Hormones are actually a lot more interesting than you might think.
They are molecules produced by the endocrine system that send messages to different parts of our bodies, telling us how to breathe, drink and even eat. They even help to regulate our body’s processes from hunger to blood pressure.
What Do Hormones Do Inside Our Bodies?
When we think of hormones, the first thing that may come to mind is how important they are when it comes to reproduction and your menstrual cycle, but hormones are actually fundamental to each and every system of our bodies. However, whilst they flow throughout our whole bodies, they can only work alongside our hormone receptors which are specific cells designed to receive their messages.
When we eat something like a delicious and nutritious meal, our pancreas produces a hormone called insulin to help regulate our blood sugar. If we are in certain tense situations our adrenal glands may decide to pump out some adrenaline. This is why it is really important that our hormones are balanced correctly, so our bodies can react properly to different situations.
What Causes Hormonal Imbalance?
Hormonal imbalance can be caused by multiple different things, from health conditions such as diabetes, thyroid disorders and even PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
In many ways, our bodies depend on hormones in order to function correctly. But, some people may have different levels of hormone imbalances which means they can be more sensitive to hormonal changes, particularly those that happen when menstruating or during and after pregnancy.
What Are Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals?
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are quite simple chemicals that can interfere with how our hormones work.
Our endocrine system is a network of organs and glands that produce, store and discharge our hormones. When it is working normally and healthily, this is the system that works alongside our bodies to help us with different functions and regulate our development. However, there can be things that disrupt this network from working properly – EDCs.
EDCs can be found anywhere from our environment and our food sources to our skincare and other manufactured products. They can work in different ways, some can almost replicate hormones and trick our body into thinking that they are hormones, whilst others block our natural hormones from doing their job properly. Some can also increase or decrease the levels of hormones in our blood by affecting how they are made, stored or even broken down by our bodies, and finally some can change our bodies sensitivity to hormones.
How Could We Become Exposed To EDCs?
As mentioned above, EDCs can be found in lots of different places from our food to our skincare. This means that we can become exposed to them through what we eat and drink and they can even enter the body through our skin.
The reason that we can become exposed to EDCs in these ways is partly because of pesticides. Industrial chemicals and pesticides can leach into soil and water and then work their way into the food chain. A lot of non-organic produce can also have pesticide residue, so it is really important to know exactly where your food is coming from and how it was sourced.
Some common EDCs that are found in pesticides are DDT, chlorpyrifos and atrazine, the latter of which is one of the most widely used herbicides in US and Australian agriculture and can be found even in their tap water.
Another way that we can become exposed to EDCs is through some mass-produced skin and personal care products. Some of these consumer products may contain EDCs themselves or are housed in packaging that could leach EDCs.
Some common EDCs that can be found in some skincare products are parabens and phthalates which can mimic the hormone estrogen in the body and disrupt the normal function of hormone systems affecting male and female reproductive system functioning, reproductive development, fertility and birth outcomes.
To get the low-down on reducing hormone-disrupting chemicals in your life, Breast Cancer UK has excellent advice on household and personal products.
How Can We Decrease Our Exposure To EDCs?
The most simple and effective way to help decrease your exposure to EDCs is by learning more about where your food and daily products come from, what they’re made of and how they are sourced. The easiest way to make sure that you’re using safe products and consuming safe foods is by turning to organic produce.
Organic Food
What a lot of people don’t know is that almost 300 different pesticides can be used in non-organic farming. Even after washing and cooking these pesticides can still be present in any non-organic foods.
On the other hand however, organic farmers do not allow any synthetic pesticides and no herbicides such as glyphosate at all. Organic farmers are only permitted to use a range of 20 pesticides, all derived from natural ingredients such as clove oil and citronella. Research has even suggested that if all UK farming was organic, pesticide use would drop by 98%, meaning that our potential exposure to EDCs would decrease drastically!
But it is important to say that consuming organic foods rather than non-organic foods is not just good for our hormones, but also our health in general.
Organic crops and crop-based foods, such as bread, are often up to 60% higher in antioxidants than non-organic crops. These additional nutrients are the same as eating around 1-2 extra servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
Organic Skincare
Non-organic and non-natural skincare can contain a number of potentially harmful chemicals and other ingredients that can potentially irritate and damage your skin, as well as disrupt your hormones.
Using organic and natural skincare products not only ensure that your hormones will not be affected, but also ensure that whatever you are putting onto your skin is safe for your body too.
When it comes to sourcing ingredients for natural and organic skincare products, for every mass used chemical there is probably a much better natural alternative. For example, a lot of products that claim to help with blemishes contain Benzoyl Peroxide, which can often leave skin feeling dry, red and even sore in some cases. However, a great natural alternative is Salicylic Acid, found in natural blemish serums.
What a lot of people often forget is that natural and organic products really work. They were used by our ancestors for centuries long before we discovered any harmful chemicals that are used today. Like Argan Oil, which is high in vitamin C and fatty acids, used to repair damaged skin and prevent further damage. Or Black Seed Oil which has been used for centuries to treat atopic skin conditions because it contains antioxidants as well as vitamin A.
So if you want to keep your hormones under control and protected from EDCs, organic products may be the way forward.
Bio
A massive thank you to Evolve Organic Beauty for writing this guest post. They are a local business to me in Hertfordshire and award-winning skincare artisans who lovingly hand make their products in small batches at their eco studio to ensure the freshness of the precious antioxidants in the natural oils, butters and extracts. All of their products are vegan, cruelty-free and eco-friendly.
