This is the 3rd (and final!) installment of a series I’m doing all about HORMONES, particularly as they relate to heavy, painful periods.
But these topics impact our hormones whether we’re experiencing heavy painful periods, missing our period (amenorrhea), struggling with fertility, or peri/menopausal symptoms. Even men can suffer from hormonal imbalances too, like low testosterone, which can look like weight gain, low energy and drive, hair loss, among other signs.
If you’re new, here’s what we’ve covered so far!
1. How the liver plays a role in hormonal imbalances
2. What blood sugar’s got to do with it
Today we’re exploring TOXINS.
Yes, toxins can have a profound impact on our hormones because they can act like our hormones (called xenoestrogens) and disrupt our hormonal communication (called endocrine disruptors). Chemicals don’t necessarily fall into one camp or the other, but usually have a combination effect of both acting like an estrogen, and therefore disrupting your estrogen’s action.
Plastics
Plastics contain some of the most well-known endocrine disrupting chemicals. Endocrine disruptors mean that they make it harder for our hormone glands to communicate with each other - like our brain, ovaries, thyroid, and uterus. This can result in negative changes in our metabolic health, sex hormone balance and fertility.
Many people avoid “BPA” because of the research demonstrating how it acts in similar strength to our body’s own estrogen (Pubmed article), and jeopardizes our metabolic and hormonal health as a result. This doesn’t mean “BPA free” plastics get the green light…after all, BPA is merely being replaced with BPB, BPS, etc. These other compounds are likely not healthier, but they don’t have AS much research and publicity to show their toxicity…yet.
Other types of chemicals that we are starting to wise-up about their hormonal, developmental, and carcinogenic effects are phthalates and PFAS, among others.
Phthalates (I pronounce them thal-ates) are found in shampoos, conditioners, and personal care products like body lotion. And PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in your body or in the environment, are found in non-stick cookware, leggings and sports bras, waterproof clothing and footwear, but also in our food and water (NRDC article).
Pesticides and cleaning chemicals
One of the most infamous chemicals in our world is glyphosate (pronounced gly-fo-sate). Glyphosate is a pesticide that’s widely used on crops like wheat (40% of crops sprayed), corn (80% of crops sprayed), soy (92% of crops sprayed), oats, chickpeas as well as other fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Over 280 million lbs of glyphosate are poured into our farmland annually (as of 2016, which means this is probably quite a bit higher in 2024) (EPA article). While regulators have been slow to stop the use of glyphosate on our food supply, and as a result contaminating much of the water supply, there is plenty of research suggesting this chemical has a number of negative health effects, including hormonal impacts, neurological and on our gut microbiome too.
One study on glyphosate and its commercial product Roundup increased luteinizing hormone (LH) expression from the pituitary, as well as an increase in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) expression (Pubmed article). LH and FSH are hormones produced in the brain (specifically the pituitary gland), and are used to communicate with the ovaries to regulate estrogen levels, trigger ovulation, and support progesterone production after ovulation.
When LH is too high, it can induce an excess of estrogen, weaken ovulation, and impact progesterone production as a result. And high estrogen and not enough progesterone is the exact recipe for painful, symptomatic periods.
Mycotoxins and zearalenone (ZEN)
ZEN is a mycotoxin (aka mold toxin) that’s been shown to display estrogenic activity. It binds to certain estrogen receptors, so in a way it acts like estrogen in the body and can turn on or “upregulate” (increase) certain estrogen-dependent functions. This can increase risk for certain estrogen-related imbalances in the body like neurological, metabolic, cardiovascular diseases, in addition to osteoporosis, and some estrogen-positive cancers.
ZEN exposure can also contribute to the early onset of puberty (Pubmed article). It has wide ranging effects on ovarian health, and can lead to characteristics of polycystic ovarian syndrome (Pubmed article). One hallmark of PCOS is estrogen dominance, which is usually accompanied by heavy, painful periods.
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This can feel really heavy! Toxins are everywhere and it is overwhelming when we get a sense of the SCOPE of our exposure to them.
But the goal isn’t to overwhelm or frighten. It’s to educate, and when we KNOW better, we can do better.
We can choose organic when possible.
We can buy from local, no-spray farms (they might not say “organic” but inquire about their practices!)
We can wear organic, natural fibers when possible (cotton!).
We can call our state reps to pass legislation on harmful chemicals in our food and water.
We can share with a friend or loved one, so they can go on to do the same for their family.
And so on.
I hope this series on hormones and how to turn your dreaded periods into easy-breezy “surprises” has been informative and you’ve been able to apply 1 or 2 things from today’s article, or either of the first two installments on liver function and blood sugar.
PS - if you’re struggling with hormonal concerns, gut issues, and inflammation, you can apply to work with me and schedule a complimentary call. On our call we’ll get to know each other, I’ll share clinical insights, which labs will help us dig deeper and what our next steps will be.