Hormone Havoc

Cleaning up our bodies of unwanted hormones:

what, why, and HOW.

young game match kids — You may know a lot or a little, but do you know where to start?

When you come to a holistic nutritionist, things are bound to get, well, holistic. That means we look at your whole life to find out what is going on.

Usually, it is not all your fault, or your food’s fault, that you are sick, tired, ‘fat’ or anxious/sad.

Although you are in control of, and may need to change some habits, and face some negative ways of interacting with yourself, your kitchen and your life, there are often all kinds of HIDDEN things or things that were not in your control – like your childhood, the ubiquity of plastic food containers and “fragrance” – that have been affecting you behind the scenes.

We change that now by educating you and putting you back in control.

The what, why and how of hormones

Hormones need to be discussed precisely because it feels like THEY control US.

adult attractive beautiful beauty — Changing our makeup is usually one of the last things we do, but it can be very powerful.

WHAT we are talking about:

Many practitioners have found that hormones are a huge issue for their clients and patients, because they stall weight loss and affect overall health.

While natural human hormones can be out of balance and affect our bodies, exogenous hormones (those from OUTSIDE the body) can also throw us out of whack. There are classes of man-made chemicals that act unintentionally as hormones. They are used in North America in food production and household and personal care products and affect everyone here.

WHY it’s an issue:

Elsewhere on the planet, these chemicals are banned outright, need warnings, are nicknamed obesogens because they cause weight gain & fat storage.

Yup, they make us fat.

These fake estrogens enter our bodies through our skin and food, float in our blood binding to sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), circulating in our body.

woman girl fat fitness — Yep, the BPA on thermal-printer cash register receipts might be stalling your weight loss.

How they affect us:

They essentially tell the body you are pregnant (!), telling your body to make fat, and store fat, and to not burn it. The body stores them in body fat, prompting the body to create new fat cells in which to store them. They can lead to fatty liver disease, kidney disease, insulin resistance. They throw our own hormones out of whack: our thyroids, our moods, our genitals, our insulin. They reduce our levels of testosterone, affecting muscle building, sexuality and physiology.

This is stressful for the body, and confusing.

Signs: Low testosterone, weight gain, cancer, insulin/immune/mood issues

The FAKE hormones in food, environment, even soaking in the tub with us.

yellow duck toy beside green duck toy — These little cuties can be toxic.

What chemicals are we talking about?

BPA and BPS
Parabens
Phthalates
Tributyltin and other organotins
Red food colouring #3, #40
Perfluorooctanoic acid
Fragrance – Perfume
Atrazine

Sources:

Plastics of every kind

Makeup, lotion, toothpaste, soap, body wash etc

Receipts and thermal printed paper

Can linings, Bottle cap or lid linings

Teflon, non-stick

Corn, most other grains. Herbicides and fungicides.

Microwave popcorn

Water not filtered through activated charcoal

Conventional meats and dairy and their fats

Commercial non-organic seed and grain oils

Alcohol holds fats in place, holding on to chemicals

clear plastic cup on gray concrete surface — Pass on the “treat” at the end of your walk around the seawall. Even beet juice is unhealthy when it comes in a plastic cup, and the planet doesn’t need the straw to deal with.

Steps to clear them out

Clear out plastics

Eliminate other sources above – cans, Teflon, conventional bacon

Eat grass-fed/grass-finished, organic animal products, organic food

Natural, organic, fragrance-free clean cosmetics and toiletries

Fragrance-free personal care and cleaning products

Limit alcohol

Mobilize fats (Sauna, exercise, rebounding)

Eating good quality clean fats, and free fatty acids, bitters, fibre

Try dietary Ketosis

Teach body to burn fats, metabolic flexibility

Intermittent fasting (burn fat for fuel in mitochondria)

Filter water with Activated Charcoal

PLOS study:

Chronic exposure to Atrazine causes mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance. Rats who got low doses of Atrazine gained weight despite eating the same calories as slimmer Atrazine-free rats. This proves calories are not the answer – we have to clean up the calories.

person people woman hand — It can be a lot to contemplate.

Eating clean takes on new meaning, doesn’t it?

When did this become part of losing weight!? Let me guess – cleansing – AKA, limiting the bad fats, sugar, and alcohol in your life – that seemed hard, but important. Doable.

Terrible but manageable.

Now this…

Filtering all water? Yup.

Reading hand lotion bottles. Yup – heck, reading EVERYTHING!

Never using ANY plastic wrap, baggies or storage containers?

Making a huge, probably expensive lifestyle shift to grass-only organic meat and pthalate and paraben-free shampoos, changing cleaners and plastics all through the house…

THIS seems downright daunting, am I right!? This isn’t just about food. It’s your whole LIFE. Cutting out, like everything!?

Seriously – I get it.

photo of woman with lotion on hand — Checking lotions for toxins is way easier with the free THINK DIRTY app.

And if conventional grain, dairy and meat are OUT, we have to change our shopping routines – what stores we shop, even our entire diet philosophy!?

Changing is SO IMPORTANT.

DO make steps, however small, I urge you!

If you need help, I am here!

Read my next post for more motivation as to WHY.

xox

Dana