Endocrine-disrupting chemicals — both naturally occurring and human-made substances that can interfere with hormones — are all around us. But while encountering them is often inevitable, there are plenty of ways to cut down on the amount we consume.

Of the nearly 85,000 chemicals in the world that are human-made, 1,000 or more of them are known or likely to be endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), according to the Endocrine Society, impacting the body’s endocrine system.

“The endocrine system, I call it pretty much the master caretakers of our bodies, right? So they tell us how our bodies should be functioning,” said Charity Mooya Kwamanakweenda, an endocrinologist at UPMC’s Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology. “[W]hen one of them is not working well, we’re disrupted. We don’t feel good, or we don’t function to a maximum capacity.”

These chemicals mimic the hormones in our bodies, acting as regular hormones such as thyroid or reproductive hormones, Kwamanakweenda said, “and end up signaling a change to happen that would otherwise be triggered by our natural hormones.”

EDCs are linked to cancer, obesity, infertility in men and women, and diabetes. It can be a challenge — and often nearly impossible — to decipher whether EDCs can be to blame for a health issue. Making informed decisions on the products you’re using and food you’re consuming, however, you can greatly reduce your EDC intake.

“I don’t think people should be panicked, but I think they should want to know what is happening in the environment, what is happening in their homes, and how do they protect themselves from additive exposures,” Kwamanakweenda said.

‘Don’t be worried, be careful’

Among the most common of these chemicals, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health, are:

• Atrazine, one of the world’s most used herbicides, used for weed control
• Bisphenol A (BPA), often found in plastic packaging
• Phthalates, plasticizers that help make plastic flexible or soft
• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), often used in furniture and carpeting as a flame retardant
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often found in nonstick cookware.

Some EDCs are naturally occurring chemicals — called phytoestrogens — that are found in some plants.

One class of chemical to be particularly aware of is PFAS, referred to as “barrier chemicals” or “forever chemicals,” said Shanna Swan, professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. The half-life of PFAS can be years, said Swan, compared to phthalates, with a half-life of hours.

Items including waterproof jackets, frying pans and pizza box bottoms use PFAS as a barrier against absorption, Swan said. In the case of a pan or a pizza box, the chemicals end up being absorbed into food — especially when it’s hot — which can cause impaired immune response, Swan said.

“I would say, don’t be worried, be careful. I don’t think this is a cause for panic, but I think it’s a cause for change, changes in behavior, and an awareness,” said Swan, also an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist and the author of “Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race.”

Plastic, not so fantastic

One of the best ways to actively and consciously reduce your EDC consumption is by cutting down on plastic use, Swan said, especially when it comes to food storage and getting takeout.

“Takeout containers are full of these chemicals — they’re made of plastic, that’s it,” Swan said. “When warm food gets into plastic, the heat, if you will, pulls the phthalates and the bisphenols and so on, off of the other PFAS, off of the containers, into the food. These are not chemically bound to the matrix of the plastic. So, try to avoid having warm food particularly come in contact with plastic.”

Swan also suggests swapping out plastic food containers for glass or ceramic ones. And when grocery shopping, especially for produce, try to look for fruits and vegetables that aren’t wrapped in plastic. Though consumers often think buying something like lettuce wrapped in plastic is cleaner, safer or healthier, buying it unwrapped helps to reduce EDCs in your food purchases, she said.

“Try, if you can, to eat organic, if you can cook your own food,” Swan said. Her ideal scenario is to shop at a farmers market and then keep your edibles — produce, eggs, etc. — from ever encountering plastic.

When it comes to food packaging, children and infants are especially susceptible to EDCs, said Leonardo Trasande, professor of pediatrics and professor of population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

“Kids are uniquely susceptible because they eat more per body pound, they drink more, they breathe more air, and so they have a higher exposure level compared to adults, and then their developing organ systems are especially vulnerable,” Trasande said.

Reducing a family’s plastic footprint is the biggest step to take to decrease chemical exposure, he said.

“Eating fresh fruits and vegetables, whether they’re pureed at home or prepared at home, is a good example of a way to reduce that source of exposure,” said Trasande, who has published more than two dozen studies on EDCs since 2015. “We know that eating organic can also reduce a child’s exposure to pesticides that are toxic to baby’s brain development by disrupting hormones.”

Be wary of labels

If you can’t pronounce the name of an ingredient listed on the package of an item before purchasing it — whether it’s shampoo or a cosmetic item — that’s a sign you should stay away from it, Kwamanakweenda said.

Relying on labeling, such as “BPA free” or “phthalate free,” can be a bit complicated. Sometimes the labels are clear, noting an item contains something you know to avoid, Kwamanakweenda said. “Unfortunately, not all products are labeled to tell you, ‘Hey, this compound is included in here.’”

Broad words like “scent” and “perfume” are ones to especially look out for, because not all of the specific ingredients are named, Kwamanakweenda said.

“Why aren't they actually saying everything that's in there? Instead, they're just writing a generic name, like ‘fragrance,’” she said. “So those are the ones most likely that will have something hidden into it, and you won't even know that it has one of these EDCs added to it.”

Avoiding scented products like candles and wall plug-ins is an easy way to eliminate this source of exposure, especially for those who have conditions like asthma, Kwamanakweenda said.

A product marked as “BPA free” can also be a bit muddy. Once BPA was found to be a bad actor, Swan said, manufacturers found substitutes like BPS and BPF (also considered EDCs), creating a loophole, allowing them to still safely put “BPA free” labels on products.

“So because you're buying something that says ‘this is free of this,’ it doesn't mean it's safe,” Swan said. “There’s a big difference.”

Handy helpers

One way to tell if a product is EDC free or not is through the use of mobile phone apps, Swan said. Clearya and Yuka, for example, use product barcodes to analyze ingredient lists to tell if the item is at risk for containing EDCs, allergens and carcinogens.

Another resource she noted: consumer guides from the Environmental Working Group. The EWG offers guides for numerous items, including sunscreen, personal care products, cosmetics and tap water.

Water — especially bottled, which is not as regulated as tap — is a “terrific source of microplastics,” Swan said, and can contain EDCs. To make your drinking water cleaner, Swan recommended a reverse osmosis water filter or countertop distiller.

Ultimately, EDCs cannot be avoided completely, and there isn’t a safe level of exposure to them, Kwamanakweenda said, but minimizing exposure when possible is what’s important.

“[L]ow exposures, we aim for that, because all of us are going to get them, so we’re trying to see how else we can avoid them in our environment so that we’re not continuing to get multiple exposures,” Kwamanakweenda said.

Allie Miller (allie.l.mill@gmail.com) is a freelance journalist living in New Stanton.

First Published: December 15, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: December 16, 2024, 5:55 p.m.