We often think about what goes into our body, but don’t pay much attention to what we put onto it.
However if you struggle with PMS, period pain, infertility, endometriosis, weight gain, PCOS and other estrogen-dominant conditions, it’s time to start.
Let me put on my holistic nutritionist hat for a minute. According to the Environmental Working Group, women use an average of 12 products a day – containing 168 different chemicals. That’s almost 1200 chemicals a week. Not only do these chemicals burden the liver, an organ that already has over 500 jobs in the body, but they disrupt the delicate symphony that is our endocrine system.
So, what the heck is our endocrine system? The endocrine system is made up of glandular organs – like our hypothalamus and pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal glands, ovaries and testes. Chemical messengers, called hormones, get signaled and secreted from these glands to tell the body to do certain things. Your sleep, hunger, stress, sexual arousal and menstrual function tell us how well this intricate endocrine system is functioning.
The biggest endocrine disruptors are BPA, parabens and phthalates, which are found in the majority of beauty, personal care, household and plastic products.
Here’s the crazy thing – there is little to no regulation of these chemicals in North America, which means companies can sneak them into just about everything. When you see words like ‘green’ or ‘natural’, it’s always best to take a deeper look – and a great starting point is the EWG’s database. This allows you to search for any product, understand what’s in it and, most importantly, see how it ranks on the safety scale.
These sneaky EDCs work by mimicking our actual hormones, locking into receptors where our own hormones should fit, and blocking proper estrogen production and detoxification.
Pair this with a compromised gut or constipation, plus an already-overburdened liver due to diet and environmental toxins, and we’ve got a pretty big issue. Instead of being eliminated, estrogen gets recirculated in the body, stored in fat cells and can over time contribute to estrogen-dominance symptoms and estrogen-related cancers.
So, what do we do? Just never clean our homes or wash our faces again? Oh girl, no. Luckily there are some amazing brands out there creating safe and healthy products. When it comes to skincare and makeup, Beautycounter, Detox Market and Whole Foods are great places to start. However when it comes to cleaning, there is still a lot of greenwashing out there. Which is why I turn to making my own with only a few ingredients – it’s cost effective, hella easy and smells so darn good.
Here are a few recipes to get started with:
