <strong>Phytoestrogens</strong> are another type of xenoestrogen - plants such as soy that have been touted as beneficial or harmful depending upon who you listen too. (I'm not going to discuss phytoestrogens as endocrine disruptors in this post because it is a whole other conundrum and I've read mixed studies but you can read one review about it whether it is beneficial or harmful <a title="The pros and cons of phytoestrogens" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3074428/" target="_blank">here</a>.)

<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.

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 can possibly disrupt your hormones:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><span style="color: #000000;">I think of it 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 - contributing to estrogen dominance.   Every time EDC's win the game - your body &amp; hormone health lose.</span></strong></p>
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.

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Read my posts on:

<a title="What Does it Mean to be Estrogen Dominant" href="http://www.hormonesoup.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-estrogen-dominant/" target="_blank">Estrogen dominance</a> or on<a title="Why You Need to Care About Estrogen Dominance" href="http://www.hormonesoup.com/why-you-need-to-care-about-estrogen-dominance/" target="_blank"> Why Estrogen Dominance Matters</a> to you.

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