Almost as challenging as getting people to get their feet on the ground and their bodies in the sun or to convince them to eat enough of the right animal products is convincing people to ditch unnecessary plastics in their lives.
Part of this resistance is because plastics are so ubiquitous. Using plastic utensils, food and drinking containers, and (most importantly) cosmetic products that contain plasticisers has become a normal part of everyday life. The other resisting factor is that most people don’t know how harmful plastics are.
I believe it is imperative, if you want to achieve better health (especially hormonal health), to take seriously the following.
Your body has a hard time telling the difference between certain plastic compounds and it’s own natural hormones. The two most notable of these are phthalates and bisphenols, which are plasticisers – meaning they are added to plastic to make it both more durable and flexible. Th bisphenol with the most attention is bisphenol A or BPA. Compounds like phthalates and bisphenols are referred to as EDC’s in the literature (endocrine disrupting compounds). Their affects on fertility, reproduction, development, and oxidative stress have been studied and are undeniable [1, 2, 3, 4]. These compounds disrupt thyroid function [1, 2, 4], mitochondrial function [2], cholesterol metabolism [2], growth hormone production [1], sperm quality [3], and increase oxidation of fatty acids and therefore increases oxidative stress that leads to inflammation and aging. [2]
Many people are concerned about the xenoestrogenic effects of soy products (meaning they contain compounds that are recognized as estrogen but don’t naturally occur in the body). However, phthalates, bisphenols, and other plastics bind to hormone receptors with such great affinity that they are being implicated in the prevalence of estrogen dominance, thyroid disorders, and other hormonal dysfunction around the world.
One way to make an impact on a man is to tell him: “You are shrinking your testicles by wearing that cologne.” …or to a woman: “Your perfume is making your periods worse.“
So how do we get away from all these plastics? Where are they found? Unfortunately, they are everywhere.
Air fresheners
Perfumes, colognes, bodysprays
Soaps, shampoos, conditioners
Lotions, hairgels, etc.
Makeup
Fake essential oils (esp. lavender)
Plastic water bottles
Receipts (don’t crinkle them up!)
Plastic bags
Lining of cans
Plastic containers (don’t heat your food in these!)
PVC pipes, water tubing
Breast implants [5, 6]
Other cosmetics and packaging
The things on this list are ubiquitous. Once you eliminate artificial fragrances and other EDC exposure from your life you are bound to notice a difference. When you do, you will become increasingly sensitive to the disruptive power of these compounds and hopefully feel inspired to tell those you know (or those you don’t know). Unfortunately, we can’t keep others from spraying whatever they want on themselves.
This is bound to be an unpopular opinion: the prevalence and strength of the perfumes and colognes that individuals wear is a public health hazard. By simply smelling another person’s artificial fragrance, your natural hormonal processing is being disrupted and your body is forced to deal with the oxidative stress. What is it doing when we spray it on our skin?
One of the simplest and most powerful steps you can take in cleansing plastics from your body is to drink (organic) green tea daily. When tea from the leaves of camelia sinensis are consumed regularly, your urine contains more plastics (as well as more heavy metals). This means they are being excreted. Similar effects occur from consuming black or white tea as well. Just drink it.
One of the other best ways to detoxify plastics from the body is to sweat. Hmm, I’m thinking of the giant infrared sauna in the sky.
My objective is not to encourage my readers to wear tin foils hats (although really, by all means, I won’t stop you). However I think the more we extricate ourselves from the toxicity of the world we live in, the more our bodies and our families and our future selves will be happy and healthy.