EnDocrine Disruptors And The Thyroid
As part of the endocrine system the thyroid’s main role is to regulate the metabolism, governing body temperature and how the body uses energy. It does so by way of production of the thyroid hormones, which virtually every cell in the body has receptors for, and is thus impacted. Some of the many roles of the thyroid in addition to managing metabolism include:
influencing growth and development in infants and children
affecting heart rate, cardiac muscle, and circulation
essential to healthy bones
impacting digestive motility and digestive secretory activity (aka pancreatic enzymes and HCl)
Diet and lifestyle are unequivocally crucial to a well-functioning thyroid. However, it is also important to understand the the role of certain chemicals that we are inadvertently exposed to that disrupt proper thyroid function. Often referred to as endocrine disruptors, we come into contact with these chemicals through the air we breath, the water we drink, the food we eat, the products we cook with, the products we put onto our bodies, and even the containers we package our food in. Some of the top thyroid endocrine disruptors include:
Pesticides (non-organic food supply)
Parabens (cosmetics, drugs)
Phthalates (personal care products, vinyl flooring)
Halogens (bromide, chloride, fluoride)
Flame Retardants (clothing, mattresses, carpet)
Heavy Metals (Industrial pollution, agriculture)
PCBs (banned in 1979 but still persist in the environment)
PFOA (Teflon, food wrappings)
Plastics (everywhere)
Fragrance (1,000s of chemicals can hide under this title)
The chemicals listed above are by no means an exhaustive list of both the known and unknown endocrine disruptors out there. We would surely go crazy trying to eliminate every exposure to every thyroid-disrupting chemical that exists and this would be an impossible task bound for failure. Instead, we should focus on the ones of which we have the most control. And when opting for safer products, we should choose the path of least harm. This is the wise recommendation of Julie Ralston, entrepreneur and blogger on all things related to safer swaps and environmental sustainability.
Check out Julie’s Clean Living Tips below for simple steps to reduce the above toxins and visit The Rebel Roots Nutrition Podcast here to listen to our full conversation on this topic. Julie especially offers great recommendations on lunch packing products to help keep our children safer.
