Your frying pan is making you fat. But I’m not talking about the bacon.
Have you heard of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs)? If you’ve hung around me long enough, I know you have. Well, recently I got the chance to hear Dr. Leo Trasande speak to us Beautycounter consultants all about his work researching EDCs and their impact on our bodies. Let me tell you, it’s mind blowing and a little scary.
Real quick. If you don’t know Dr. Trasande, he is a pediatrician and world renowned expert in environmental health. He has all sorts of amazing credentials that you can check out along with much of his published research here. He has an incredible book out Sicker, Fatter, Poorer that lays all of his research out for us normal folks to understand. Suffice it to say, the man knows his stuff.
If you didn’t know, the endocrine system is SUPER DUPER important to almost all of our bodily functions. It is responsible for regulating a range of bodily functions through the release of hormones.
Examples of things the endocrine system regulates include:
- metabolism
- growth and development
- sexual function and reproduction
- heart rate
- blood pressure
- appetite
- sleeping and waking cycles
- body temperature
Pretty important stuff, eh?
So, when we are exposed to these Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals what happens? The way Dr. Trasande put it: they scramble our hormones and contribute to disease. There are countless chemicals that are considered EDCs and honestly, they are still working to identify all of them. Each works a little differently. Some change our gene expression, some mimic hormones in the body, some trigger dormant issues. Regardless, they have been found to have an impact on our health at LOW levels of exposure.
This is all relatively new data. My jaw dropped when he told us that the FIRST report on EDCs was published in 2009. That’s only 11 years ago. By 2015 studies had identified 15 chronic conditions linked to exposure to EDCs. Recent studies have increased that number to THIRTY TWO! — imagine what a few more years of research will reveal!
We’re talking about conditions like:
- Cancers
- Diabetes
- Reproductive dysfunction and infertility
- Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s
- Learning disabilities
- Asthma
…and obesity.
Mhmmm, EDC’s are obesogens. Meaning they mess up your body’s ability to regulate your weight. Where do we find EDC’s … well, one place is that non stick frying pan you’ve got. Hence the bacon reference above. Studies show that exposure to the PFAS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) that makeup the non-stick coating you love slows your metabolism. The higher the PFAS levels found in study participants, the slower the metabolism. PFAS are forever chemicals meaning they do not degrade over time. They stick around.
Where else are these suckers hiding? Everywhere, kinda. Plastics. Food. Food packaging. Personal care products & cosmetics. Furniture. Pharmaceuticals. Pesticides. Water. Soil.
See what I mean. I don’t want to sound doom and gloom because there are things you can do to reduce exposure (we will get to that). But, I also think it’s really important that we understand just how critical and invasive this problem is.
Dr. Trasande’s research estimates (underestimates actually) that EDCs cost us over $340 billion in health care costs each year. This isn’t just a health issue. It’s an economic one, too.
Our food supply is where we see the strongest data about the effects of EDCs. Plastics like phthalates and bisphenols are used throughout the supply chain and are the main source of packaging for our foods. Phthalates leach into our food even without being exposed to heat! So really, the plastic tupperware you are keeping your leftovers in can be exposing you to EDCs even if you use a ceramic plate to heat it back up when it’s lunch time.
Critical question: what are the top EDCs to avoid and where do we find them?
PFAS
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances are synthetic chemicals found in many products, including food packaging, household cleaners and nonstick cookware. They are known as forever chemicals because they do not degrade much over time.
Bisphenols
You’ve heard of BPA in plastic, but did you know the other bisphenols they are replacing it with are just as bad. Avoid plastic as much as possible for food, drinks or other items you might put in your mouth (think baby toys). I love stainless steel, glass and silicone and there are so many great options out there now.
Phthalates
Phthalates are chemicals commonly added to plastics to increase their flexibility and durability. They are quite literally in everything. Food packings, beauty products, perfumes, cleaning supplies and detergents, pharmaceutical pills, glue! That’s just a sampling. In the past few years, researchers have linked phthalates to asthma, ADHD, breast cancer, obesity and type II diabetes, low IQ, neurodevelopmental issues, behavioral issues, autism spectrum disorders, altered reproductive development and male fertility issues. YEESH!
Parabens.
These chemicals are widely used as artificial preservatives in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, foods, and beverages. Common parabens are methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben. Often more than one paraben is used in a single product. Personal care products are the greatest contributors to paraben exposure. They are suspected to contribute to reproductive issues and breast cancer.
Flame Retardants
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are used in many household products like electronics, clothing, furniture and mattresses to reduce flammability. BFRs often migrate out of their products over time where they may contaminate household dust and food.
This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s definitely the place to start.
So what do we do? Change starts with us. The way we shop influences the market and the products that companies make. In just a few years we’ve seen the clean beauty industry EXPLODE. And that is because you vote with your dollar every time you buy a clean lipstick and companies notice. When you go to make a purchase, ask yourself if there is a way to reduce your exposure to EDC’s with the choice you make. There probably is!
- Scan your personal care products for paraben and phthalates and start swapping them.
2. Start converting your kitchenware to non-plastic options. And definitely get rid of the teflon and nonstick cookware ASAP.
3. Shop local and fresh and organic whenever possible. Farmers Markets are a great option for this. When and where you can, reduce the use of plastic packaging.
4. If you can’t shop organic all the time (I mean who has the budget really?) Focus on the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 from EWG.
5. Make sure your canned goods are BPA free or pick things packed in glass or TetraPaks. Dr. Trasande couldn’t say definitively that tetrapaks were 100% safe, but he said they are absolutely safer than BPA.
6. Next time you are making a big purchase for your household like a couch or mattress, look for options that do not contain flame retardants.
AND:: Be on the lookout for my list of favorite safer swaps to avoid EDC’s coming soon!
There is hope! California just passed AB 2762, the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act (shameless plug for Beautycounter because our advocacy efforts played a huge role in making this happen!) It will explicitly prohibit the use of the 12 of the most harmful chemicals and contaminants in cosmetics including: mercury, three types of formaldehyde, some of the most toxic parabens and phthalates, and the fluorinated compounds known as PFAS.
See any familiar EDCs in that list? It’s a massive victory for the whole country because companies will need to reformulate if they want to sell in CA (which they do) so the rest of the country will get the new formulas, too. It makes me do my happy dance just thinking about it!
We are also advocating for more oversight and better beauty laws in Washington DC. Want to help? Just text BETTERBEAUTY to 52886 and follow the steps. You’ll be telling congress you support bipartisan legislation to get harmful ingredients out of our products. Look at you go, you activist, you!
Last MOST IMPORTANT point:
Dr. Trasande really emphasized PROGRESS over perfection in this. Even a small reduction in our exposure can have significant short term and long term health benefits. Do what you can when you can and don’t lose sleep over the rest.
What products do you most want to know safer swaps for? Let me know in the comments.
xo, Nicole