Environmental toxins impact every system in your body, but they have a particularly sinister relationship with your hormonal system.
Heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs, phthalates, and more are all known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC). Simply put—these guys target your endocrine system and interfere with normal hormonal function.
You may experience hormonal fluctuations at the hands of toxic insults at any age, but during a woman’s transition into menopause, things can get particularly ugly.
Why?
This is a time when women are going through hormonal ups and downs as their body prepares for the next phase of life. The hormonal transitions during this time leave women particularly vulnerable to dysregulation, fatigue and poor sleep, allowing toxins to take hold and throw their health off-course.
In this article, we’ll explore:
- How EDCs interfere with hormones, and the downstream effects of this dysregulation.
- The startling fact that EDCs may actually cause early-onset menopause in women.
- The role that oxidative stress plays in early-onset menopause.
- What you can do to safeguard against the impacts of EDCs to support healthy hormone levels before, during, and after menopause.
Toxins And Hormones: A Dangerous Interplay
What makes toxins so menacing to your hormonal system?
As mentioned, certain environmental toxins are known as endocrine disruptors. The most common EDCs include:
- BPA (Bisphenol A) – Found in water bottles, receipts, canned foods, and any plastic containers.
- PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) – Found in our air, water, and soil.
- Phthalates – Found in cosmetics, deodorant, soaps, and any fragranced or colored personal care products..
- Pesticides – Found in GMO and non-organic foods, groundwater (from runoff), cotton clothing, and more.
- Heavy metals – Found in our soil, water, food, personal care, cosmetics, and more. #1 source is the air we breathe.
- PFAS (Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) – Found in non-stick cookware, water-repellent clothing, our food supply and water supply.
- Parabens – Found in a wide range of personal care products, including cosmetics, moisturizers, shampoo, soap, and processed foods containing preservatives.
EDCs can directly interfere with your hormones in several ways, altering several hormone’s activities, including estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol (to name a few)[1].
How do they go about wreaking havoc?
EDCs can mimic the activity of hormones in your body due to their similar structure. This can mean increasing activity or decreasing activity of individual hormones. Some of the ways they go about this include blocking hormone receptors by docking on the receptors themselves, altering hormone levels by stimulating or inhibiting their production, and increasing or blocking the metabolism of hormones[2].
As they directly interfere with your hormonal system and function, like an unwanted intruder, EDCs impact various aspects of your health and well-being—including fertility.
The hormonal disrupting behavior of toxins is pretty well accepted and understood at this point. However, what we’re still in the process of uncovering is how these compounds can hasten the menopausal transition directly.
Interestingly, studies show that environmental toxins may directly accelerate ovarian aging, leading to early-onset menopause[3][4].
This is pretty unsettling news, especially with the ubiquitous nature of toxins in our environment today. But how exactly do toxins accelerate the menopausal transition? And what effect can they have on menopausal symptoms?
Let’s dive a little deeper.
How Toxins Impact Menopause and Perimenopause
Studies show that repeated exposure to EDCs can increase oxidative stress in your body, while depleting antioxidant stores. Specifically, this drive in oxidation seems to target the female reproductive system–accelerating the age of your ovaries[5].
In one study, researchers found that higher levels of heavy metals in women’s urine were directly related to diminished ovarian reserve. If you’re unfamiliar, your ovarian reserve is a term used to describe the estimated number of eggs remaining in your ovaries. As women age, their egg reserve diminishes further and further, until they finally run out and hit menopause.
In this way, ovarian aging can be described as a progressive decrease in your ovarian reserve—the fewer eggs you have, the older your ovaries.
In the study, the researchers noted that the higher the levels of heavy metals present in women’s urine, the lower their ovarian reserve. Due to the highly oxidative nature of heavy metals, the study authors note that the metals likely directly target ovarian follicles, causing oxidative damage and thus reducing overall egg count[6].
But stealing your fertility isn’t the only way in which toxins impact menopause.
Research also shows that EDCs can worsen several symptoms of menopause for women already going through the transition. For example, one study found that phthalates may increase sleep disturbances in menopausal women[7]. Other research shows that various EDCs may exacerbate symptoms associated with vasomotor control, including hot flashes, night sweats, and anxiety[1].
Progressive bone loss is another serious issue that can develop during the menopausal transition. Studies show that heavy metals, particularly lead and cadmium, can worsen and accelerate bone loss due to the interference of the metals with bone-building nutrients like calcium and vitamin D[8][9].
Other heavy metals indicated in progressive bone loss include lead, aluminum, cobalt, and mercury[10] All in all, what’s clear at this point is the detrimental impact that toxins can have on both accelerated menopausal onset, and the symptoms of the menopausal transition itself.
So, what are we to do?
Here’s the good news; while these toxins may be insidious, there are plenty of effective ways to mitigate their impact and detox them from your body.
3 Tips For Optimal Hormonal Health
#1. Avoid EDCs As Much As Possible
While endocrine-disrupting chemicals can be found everywhere in our environment, there are specific steps you can take to reduce your exposure.
First, begin with the quality of your food. Non-GMO and organic foods will have much less pesticide contamination, so as often as possible, go organic.
Our water supply is also riddled with toxic insults; everything from heavy metals to pesticides to pharmaceutical drug by-products and more. To reduce exposure via drinking water, always use a high-quality water filter or go for natural spring water[11][12].
Personal care products are also a landmine for toxic compounds; parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, PFAS, and more. Many of these chemicals act as endocrine disruptors, and your skin absorbs the compounds that you lather on, so it’s crucial that you look for clean products when applying anything to your body[13].
#2. Increase Antioxidant Activity
If one of the ways that EDCs hasten menopausal onset is via oxidative stress, then the best way to slow down this process would be to enhance your antioxidant activity. While mitigating toxic exposure is step one, the fact remains that we aren’t going to be able to avoid these chemicals entirely. Therefore, we have to go on the defensive.
Enhancing antioxidant activity brings us back to your diet. Choosing high-quality foods like organic, nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to improve your overall antioxidant status.
In addition to quality dietary choices, you can level up your antioxidant game even more by adding phytonutrient-rich supplements. Superfoods like turmeric, broccoli sprouts, kelp, moringa, acai, green tea, and medicinal mushrooms are powerhouses teaming with antioxidant activity. While it may be hard to get these foods into your diet daily, adding them as supplements is often much more accessible.
#3. Support Your Detox Pathways
And finally, if you want to help your body remove the EDCs that are already coursing through your system and causing havoc on your hormones—you must support your natural detox pathways.
Liver-loving foods like broccoli sprouts, beets, turmeric, dandelion, milk thistle, and burdock are all fantastic allies for your liver. These foods are rich in nutrients that support both phase one and phase two liver detox, helping you not only push toxins out of your cells and tissues but neutralizing and assisting in their elimination as well.
Again, getting these foods in your diet is excellent, but for most of us, high-quality supplements may be necessary if we want to get a significant amount of liver support.
Your 30-Second Daily Hormone-Optimization Routine
If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the moment—take a breath.
I know all too well what it can feel like to want to rid my body of toxic compounds and not know where to start. That’s exactly why I formulated Daily Detox.
While diet, water quality, and clean personal care products are central to my lifestyle, I know that for myself and my clients, we need a little extra if we go toe-to-toe with the toxicity in our environment today.
Daily Detox is a blend of the highest-quality superfoods on our planet—including those antioxidant superstars and liver-loving foods mentioned in the section above (along with many more).
Once you’ve taken charge of mitigating your toxic inputs, it’s up to you to give your body the nutrients it needs for optimal function in a chemical-ridden world. That’s exactly what Daily Detox provides.
And the best part? All it takes is 30 seconds a day (just enough time to scoop, mix, and drink), and you can find peace of mind that you’re giving your body a hefty boost against hormone-disrupting toxins.
Takeaway
An alarming number of women in their early to mid-40s are beginning to notice signs of menopause, some even younger. Hot flashes, night sweats, irregular periods, mood swings—these perimenopausal symptoms are largely due to the excess of toxins that have found their way into our environment today.
Whether they’re increasing our estrogen, dialing down our progesterone, skyrocketing our cortisol, or anything in between, toxic chemicals are like thieves in the night—stealing our youth and fertility.
While we may not be able to avoid toxic insults altogether, we can certainly do our best to mitigate the damage they’re causing by supporting our bodies’ natural defenses against them.
Supplements like Daily Detox are tailor-made to give you an edge against EDCs and other toxic compounds, allowing your body to find balance so you can move through your life transitions gracefully.
*These statements have not been reviewed by the FDA. The information herein is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Nor is it meant to replace or act as a substitute for speaking to a medical doctor and/or licensed health practitioner. Any products discussed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. They are not intended to replace any medication, medical test(s), or healing modality prescribed by your medical doctor. Please consult with your doctor before beginning a new supplement regimen.
