Monday, April 9, 2012

Xenoestrogens and Early Puberty Not Just A Girl's Issue


I missed a recent NYT article  Puberty Before Age 10: A New Normal” as we were away. I had a chance to read it thanks to electronic edition’s “most emailed section" (love that section).  The article refers to 2010 research confirming 10% white girls and over 20% black girls have breast development by 7. This presents potential problems with growth, bone health,  and if accompanied by early periods breast cancer.  However, this isn’t only a “girl” problem the same factors causing this can result in increased risk of fertility and sperm problems for boys and a higher risk of prostate cancer. And in case you come to the table from a vanity perspective, the things disrupting endocrine function in our children increases risk of obesity in adults.

These “things” I so scientifically mentioned are environmental factors that mimic estrogen and known as xenoestrogens (xeno meaning foreign or different, xenophobia that great SAT word meaning fear of foreigners). It turns out we need to be skeptical and xenophobic when it comes to these “foreigners” and our bodies and our families’ bodies. It’s not just one source but the cumulative effects of so many estrogen mimics in our environment that’s so hazardous.

The more I research this topic the more concerned I become. And because my intent with this blog is not to incite fear, I always return to the question what can we do to minimize risk? While many feel the most crucial period is in utero, there are improvements we can all make.  Short of moving to an organic farm a la Woody Harrelson, here are my suggestions:

Crucifers or cruciferous vegetables are one of your best nutritional defense tactics against xenoestrogens. Broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts are rich in a compound that's abbreviated I3C. I3C converts to another substance that can block some of these harmful estrogens. So sauerkraut, kale chips, and healthy slaws should definitely have a prominent place in your diet and make sure you’re purchasing organic produce because pesticides are a source of xenoestrogens.

Exercise- exercise is one of the only tools with the potential to delay early puberty. It lowers estrogen levels and can reduce body weight. Increased weight increases the hormone leptin which increases estrogen. Dr Lustig the endocrinologist quoted in the NYT article explains “higher estrogen levels leads to greater insulin resistance causing more girls to have more fat tissue, more leptin and more estrogen, the cycle feeding on itself.”

Sunscreen and lotions- of all personal care products the ones absorbed and therefore most toxic are topical creams applied to the skin. If you are going to make one change with “cosmetics” start here. There are many carcinogenic and hormone disrupting ingredients such as oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate in sunscreens. Make sure what you’re using isn’t in the Sunscreen Hall of Shame from the Environmental Working Group, many popular brands are on this list. I used  Viva Sana on our recent trip; Badger, Kiss my Face and Aubrey Organics are other good choices. As far as lotion Weleda and Hugo Naturals are two reliable companies. I mentioned some other favorites in “Is Your Food Organic but Moisturizer Carcinogenic” post. If you’re already on the good sun protection bandwagon, toss your conventional dryer sheets (another source of xenoestrogens).

Plastics and cans- perhaps most of you know not to microwave plastics (do you all know?) but I cringe when I see all the plastic people are still drinking out of and transporting food in. Drink water from glass bottles and invest in glass food containers. The less plastic the better, even at room temperature chemcals from plastic leaches into the water. My current favorite are the Takeya bottles.

Meat-  was that Easter ham or Passover brisket organic? Cows and chickens are fed estrogens to increase milk and egg production. Organic animals are not allowed to have hormones administered. And less hormones administered means less circulating in our environment. Hormones in meat are especially concerning because estrogens are fat-soluble meaning they accumulate in fat tissue of animals. Aside from organic meat, we can all benefit from less meat in our diets.

I heard the term “toxic soup” and it’s easy to feel that applies to our environment. Our governmental agencies aren’t proactive in limiting our exposure to these hormone disruptors (recently denied BPAs are problematic). It’s really up to each of us to make decisions to improve our health and spread the word to friends and others who may not be aware of the problems lurking in their food and home products.

Did you read the NYT article? Were you familiar with the term xenoestrogen? What measures have you taken to decrease your exposure or your families' exposure?

28 comments:

  1. I definitely need to read this article. For some reason I missed it too. I can't help but think that the reason girls are hitting puberty so early is because they are eating crab, but I do agree that we have environmental factors that are making the situation much worse. I still use some plastic containers, but mostly glass (especially when I am adding hot food!). Nick and I live off of cruciferous veggies, so we're good there too!

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    1. There are lots of these hormone disruptors in processed food for sure. Ooh purge some of that plastic.

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  2. This really is a concern. I taught fourth grade a few years ago, and the girls were definitely developing. Children were getting their periods as early as nine or ten years old. The thought of a nine-year-old being physically capable of getting pregnant gives me the shivers. "Toxic soup" indeed.

    To Gina (comment right above me): I don't think that a lot of my girls were eating crab. I mean, maybe they were...but I don't think that it's a huge part of an urban child's diet. I'm curious about how you made that link! Interesting!

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    1. I didn't get into it Stephanie but the article talks about many of the psychosocial implications of early puberty.

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  3. That article was so scary. We def. see it at our school. The girls' bathrooms have sanitary supplies set out in the Lower School, and the teachers are talking to the girls, not the boys as much, about puberty in 2nd grade. It's a far reaching challenge.

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    1. I was happy to hear boys in my son's 4th grade class are getting the puberty talk. They need to be informed and also sort of need to know how to react to girls "changing" so tough. I was 14!

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  4. This was an aexcellent post and the article was really thought provoking. In my last job, I saw a lot of young babies that were just off the charts! I really thought their accelerated growth had something to do with mom's diet during pregnancy and their current diet.

    As a pregnant woman myself, I've been trying to ensure a healthy pregnancy since 2 years BEFORE I got pregnant. I started taking prenatals, I switched to organic-limited dairy, I choose only the highest quality meat (almost 100% of the time...can't say I'm perfect), I only use glass containers, stainless steel water bottles, and try to use Eden organics canned goods when I NEED to use something canned, and in the last year, I've been more concerned with the products I use on my body. I use burt's bees shampoo/conditioner, we make our own laundry detergent or buy the clean stuff, we use cleaning products without all those horrible chemicals and smells, I use the tarte line of cosmetics which says its better for us and the environment, and i have recently switched to kiss my face lotions. I'm trying to do all that I can but I recognize that chemicals and crap are still all around us. I used to get anxiety about not being able to be perfect but I can only do the best I can and pray that my future child is better because of it! great post!

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    1. Oh my goodness Erin, you're a model pregnant person. We can't be perfect because we go into a world filled with pesticides and chemicals. However, I think it's a waste of time to fixate on that. Rather, look at all the changes you've made. I also love the research that certain foods act as blockers for harmful chemicals, that's so cool to me. I've been thinking about you, pat that baby and keep doing good things for that little one even thought it's hard right now, so hard.

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  5. just when i thought i was good on the body products -- DRYER SHEETS?! what the f? and on the list of things to do: glass tupperware.

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    1. yup dryer sheets b/c clothes touch body and super problematic. Good news is there are reusable clothes and things (giam makes) that work well.

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  6. Oh, this is a topic near and dear to me. The web site I had years ago was dedicated solely to this topic. Something you should look for in makeup and personal care products ingredients are parabens, regardless of what the label on the front says or which section of the store it is in (i.e. organic, healthy, alternatives, etc).

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    1. I find if it doesn't say paraben free, sulfite free, phtalate free there's probably something lurking, anything else you want to add Caron, should I clarify anything?

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    2. Lauren, I think you've done your usual high-quality work. I wouldn't suggest any more information from myself because I think the topic is overwhelming for people. I encourage others to work one thing at a time and to keep moving forward. Be suspicious and skeptical. Several people here have said, "everything is bad for us?" and that says it all. It seems like so much that people may throw up their hands and think, "First food and now everything else?!"

      But it can be done and someone may decide that they can live with a certain ingredient, product or risk for now. Aim for being informed and making informed decisions and if making a change is really hard now, it may not be so difficult later (like when the kids are older or the job is different, etc.).

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    3. exactly my though, let's not overwhelm (you can make a list 200 items long) and let's see how we can reduce expose to these substances. Many things are bad for us and it's sad, as the article mentioned, that we have to be our own personal FDA but we do.

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  7. Thanks for sharing this article. I have made some changes that you mentioned but this really opened my eyes. Dryer sheets!?! Sheesh, everything is bad for us now a days. Great post!

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    1. It really is a minefield and most chemicals used are hormone disruptors.

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  8. Do you think it's ok to pack school lunches in BPA free plastic containers?

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    1. the issue with "bpa free" is that we don't know if BPA replacers are any better. So would I choose BPA-rich or BPA free? I'd choose glass (takes a lot to break, fabric or paper snack bags etc and avoid plastic wrap. Good question. Minimize plastic use and make sure they stay cool (coldpack etc).

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  9. When I see my kids' classmates - grade 4 and 5, there is no doubt that early puberty has become the norm. Scary. Very scary.
    What's wrong with retinyl palmitate? I tried to find more info but did not find much. Is it only carcinogenic and hormone disrupting when used in cosmetics applied to skin, or also in vitamins? I really need to be more vigilant about OTC supplements.

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    1. Natalie, RP is a vitamin A derivative and these compounds have been shown to potentially speed tumor growth (speed growth of cancers trying to prevent).

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  10. As a dairy industry professional, I can assure you that dairy cattle are not fed estrogens to increase milk production.

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    1. Glad we have a dairy professional here, if not for milk production, why would cattle or poultry be given exogenous hormones? Maybe you can shed some light.

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    2. I can't speak for poultry but I'll try to clear up the cow issue. When consumers mention hormones in milk, it is not estrogen. It's also important to note that milk contains small levels of hormones naturally. About 20 years ago some dairy farmers began to use a bovine growth hormone called somatotropin (BST for short) to help cows produce more milk. This is a naturally occuring protein hormone in cattle and when it is supplemented milk production does increase. Numerous studies have shown that BST has no effect on humans and over 90% of it is destroyed by pasteurization. It is also a species specific hormone which makes it biologically inactive in humans. Recently this has become a hot button issue with consumers. Milk processors have responded to consumer requests and since then the number of farmers that use BST has dropped drastically (even though only about 15% of dairies in the country were using it anyway). In fact, the majority of milk processors will not buy milk from farms that use BST, even though it was proven safe for human consumption and helped farmers produce milk more efficiently. I commented because dairy farmers have never used estrogen to increase milk and just wanted to clear that up.

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    3. Word it any way you want but hormones administered to increase milk production result in a cascade of issues that are harmful to consumers. Hormones, antibiotics and conditions most factory farm animals face absolutely contribute to some of the issues young girls and adults are confronting.

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    4. Agree carolyn. Elizabeth, that's a whole load of nonsense. There's a reason the EU banned imports of US beef because of all the hormones administered. And this "naturally occurring" is nonsense. The synthetic ones so closely resemble what's naturally occurring that cattle farms can hide behind that. Remember DES? Maybe you don't but cows were given this until it was found that even in small amounts it was carcinogenic. "Save for human consumption" really? So are BPAs according to the FDA. I beg to differ and will beg for organic in the meantime.

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  11. The good thing is that Maya loves broccoli. The bad thing? She loves meat and I'm terrible with the sunscreen...

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    1. meat can be better meat grass fed or organic with poultry and certainly the better sources in your house. As for sunscreen, it's a double edged sword and some chemicals are worse than the sun.

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  12. One should also avoid unfermented soy products such as tofu, soy milk, soy-based chips, etc. Not only do they have xenoestrogens, but they also have goitrogens - substances that inhibit thyroid function. Not to mention that soy is one of the most genetically modified foods out there. Dr. Mercola has many articles about why one should avoid soy.

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