Are You Too Toxic To Get Pregnant? - Part I

Posted on January 25, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

Excessive levels of the hormone estrogen are associated with many health problems in both men and women and is commonly associated with a class of man-made compounds called xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens (literally "foreign estrogen") mimic the effects of your body's natural estrogens. Because they are fat-soluble, they can be stored in the fatty tissues of the body, often for decades.

Avoiding xenoestrogens is an important step towards reducing the many symptoms and health problems associated with excessive estrogen levels, including early onset of puberty, breast cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, PMS, PCOS, infertility, and impotency. It is especially important for pregnant and lactating women, children, teenagers, and those with estrogen-sensitive diseases to reduce exposure to xenoestrogens. Unfortunately, xenoestrogens occur in thousands of everyday items, including everything from food to cosmetics to household goods.

In this article, let's take a look at dietary sources of xenoestrogens.

Meat, Dairy, and Eggs

Meat, eggs and dairy foods can be a source of xenoestrogens. Estrogens are fed to dairy cattle to encourage more milk production and to chickens to increase egg production. They are fed a cocktail of antibiotics, growth hormones, anti-parasitic drugs and many other medicines on a daily basis. These drugs are then passed directly to us the consumers when we consume these foods.

How to Avoid Them

• Choose organic meat, eggs, and dairy products
• Better yet, choose 100% grassfed meat and dairy products, and pastured pork and poultry
• Reduce your consumption of animal products in general, especially uncultured dairy products.

Water

Unfortunately, water treatment plants are not currently designed to remove hormonal pollutants. Water in many parts of America is also contaminated with agricultural runoff, including many pesticides and fertilizers containing xenoestrogens, and urine and manure from animals fed growth hormones.

How To Avoid Them

Don't switch to bottled water, which is unregulated and may be more polluted than tap water. Instead, install a reverse osmosis water system. These can include under sink or whole house systems.

In our next blog article, we will look at environmental sources of xenoestrogens.