baby bottles

An animal study on the environmental toxins and Oestrogen mimics, BPA (Bisphenol A) and DES (diethylstilbestrol) found babies exposed to these substances may have increased risk of breast cancer.

Hugh Taylor, MD of Yale University School of Medicine says, “BPA is a weak estrogen and DES is a strong estrogen, yet our study shows both have a profound effect on gene expression in the mammary gland (breast) throughout life.  All estrogens, even ‘weak’ ones can alter the development of the breast and ultimately place adult women who were exposed to them prenatally at risk of breast cancer.”

DES is a growth hormone used in the beef and poultry industry, supposedly phased out in the 1970’s, a novel published in 1998 My Year Of Meats, depicts is continued illegal use.

BPA is used in the manufacture of baby bottles, water bottles and food containers.  Studies by Duke University Medical Center as far back as 2007, found BPA disrupted brain development and caused changes in fertility in mice.  The levels used in these experiments were five times lower than what is considered harmful for mice.

Government and Industry response remain controversial with Canada the only country to place  BPA on their list of toxic substances.  You can check your country’s updated position on BPA here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A#Government_and_industry_response.

According to the Washington Post in March 2009 six major US baby bottle manufacturers have agreed not to sell polycarbonate bottles which contain BPA in the US, however in a decision I consider to be unethical, they continue to export these bottles to other countries.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100521102633.htm

Dr Ana Soto also showed through tests with 10 oestrogen mimics well below the government safe levels, that oestrogen mimics have a snowball effect.  They act together and have the same effect as a single dose of similar amount.

Formaldehyde

In deodorants, liquid soaps, nail varnish and shampoos.  It’s also used in embalming to disinfect and temporarily preserve human remains.  Motor vehicle exhaust, manufacturing plants that produce or use formaldehyde or substances that contain formaldehyde (eg. glues), petroleum refineries, coking operations, incineration, wood-burning, tobacco smoke.  Formaldehyde is also released from pressed wood products (chipboard, wood veneers) and carpets.

Phthalates

Softeners of plastics, oily substances in perfumes, additives to hairsprays, nail varnishes, lubricants and wood finishers.  As a softener of plastic they are everywhere, leaching into water and other soft drinks from the plastic bottles.  They can also be absorbed through the skin and inhaled and are known to cross breast milk. Banned in the European for use in baby toys in 1999.  Phthalates have been voluntarily removed in the U.S. and Canada from infant bottle nipples, teethers and toys intended to go into an infant’s mouth.”

Parabens

Found in some toothpastes, moisturizers, deodorants antiperspirants and sunscreens,  shaving gels, personal lubricants and spray tanning solution. They are also used as food additives.  A recent study linked parabens in deodorants and antiperspirants to the actual cause of breast cancer.

Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS)

Soaps, Shampoos, Bubble-baths, Tooth paste, Washing-up liquid / dish soap, Laundry detergent, Childrens soaps / shampoos, Stain Remover, Carpet Cleaner, Fabric glue, Body wash, Shave cream, Mascara, Mouthwash, Skin cleanser, Moisture lotion / Moisturiser, Sun Cream.  A cheap raw material when mixed with salt causes lots of bubbles.

Toluene

In adhesives, auto polish and cleaners, floor polish, hard surface cleaners, paints, inks, paint cleaners, paint and varnish removers and thinners, coatings, particleboard, leather dressings,
lubricating oils, fingernail enamels and removers, shoe polish and cleaners, solvent-thinned products (exterior stains, primers, interior stains, clear finish), colouring pens and markers,
wood office furniture and vinyl flooring.

Al apha Hydroxy Acid

In products claiming to reduce wrinkles or the signs of aging, and improve the overall look and feel of the skin.   Also used as chemical peels in a dermatologist’s office, beauty and health spas
and home kits. The FDA issued a warning after an industry-sponsored study found that they can increase photosensitivity to the sun.

Alcohol

In Mouthwash linked to mouth, tongue and throat cancers.

Propylene Glycol

The main ingredient in deodorant sticks.  A moisturizer in medicines, cosmetics, food, toothpaste, mouth wash, and tobacco products, a solvent for food colors and flavorings  a humectant food additive, labeled as E number E1520, a carrier in fragrance oils.

Talc

With a similar structure to asbestos it has been linked to ovarian cancer.

Xylene

Solvent used in printing, rubber and leather industries

Nail varnish

Perfume
Swedish researchers have linked perfume to high levels of DHEP in the body, a highly toxic oestrogen mimic.

Diethanolamine

Common ingredients in cosmetics and shampoos, used as to create a creamy texture and
foaming action.

Aluminium

In most deodorants and linked to Alzheimer’s and cancer.

Triclosan

In deodorants, acne creams, lotions, hand soaps, toothpastes, vaginal washes and
mouthwashes.

Paraphenylenediamine PPD

Used in dark hair dyes and linked to cancer.

References:

Oestrogen: Killer in our Midst, Woollams, C., 2006, Health Issues Ltd,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde

Our Stolen Future, http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/Commentary/News/2003/2003-0604-RH-pedphthalates.htm

http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:RGcuZ1LFg5MJ:www.ephc.gov.au/pdf/Air_Toxics/Form

_Health_Review.pdf+Formaldehyde&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=au&client=firefox-a
Wikepedia: Parabens, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabens

http://www.canceractive.com/page.php?n=212

http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/sodium-lauryl-sulfate.html

http://www.environment.gov.au/atmosphere/airquality/publications/sok/toluene.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxy_acid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene_glycol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diethanolamine

http://www.oztoxics.org/ntn/triclosan%20briefing.pdf

Researchers found 229 genes that are active at the beginning of neurogenesis, involved in forming the initial scaffolding for assembling cortical circuits. Surprisingly the genes include a substantial network related to the sex hormone estrogen .

Mary E. Hatten, Frederick P. Rose Professor and head of the Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology said, “That these sex pathways are involved from the get-go is a particular surprise. The research provides a new starting point for people to say, “What exactly, are all of these new pathways doing?””

A question I would like to see answered sooner rather than later is, if estrogen is involved in early brain development, how does oestrogen mimics in the many products pregnant women are exposed to on a daily
basis influence early brain development?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090530173757.htm

Studying the tiny worm called Caenorhabditis elegans, due to its simplicity and 4 larval stage transitions to adulthood, researchers found hormones coordinate developmental stage transitions. The hormones do this by activating micro RNA’s that alter genetic switches to enable the organism to progress to the next developmental phase.

Dr Adam Antebi associate professor in the Huffington Center on Aging at BCM, found hormones coordinate stage transitions in C. elegans and this may be true to more advanced organisms as well he said.

Interestingly Dr. Antebi also established a link to cancer, he found that when cells in C elegans failed their transition from stage 2 to 3, cells continued to grow uncontrollably, the same way they do in hormone dependent cancers such as breast or prostate cancer.

Many pesticides, products in our homes, cosmetics even food can contain hormone disrupters. If you are pregnant or thinking of falling pregnant you want to avoid these contaminants at all cost.

In December 2008, Bruce McEwen from Rockefeller University and his colleagues identified receptors for hormones like estrogen and others in the brain. We must now ask, due to the probable role of hormones in coordinating developmental stage transitions, whether developmental disorders like mental retardation, cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorder, are linked to hormone disrupters in our environment, homes, cosmetics and food?

Also see Estrogen, Testosterone and your baby’s brain

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145010.php

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145010.php

DDT was used since the 1940’s but banned in 1973. Professor Janet Osuch said, “Prenatal exposure to toxins is increasingly being looked at as a potential cause for the rise in obesity seen worldwide. “

In previous studies the toxin BPA an oestrogen mimic and widely used in baby bottles and food containers have also been found to cause obesity. Recently researchers have linked the female hormone oestrogen to fat storage

Oestrogen mimics increase the oestrogen levels in your body, and reduce your ability to burn energy after eating, causing you store more fat. It is important for pregnant women to eat fish regularly during their pregnancy to help baby’s brain development, stick to the safer options like sardines and salmon.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090319111328.htm

But don’t despair ladies, finally researchers found us a man that still think like a man, but are able to pick up on subtle emotional cues. No, it’s not a robot named Chip; a new study found that musical training enhances the ability to recognize emotion in sound. They also found that this ability of the nervous system, to process emotion in sound, increased with the number of years of music training and the earlier music training were started.

If you’re looking for a man that can pick up on emotional cues find a musician or if you’re already married you can always send your construction worker husband for some piano lessons.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090303161427.htm

4-hexylresorcinol regularly used to prevent discoloration in shellfish, also mouthwashes, throat lozenges, skin wound cleansers and anti-browning agent in foods, and

propyl gallate prevent the spoiling of fat and oil and used in foods, cosmetics, hair products, adhesives, and lubricants.

http://www.physorg.com/news155189152.htm

Bruce S. McEwen from Rockefeller University says, “Medicine is clueless as to how males and females really differ from one another …they tend to think it always works the same way in both sexes. That can be dangerous.”

In his article “The end of sex as we once knew it” published in the Journal Physiology and Behavior in December 2008, McEwen writes about differences between the sexes and also the role hormones play in the brain. McEwen and his colleagues have identified receptors for hormones like estrogen and others in the brain. The hormone reacts indirectly on genes and now raises the question on how this interaction influences the development and function of the human brain.

This is a very important breakthrough, as for a long time since the 1960’s scientists believed that hormones do not enter the brain and since then this viewpoint on hormones have been slow to progress past that of the necessity for reproduction.

It is important that we consider what this means for a pregnant women and her baby. It is well known that hormones play a very important role in the development of the baby’s organs, but it is not so well known that hormones play a critical role in the development of the baby’s brain. A mother’s ability to maintain homeostasis (when hormones are totally in balance within the body) can help her baby increases the development of his brain.

This connection between the brain and hormones also brings us to a major global problem, pollution. Our environment is full of toxins that contain hormone disrupters (agents that mimic the hormones estrogen (BPA) and block testosterone action (Phthalates)) and inadvertently we are exposing our babies to these hormone disrupters that interfere with the development of a baby’s brain.

There are studies that found the possibility that a mother’s diet can protect against the negative effects of BPA. If you are thinking of falling pregnant or are already pregnant make sure you eat a nutritious balanced diet to help protect your baby from a harmful environment.

You can expect awareness of the influence of hormones on the brain, to increase drastically in the next decade and I sincerely hope this awareness will lead to an increased effort to clean up our environment.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203134455.htm

A new study by the University of Gothenburg has found that even natural aromatic oils can cause allergic reactions. Many manufacturers of natural perfumes or essential oils believe that natural antioxidants in these oils protect against autoxidation (reaction with air) making them safer and longer lasting than artificial perfumes. The findings show that this is not the case.

The study examined natural lavender oil but also found geraniol, a common ingredient in natural perfumes like rose oil, considered only mildly allergic are activated through reaction to air and skin enzymes into the allergen geranial.

Don’t put it on your skin during these critical phases and don’t massage baby with it.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203110549.htm

Now if you’re lonely or thinking of changing your boring life, get yourself a pet or go and play a sport, because higher oestradiol levels are also linked to many cancers.

Why would you have more oestradiol in your body? There are many everyday products we use that contain oestrogen mimics (hormone disrupters).

I also generally try to avoid studies that give you a 20/50 etc. result but in view of what hormones can do to a woman, it may be worth mentioning a study that came out earlier in January. This study found that men who had more sex and more frequently masturbated during their 20’s and 30’s, are also more likely to get Prostrate cancer. However if you’re 40, frequency have little effect and 50’s even small levels of sex can have a protective effect. Very confusing and the only thing I will take from this result is something researchers already know, male hormones are also linked to Prostrate cancer.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090127133113.htm