phthalate exposure Archives - Amazing Health Advances https://amazinghealthadvances.net/tag/phthalate-exposure/ Your hub for fresh-picked health and wellness info Mon, 03 Jun 2024 05:11:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AHA_Gradient_Bowl-150x150.jpg phthalate exposure Archives - Amazing Health Advances https://amazinghealthadvances.net/tag/phthalate-exposure/ 32 32 Why Diabetes Risk Is Higher for Older White Women https://amazinghealthadvances.net/why-diabetes-risk-is-higher-for-older-white-women-8137/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-diabetes-risk-is-higher-for-older-white-women-8137 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/why-diabetes-risk-is-higher-for-older-white-women-8137/#respond Sun, 02 Jun 2024 08:13:53 +0000 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/?p=15852 Al Sears, MD, CNS – Phthalates – the toxic chemical cocktail manufacturers use to make plastic products more durable and personal products smell better – can increase your risk of developing diabetes by up to 63%… That’s the terrifying conclusion of a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.1 And according to the researchers, the damaging effects extend beyond diabetes in these women. Phthalate exposure also contributed to a higher incidence of obesity, infertility, and other endocrine disorders over a six-year period. For reasons not yet understood by the scientists, this damaging association was not seen in middle-aged Black or Asian women—the team plan to investigate these “apparent racial and ethnic differences” in future studies. In a recent letter I wrote you, I warned of how these estrogen-mimickers are affecting men and boys… I’ve been sounding the alarm and warning my patients about the dangers of phthalates for more than 20 years. Sadly, in all that time, the problem has gotten much worse. And the number of products polluted with these alien estrogens has increased. Worldwide, 12 BILLION pounds of phthalates are produced each year. They can be found in thousands of everyday items we bring into our homes on a regular basis. They’re present in medical devices, prescription drugs, cleaning products, personal care products, Phthalates are even in the air you breathe and the foods you eat. In one study, more than 80% of food samples were found to contain a phthalate known as DnBP, while 86% contained a plasticizer known as DEHT.2 Not surprisingly, fast foods, processed foods, baked goods, and other packaged items contain the most phthalates. There are steps you can take to minimize your exposure. Here’s what I tell my patients: Take these simple steps to protect your home and family. Stop storing food in plastic containers and never use them to heat foods. Dust often to remove phthalates from your home. Don’t use products with artificial fragrances. Buy produce that isn’t packaged… even better is buying fresh food from a farmer’s market. And look for personal care products that are labeled phthalate-free. Choose pasture-raised animal protein. I’ve shared the benefits of eating only grass-fed and pastured protein for as long as I’ve been writing to you. Here’s one more… Conventional meat is commonly fed grain-based pellets that come from recycled food waste. Big Food manufacturers send leftover processed foods to industrial grinders, where they’re turned into animal feed (and pet food). Because it’s too expensive, these foods aren’t removed from their packaging, and everything – including plastic, cardboard, and adhesives – gets ground down into animal feed. Replace bottled water with filtered tap water. This simple step reduces your exposure 22-fold.3 The best filter to use is a reverse osmosis filter that forces water through a semi-permeable membrane that captures phthalates and other contaminants. Not just any reverse osmosis system will do, however. The system needs to be NSF/ANSI 58 certified. This certification indicates that the RO system has gone through rigorous tests to ensure it will give you the results you’re looking for. I’ve had these filters installed at my clinic, my offices, and my own home. Supplement to flush phthalates away Sadly, it’s impossible to avoid phthalates in today’s world. Unless you live in a bubble, it’s impossible to avoid them. But there are supplements that can help flush these chemicals from your body. Here are three I recommend to all my patients: Supplement with “crucifers in a capsule.” Veggies like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage contain a compound called diindolylmethane (DIM). This helps your body break down and clear away estrogen mimickers. But it’s hard to get enough DIM from food. You’d have to eat two pounds or more of broccoli every day to get the amount you need. I recommend 100 mg daily. Add this DIM precursor. Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) helps prevent fake estrogens from attaching to your cell’s receptors. It also helps to metabolize estrogen into harmless compounds that are flushed away. Take 100 mg of Indole-3-carbinol per day. Use milk thistle (Silybum marianum). This is one of the best herbs for clearing toxins from your blood. It helps detoxify the liver and restore healthy liver function. Look for dried milk thistle extract. But make sure it has at least 80% silymarin, the active ingredient for liver cleansing. I recommend taking one 200 mg capsule twice daily. To Your Good Health,   Al Sears, MD, CNS References: 1. Peng M, et al. “Phthalates and incident diabetes in midlife women: the study of women’s health across the nation (SWAN).” J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 Feb 8;dgad033. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgad033. Online ahead of print. 2. Edwards L, et al. “Phthalate and novel plasticizer concentrations in food items from US fast food chains.” J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2022 May;32(3):366-373. 3. Cox K, et al. “Human consumption of microplastics.” Environ Sci Technol. 2019;53(12):7068-7074. To read the original article click here.

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]]> https://amazinghealthadvances.net/why-diabetes-risk-is-higher-for-older-white-women-8137/feed/ 0 Preterm Birth Is More Likely with Exposure to Phthalates https://amazinghealthadvances.net/preterm-birth-is-more-likely-with-exposure-to-phthalates-8054/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=preterm-birth-is-more-likely-with-exposure-to-phthalates-8054 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/preterm-birth-is-more-likely-with-exposure-to-phthalates-8054/#respond Mon, 01 Aug 2022 07:00:52 +0000 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/?p=14912 Rutgers University-New Brunswick via Newswise – A Rutgers researcher was part of a National Institutes of Health study that found pregnant women who were exposed to chemical compounds known as phthalates during pregnancy had an increased risk of preterm birth. Phthalates are industrial chemicals used in personal-care products, such as cosmetics, as well as solvents, detergents and in food packaging. After examining data from 6,045 pregnant women in the U.S., researchers found that women with higher concentrations of several phthalate metabolites in their urine were more likely to deliver their babies preterm—or delivering three or more weeks before a mother’s due date. The study was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. “Preterm birth is one of the most poorly understood, intractable challenges in maternal-child health,” said author Emily Barrett, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and a member of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute. “This study provides compelling evidence that everyday chemicals in our environment are part of the problem,” Barrett said. Conducting the largest study in the United States to date on this topic, researchers pooled data from 16 studies conducted throughout the U.S. that had individual participant data on prenatal urinary phthalate metabolites (which represent exposure to phthalates) as well as the timing of delivery of the study participants. Pregnant women participating in in the study delivered babies between 1983 and 2018. Nine percent, or 539, of the women delivered preterm births. Phthalate metabolites were detected in more than 96 percent of urine samples. The researchers developed statistical models to examine whether exposure to phthalates were associated with preterm birth. Higher concentrations of most phthalate metabolites examined were associated with slightly higher odds of preterm birth. Exposure to four of the 11 phthalates in pregnancy was associated with a significantly greater probability of having a preterm birth. The most consistent findings were for exposure to a phthalate that is used commonly in personal-care products such as nail polish and cosmetics. The researchers also used computational models to simulate hypothetical interventions that could reduce phthalate exposure. They estimated that reducing the phthalate exposure by even 50 percent could reduce preterm birth by 1.1 percent. The potential interventions could be behavioral, such as selecting personal-care products that don’t contain phthalates (if listed on label); voluntary actions from companies to eliminate phthalates from their products; or regulatory in nature. “Our data demonstrate that if we could reduce our exposures to phthalates, we could make considerable progress towards reducing our unacceptably high rates of preterm birth,” said Barrett. Eating fresh, home-cooked food as often as possible, avoiding processed food that comes in plastic and selecting fragrance-free products or those labeled as “phthalate free,” are some examples of ways pregnant people can reduce their exposure to the chemicals. The researchers are conducting additional studies to better understand the mechanisms by which exposure to phthalates can impact pregnancy and determine if there are effective ways for mothers to reduce their exposure. To read the original article click here.

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