Plastics have an especially detrimental effect on our hormonal system or endocrine system. They disrupt the metabolism of hormone-mimicking estrogens causing excess and an imbalance of estrogen activity.
How plastics disrupt hormone balance and how it may manifest
If you are a man and your libido is shot, motivation is lost and you feel like you are aging without testosterone, it could be that you are aging with too much estrogen because of the effects of plastics in your life.
If you are a woman and you’re gaining weight, having unreasonable menstrual cycles, acne, brain fog and feel like you are becoming sensitive to everything then you may want to look at your plastic exposure. It should also be noted that the more fat tissue you have on your body, the more you are going to store plastic chemicals in your body.
A patient story
Not long ago I had a patient with low libido, decreased motivation who came in thinking he needed testosterone replacement therapy and wanted to get his testosterone levels checked.
I usually check estrogen right along with free and total testosterone so if a guy does come in with low testosterone we can rule out a fast aromatase enzyme as the culprit behind his low testosterone. It is always important when having your hormones checked to make sure your doctor is looking upstream and downstream, rather than just testing a single hormone.
Lab results
The labs showed he had great testosterone levels. The problem was his estrogen levels were way too high. This is a fit guy who eats real food and strength trains consistently and generally loves life but when your estrogen is high and you’re a guy life could be a whole lot better.
His estradiol came back at 99 and is his Estrone came back at 192. He was almost getting into the female hormone range. And his testosterone was only at 471. For a guy like him living the lifestyle he was living, I would expect him to be around 800.
Daily plastic exposure disrupts hormone balance
I talked to him about plastic exposure and he realized that he drinks 4-6 bottles of plastic water a day, his coffee was in a paper cup lined with plastic, he stored his food for work in plastic Tupperware. Upon this realization, he immediately eliminated plastic from his life.
He got glass Tupperware, a stainless steel water bottle, and a coffee cup and drastically reduced his plastic exposure. Check out what happened. We rechecked his testosterone and estrogen levels 3 months later and these were the results:
Estrone 52, down from 192.
Estradiol 29 down from 99
Testosterone 668 up from 471.
This guy is very regimented. All he did was clear a bunch of plastic out of his life and his labs changed dramatically in 90 days for the positive. Not only that but he was feeling like his motivation and gusto for life was coming back.
Sources of plastic
Consider your own life and all of the places that plastic and plastic-like materials come in contact with you.
- Frozen meals
- Peanut butter
- Yogurts
- Coating on milk cartons
- Inner lining of paper coffee cups
- Water bottles
- Shower curtains
- Shrink wrap
- Deli meat wrap
- Packaging on furniture
- Ready to eat rotisserie chickens
And the list could go on.
If the item you are consuming does not require cool storage 100% of the time from start to finish, then you really want to eliminate from your life that food option if it is stored in plastic. Heat and time are the great promoters of plastic transfer into our water and food items and into us.
Let’s accumulate health by removing plastic from our lives.
Ready to eliminate more toxins from your life? Check out this post on Creating a Non-Toxic Home.
