What you eat and the chemicals that you come in contact with daily can affect what goes on in your body. This means that the chemicals can affect your hormone levels and in particular, testosterone levels. Chemicals that reduce testosterone levels are found in many household items.
We are surrounded by 100’s of different chemicals everywhere we go.
Most of these chemicals are harmless however, many of the most common everyday household chemicals can be toxic for us in high exposure. They might not be toxic in the clinical sense but they can certainly affect the way your brain functions and the body’s natural hormone production. Could these chemicals be one of the reasons for your low hormone levels? Can eliminating the chemicals that reduce testosterone from your life help you manage your low testosterone and improve your blood work so much that no testosterone therapy is needed?
In the past, we’ve talked about naturally increasing testosterone levels with food, but in some people’s opinion avoiding these household chemicals can help your Low T from becoming too low in the first place. This is because many of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors, not just chemicals that reduce testosterone in an isolation.
This is especially true for the main hormone disrupting culprits: Phthalates and Pesticides.
Phthalates are chemicals found in plastics, plastic wraps, tupperware you store your food in, kids toys and personal hygiene products like air freshener and perfume. You are potentially surrounded by them in small quantities and you have no idea.
The same applies to pesticides that are used in the farming of crops, fruit and vegetables. While some pesticides have already been banned by the FDA, many are still in use and it’s almost impossible to know what/if/how much pesticides have been used.
What’s the problem with rooting out these chemicals and limiting your contact with them? Most of the time they are not directly listed on the packaging, the small quantity means they can be grouped together with other minority ingredients and come under a generics terms. For example, Phthalates often come under the umbrella terms like “fragrance”. Research clearly shows that high exposure to Phthalates can contribute to diseases like obesity, diabetes, thyroid and reproductive problems including low sperm count and low hormone production (in particular low testosterone production).
The only way to avoid these chemicals is to eat and buy organic. It’s not reality for most. And it’s hugely expensive. Shall we all just go and live on a desert island and resort to being cave men?
There’s no need for that and there’s no need to think that doing so will rid you of your hormone depletion. While limiting your exposure to these chemicals can help your hormone production you are not likely to see huge improvements without medical or therapeutic therapy as well. Most people don’t have bouts of high exposure to these chemicals. Most are exposed to them in minimal quantities over a sustained period of time. Limiting exposure where possible is a good and helpful idea but try not to obsess ad become scared by the prospect of contact.
Avoiding all hormone disrupting chemicals is literally impossible. (Our bodies also benefit from a small amount of exposure in some other ways, it’s not always all bad.)
For example, you also have naturally occurring chemicals like Mercury that affect testosterone levels. The naturally occurring metal can be found in seafood, fish, water and even soil. Slow and small exposure to it can lead to a buildup but Mercury which is bad for your hormones and general brain function but it also benefits your body. For example, mercury levels are high in fish. Should we avoid eating all fish despite the other nutrients they provide us with and the health benefits? A more likely compromise is to limit eating fish to two times a week.
Hormone and testosterone production disrupter chemicals are also found in pharmaceutical drugs. This includes over the counter and prescription medications. So what can we do? It’s often a question of balance. Try not to take drugs that are not 100% not necessary, particularly statins. If not taking stains means that you are have a higher risk of having a heart attack, then you need to weigh up the risk factor and decide with your doctor how to manage the conflict. Personally, we would choose low T over a heart attack any day.
What can we make of all this and all the chemical scare mongering out there? Use your common sense, it prevails everything else. Don’t go out of your way to expose yourself but don’t head to that desert island either. Everything is acceptable is moderation. Chemicals that reduce testosterone might be everywhere so it’s near impossible to eliminate all of them from your life.
There are lots of resources out there that go into more detail concerning chemicals that reduce testosterone levels. For further reading check out these links:
http://www.primemale.com/articles/10-culprits-conspiring-to-lower-your-t-levels-more-than-age-alone/
http://www.anabolicmen.com/foods-filled-with-testosterone-lowering-chemicals-and-pesticides/
http://www.livescience.com/40733-hormone-disrupting-chemicals-health.html
http://www.peaktestosterone.com/Testosterone_Lower_Chemicals.aspx