Bottled soft drinks, pesticides, plastic containers and canned food all have one thing in common: They contain toxins that interfere with your hormones and can lead to heart disease.
The substances are called xenoestrogens. These pollutants, which are used in pesticides, included in the chemicals that line soft drink cans, and often enter canned food, cause harm by mimicking and acting like extra estrogen in your body.
One of the first pollutants recognized to be a xenoestrogen was DDT, the banned pesticide. But even though it is illegal to use DDT in the U.S., residues of it still pollute the environment. Other research has already linked DDT to birth defects and diabetes.
“After the body breaks down DDT along with similar pesticides, chemical remnants called metabolites accumulate in women’s fat tissue,” says researcher Diana Teixeira. “When higher amounts of these environmental estrogens collect in the fat tissue, it can compromise the protective effect the body’s natural estrogen has on a premenopausal woman’s heart health. This leaves women at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and inflammation.”
The researchers examined the xenoestrogens in the fat tissue of more than 120 overweight women undergoing surgery. Then, using a heart health index called the Framingham risk score, they determined each woman’s chances of having heart problems within the next 10 years.
The analysis showed that in premenopausal women, those with the highest concentrations of xenoestrogens in their belly fat had the greatest chances of having high blood sugar, high inflammation and high risk for cardiovascular disease.
“Our findings show that endocrine-disrupting chemicals tend to aggravate complications of obesity, including inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk, in premenopausal women,” Teixeira says.
That’s why it’s very risky to use pesticides in your house or on your lawn. Neem oil is a more natural choice that doesn’t affect your hormones. Another tip – never heat food in plastic on the stove or in the microwave, not even if the packaging says it’s safe. The higher temperatures make it more likely that xenoestrogens will migrate from the plastic into your meal.
There’s also a natural way to fight back and naturally remove excess estrogen from your body. It’s a substance derived from broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and collard greens), called I3C, or indole-3-carbinol. It can offset the hormonal-disrupting effects of xenoestrogens.
When you eat these vegetables, you should eat some of them raw to get the full effect of their beneficial phytochemicals. These helpful chemicals can partially break down when heated, reducing their benefit. To supplement, look for a formula that gives you at least 100 mg a day.
