hormone health
Personal Care Products: Are they making us sick?
February 27, 2012 | 
Author There has been a flurry of news attention recently on the potential dangers of toxic ingredients in personal care products. Certain ingredients have been linked to respiratory conditions, endocrine disruption, and even cancer. Avoiding potentially harmful additives can be challenging as products often contain long lists of chemicals that can be hard to decipher. I often encourage my patients to start by avoiding phthalates. Phthalates help lotions to penetrate skin and help synthetic fragrances to last longer. Unfortunately, they also disrupt hormones and have been linked to PMS, infertility, and breast cancer. Phthalates are not usually listed in the ingredients but whenever you see fragrance, perfume, or parfum you can assume they are present. That means choosing non-scented products and those scented with essential oils.
Avoiding phthalates is a great start. Other ingredients to watch out for include parabens, triclosan, and sodium lauryl sulfate. Environmental Defence Canada has put together a pocket shopping guide of Toxic Ten Ingredients as part of their Just Beautiful campaign that you can download from justbeautiful.ca. You can also visit lesstoxicguide.ca for lists of non-toxic products that you can find in Nova Scotia.
Posted in Environmental Medicine, Infertility, Naturopathic Medicine, PMS, fertility, hormone health, womens health | 
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PMS – A Naturopathic approach to this common (but not normal!) syndrome.
If you are like most women (80%) you recognize that your period is coming by the changes you feel, emotionally and physically. Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) refers to more than 150 symptoms that occur in the 2nd half of your cycle, after ovulation. Most women report increasing symptoms in their 30′s and 40′s, which makes sense given that most women are estrogen dominant as they approach menopause. There are 4 categories of PMS:
PMS – A: Anxiety (65-75%of PMS sufferers)
- Anxiety, tension, feeling “on edge”
- Irritability, anger
- Mood swings, Insomnia, Depression
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Sensitive to Criticism
PMS – C: Cravings (30% of PMS sufferers)
- Cravings for sweets and carbohydrates
- Increased appetite
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Heart Palpitations
PMS – D: Depression (25-35% of PMS sufferers)
- Depression
- Forgetfulness, confusion
- Lethargy
- Withdrawal and disinterest in usual activities
- Insomnia
PMS – H: Hyperhydration/Water Retention (50% of PMS sufferers)
- Breast swelling and tenderness
- Abdominal bloating
- Weight gain of over 3 lbs
- Swelling of the face, hands, fingers and ankles.
Other symptoms common to all types of PMS can include: bowel changes (constipation, diarrhea), cramping, changes in libido, backache, headache, acne and other skin changes, night sweats, insomnia and nausea.
Most women fall into one or more categories, but find that one of the above categories best matches their symptoms. This is useful as it helps us to identify underlying causes, as well as manage symptoms until we get to the root cause.
What is the root cause?
As I said earlier, most women know their period is on its way based on how they are feeling. That part is normal. What isn’t normal is for symptoms to begin more than 1-2 days before the period starts, begin immediately after ovulation, cause major disruptions in life, or cause enough discomfort to require pain medication.
Finding the root cause can be tricky, but most of the time estrogen dominance is to blame. Estrogen dominance is when estrogen is high relative to progesterone. This can be a “true” dominance (estrogen is high, progesterone is normal) or a relative dominance (estrogen is normal, progesterone is low). Women who have been on hormonal birth control for many years, or have known exposure to xenoestrogens (ie, plastics, pesticides) often have a “true” dominance picture. In that case, we support the liver’s detoxification of estrogens and use foods to influence the balance of estrogen and progesterone (ie phytoestrogens). In cases of “relative” dominance, which is most common in peri-menopause when progesterone levels start to decline, we use herbs like Vitex to support the production of progesterone. Treating estrogen dominance usually takes 3-6 months, but most women begin to feel better after just 4-6 weeks.
Treating the “branches”
While the “root” cause is often estrogen dominance, the “branches” aka symptoms, can also be treated while we wait for the root to heal. The most common symptoms I see related to PMS are:
- Anxiety/Irritability/Mood Changes
- Insomnia/Sleep changes (especially during peri-menopause)
- Fatigue
There are a number of therapies that can be used to successfully manage the “branches”, including melatonin, 5-HTP, l-theanine, inositol and/or herbs that support adrenal health such as licorice, eleuthrococcus and ashwaganda. Many patients feel very discouraged by the time they seek out naturopathic care, having suffered for many years. Many women are also concerned that their symptoms are becoming more severe as they get older. In most cases, my patients report a 75% improvement in symptoms by 3 months, with many reporting significant improvement in just 1 month!
Correcting the imbalance
- Include phytoestrogens in your diet: beans, lentils, flax (2 tbsp/day). Some women also benefit from including soy foods (soy milk, soy beans, soy nuts, tofu).
- Reduce red meat consumption to less than 2x/month
- Reduce caffeine, sugar and alcohol
- Manage stress levels. Cortisol and progesterone come from the same precursor – your body will make cortisol at the expense of progesterone when under stress (physical/mental/emotional), making estrogen dominance worse.
- Choose organic foods most often, especially the “Dirty Dozen“.
- Avoid using plastics.
- See an ND to ensure a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
PMS may be common, but it isn’t normal! It’s just a symptom of an underlying hormone imbalance that can easily be corrected with the right kind of treatment.
Posted in PMS, Premenstrual Syndrome, Uncategorized, Wellness, anxiety, depression, hormone health, womens health | Comments Closed
Understanding Peri-Menopause
Peri-Menopause is defined as the period of time (ranges from 6 months to several years) that immediately precedes true menopause. And, as most women find out, it can often be more symptomatic than the actual experience of menopause itself. If any of these symptoms sounds familiar, you may be peri-menopausal:
- Decreased sex drive
- Irregular or otherwise abnormal menstrual periods
- Bloating (water retention)
- Breast swelling and tenderness
- Fibrocystic breasts
- Headaches (especially premenstrually)
- Mood swings (most often irritability and depression)
- Weight and/or fat gain (particularly around the abdomen and hips)
- Cold hands and feet (a symptom of thyroid dysfunction)
- Hair loss
- Thyroid dysfunction
- Sluggish metabolism
- Foggy thinking, memory loss
- Fatigue
- Trouble sleeping/insomnia
- PMS
And, even more surprising to hear is that peri-menopause is a condition of estrogen dominance, and not estrogen defeciency. The defeciency side of the coin doesn’t usually come into play until much close to menopause. In the early years, progesterone defeciency is the real culprit. Why?
It’s all about the eggs…
It’s no surprise to hear that our eggs lose their youthfullness as we age, but so do the follicles that the eggs grow in. And, it’s the follicle remnant (corpus luteum) that produces progesterone in the second half (luteal phase) of our menstrual cycle. As we age, the amount of progesterone produced decreases. So, in a peri-menopausal woman, you may have a normal follicular phase (first half of the cycle) but a shortened (or absent) luteal phase, leading to an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone. What needs to be deciphered is whether or not it’s a “true” estrogen dominance (high estrogen, normal progesterone), or if it’s a “relative” defeciency, where estrogen is normal but progesterone is defecient. The best way to determine this is by using saliva hormone testing. Conventional blood work will tell us if your hormone levels fall outside of the normal reference ranges, but it won’t tell us the relationship between the two at a given point in your cycle, nor does it break down estrogen into it’s 3 forms: estone, estradiol, and estriol. This is important information, as it can lead to more effective treatment. But, we don’t always have to proceed with saliva hormone testing, especially if the symptom picture is clear.
Will you need progesterone cream or supplements?
Maybe, but probably not. In my experience, the vast majority of patients with estrogen dominance respond very well to dietary interventions, functional medicine and carefully chosen herbs. There are a variety of herbs that can help treat estrogen dominance and/or progesterone deficiency, and are my preferred treatment of choice.
What can I do NOW?
Keep in mind that it can take up to 3 months for any therapy to take full effect. However, most of my patients begin to feel better long before that, often in as little as 3 weeks. Here’s what you can do to get things started:
- Exercise. Numerous studies have found that women who exercise for 30 minutes/day fare better than their sedentary counterparts.
- Reduce alcohol, sugar and red meat consumption.
- Add beans and legumes to your diet, 3-4x/week
- Learn to love flax! Try to get 2 tbsp/day
- Reduce exposure to xenoestrogens (chemical estrogens). This includes pesticides and plastics. Click here for more information about plastics.
- Keep stress in check. Too much stress, resulting in excess amounts of cortisol, insulin, and norepinephrine, which can lead to adrenal exhaustion and can also adversely affect overall hormonal balance
If you are interested in Naturopathic care, please feel free to call or email with any questions you may have.
Posted in Naturopathic Medicine, hormone health, menopause, peri-menopause, womens health | Comments Closed
Plastics – More cause for concern
Many of us have heard about the concerns over BPA (bisphenol A), a chemical used to manufacture certain types of plastic. Health Canada recently declared it a toxic chemical, and this should limit its use in the marketplace.
But, a recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives raises concerns about all plastics used, stating that most plastics, when exposed to everyday conditions such as dishwashing, leach components with estrogenic activity.
The convenience of plastic is undeniable, especially when it comes to children’s toys, sippy cups and bottles. There is growing concern that the plastics we use everyday for drinking cups and food preparation contain chemicals that act as “endocrine disruptors”. This is especially concerning as certain chemicals in plastics appear to mimic estrogen, increasing the risk for estrogen sensitive conditions such as breast cancer and endometriosis. Some researchers have also expressed concern that the widespread use of plastics may play a role in the earlier onset of puberty seen in girls, and the delayed onset seen in boys.
The concern comes from the fact that several petroleum based products are used in the manufacture of plastics. When plastics products are heated, scratched, damaged or come into contact with oily or fatty food, there is a tendency for these products to leach into foods. Polycarbonate, PVC and Styrene are the types of plastics of most concern. You can identify these plastics if they have the numbers 3, 6 or 7 imprinted on them within the recycling symbol.
While this information is alarming, there are choices that can be made to balance risk with convenience. Here are a few “tips” to make plastic use safer:
- Avoid using plastic containers in the microwave.
- Don’t use “cling wrap”, especially in the microwave.
- Use alternatives to plastic packaging whenever possible.
- Use Pyrex or ceramic dishes to store foods, especially those with higher-fat content.
- Don’t use Teflon.
- Avoid plastic bottled water. Remember that bottles from #1 and #2 plastics are for single use only.
If you do re-use a plastic water bottle, watch for signs that the plastic is degrading: scratches, cloudiness, etc.
But what about baby bottles and sippy cups? Avoid bottles and sippy cups made with polycarbate (clear or coloured clear plastic). Examples include: Dr. Browns, Evenflo (clear), First Years, Gerber (clear), and Platex Vent Aire and First Sipster.
You can avoid plastic all together by choosing glass bottles and stainless steel sippy cups. While some parents are concerned about glass bottles breaking, they are usually made with shatter proof glass which increases their safety. If you are looking for a local source for these products, Nurtured on Robie Street is a good place to start. And, limiting the use of plastics also benefits the environment, something we all need to think about.
Soy – sorting fact from fiction. Part 1.
I don’t think there’s any food as controversial as soy these days. I’m asked about its use (and safety) almost daily. Is it safe? It is healthy? Will it hurt my thyroid? Does it cause breast cancer? Will it harm male fertility? Does it enhance female fertility? While I hope to answer most of these questions, it’s a very broad topic, so I think I have to break this into pieces.
Part 1 – Understading phytoestrogens.
Phytoestrogens are simply plant constituents that are able to bind to the estrogen receptor. And, most of the time they act like estrogen modulators. This means that in a high estrogen environment they help to reduce estrogen dominance, but in a low estrogen environement they can help to normalize low levels of estrogen. Many foods contain phytoestrogens: beans, flax, nuts, etc. The phytoestrogens of interest in soy foods are daidzein and genistein. These are called isoflavones.
So, are these isoflavones dangerous to human health? Well, maybe, but not likely. And, here’s why. In order for a hormone to have an effect in the body, it must be bound to a receptor. No receptor = no action. A common binding protein is SHBG (steroid hormone binding globulin). Interestingly, soy foods actually increase the production of SHBG, making fewer isoflavones available for binding to receptors. And, those that do bind, bind very weakly. It is estimated that phytoestrogens from soy only bind at 1/1000 the strength of even our bodies own estrogens. So far, we have a weak estrogen that’s not very available.
Let’s put a real life example in here. Is a pre-menopausal woman in her 30′s, who is still having regular menstrual cycles, likely to have any negative effects from consuming soy foods on a regular basis? Ie. soy milk, tofu, etc. Given that most of her receptors are taken up by her own estrogens (or stronger estrogens from the environment – pesticides, plastics, etc), any further stimulation by soy (remember, it’s activity is 1/1000 of human estrogen) will be minimal. But, what will the effect be 15-20 years later when she is menopausal? Given that most of her receptors will be sitting empty (hence the hot flashes), the isoflavones may exert a stronger estrogenic effect, which isn’t a bad thing in this case, as we know that estrogen is protective for our bones, brain and heart.
Another key point is that soy’s ability to bind to estrogen receptors (and take binding spots away from stronger estrogens like pestidices) is one of the postulated theories for soy’s possible protective effect. So, if an isoflavone is bound to the receptor, the stronger (more harmful) estrogen is out of luck.
So in summary, when a woman has little natural estrogen production (post-hysterectomy or postmenopause), isoflavones can attach to open estrogen receptor sites and produce a weak estrogenic effect. When there is too much estrogen (during PMS, and endometriosis for example), isoflavones can compete with estrogen for receptor sites, and because their effect is weak in comparison, they blunt the estrogenic effect.
I want to emphasize that we are talking about soy foods, not supplements. Soy foods include tofu, tempeh, soy beans, soy nuts and soymilk. For the time being, I don’t recommend soy supplements or powders on a regular basis. And, always choose organic soy, as almost all non-organic soy is made from genetically modified soy.
So, that’s a good place to start. Next up – Soy and Thyroid function. I hope to have part 2 up in the next week or so, assuming my kids don’t bring home another set of germs.
Pthlates to be restricted in children’s toys.
Welcome news about this harmful chemical
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2011/01/18/health-phthalates-restrictions-children-toys.html
The federal government said Tuesday it is going to place restrictions on the use of six phthalates in children’s toys and some child-care products.
Phthalates commonly used in products include:
- DBP (dibutyl phthalate).
- DINP (diisononyl phthalate).
- DEP (diethyl phthalate).
- DEHP (di 2-ethylhexl phthalate).
- DMP (dimethyl phthalate).
- BBP (benzyl butyl phthalate).
- DNOP (di-n-octyl phthalate).
- DIDP (Diisodecyl phthalate).
Phthalates are chemicals used to make polyvinyl chloride — a type of plastic — flexible. They are also used to hold colour and scents in certain products. Sometimes referred to as plasticizers, phthalates can be found in a wide range of consumer products, including perfumes, nail polish, vinyl floors, detergents, lubricants, food packaging, soap, paint, shampoo, toys, air fresheners and plastic bags.
Some medical research has suggested that phthalates may have feminizing properties in humans, while other research has said that phthalates might be linked with abdominal obesity and insulin resistance in men.
The new restrictions will limit the allowable concentrations of DEHP, DBP and BBP to no more than 1,000 milligrams per kilogram in the soft vinyl of all children’s toys and child-care products. They will also restrict the permitted concentrations of DINP, DIDP and DNOP to no more than 1,000 mg/kg in the same products where children under four years old might put the soft vinyl in their mouths.”These regulations will help ensure that children’s toys and child-care articles imported, sold or advertised in Canada do not present a risk of phthalate exposure to young children,” Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said in a statement.
The new restrictions will come into force on June 10, 2011.
In 1998, Health Canada asked industry to voluntarily stop marketing soft vinyl “buccal” products — those meant to be put in the mouths of young children, such as pacifiers, teethers, rattles and baby bottle nipples— in Canada if they contain the phthalates DINP and DEHP.
However, the government subsequently found that there are soft vinyl toys and child-care articles on the market that contain phthalates and that are not covered by the voluntary ban.
Rick Smith, the executive director of Environmental Defence Canada, applauded the Canadian government’s latest move.
“[The regulations] are now aligned with measures taken in the United States and the European Union and will ensure our children receive the same high level of protection,” he said in a statement.
As of 2009, any children’s product sold or distributed in California cannot contain more than one-tenth of one per cent of phthalates. The European Union has outlawed the use of DEHP, DBP and BBP in children’s products. DINP, DNOP and DIDP are also banned in toys that children under the age of three might put in their mouths.