We have been long aware of plastic pollution choking up the planet, or about chemical agricultural reagents accumulating in the ecosystem without perishing. While conscious efforts to reduce plastic usage and go organic are on the rise, significant effects of these synthetics on the human body have already been observed. Xenoestrogens are a group of such chemicals having serious effects on human biology.
" Xenoestrogens can bind to the estrogen receptors in the body, thus causing similar effects as estrogens would. However, Xenoestrogens are not metabolised and eliminated easily, thus they accumulate in the fat cells of the body."
Xenoestrogens are chemicals of non-biological origin that have a molecular structure very similar to that of human estrogens. Estrogens are natural hormones in humans that are important for bone growth, blood clotting and reproduction in men and women. It is also the primary sex hormone in females regulating the menstrual cycle and sexual characters. Xenoestrogens can bind to the estrogen receptors in the body, thus causing similar effects as estrogens would. However, Xenoestrogens are not metabolised and eliminated easily, thus they accumulate in the fat cells of the body.
Xenoestrogens can have a range of serious effects on our physiology, ranging from precocious onset of menstruation, infertility, to obesity, endometriosis and miscarriages. It can also lead to cancers of the breast, testes or prostate. In addition to direct exposure, effects of exposure to a female or male fetus during development are irreversible.
These compounds enter our body through a variety of sources. Benzophenone and parabens used in sunscreen lotion or makeup are xenoestrogens. Many chemicals abundant in plastics used abundantly in food containers and bottles include xenoestrogenic chemicals. Organochlorine- containing fertilizers and insecticides like DDT and Lindane also have similar effects. Moreover, these organochlorine compounds accumulate in the fat of animals who consume such vegetation, thus they are passed up the food chain and enter humans via meat and dairy products.
Making conscious choices regarding usage of chemical cosmetics and consumption of meat and dairy helps reduce the intake of these chemicals. Also, usage of plastic food containers, especially heating food in plastic containers, should be avoided. While making these changes in personal lifestyle is certainly effective, we should also collectively aim at bringing about these changes at the industrial level.
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