List of Xenoestrogens

If you are attempting to avoid xenoestrogen exposure, here is a list of substances to avoid. I compiled this from many sources and it’s the most complete list on the Internet. Xenoestrogen contributes to “excess estrogen” or “estrogen dominance”.

The short answer is to go as organic and “green” as you can.

Avoid:

* Commercially-raised, non-organic meats such as beef, chicken, and pork
* Commercial dairy products including milk, butter, cheese, and ice cream – Use only organic products that do not contain bovine growth hormone
* Unfiltered water, including water you bathe in – Use reverse-osmosis filtered water such as Dazani or get your own filter
* Laundry detergent – Use white vinegar, baking soda, or tri-sodium phosphate (TSP)… According to some experts, avoid even the Seventh Generation and Eco brands
* Dryer sheets and fabric softeners – Use white vinegar is a marvelous natural fabric softener, no smell after it dries
* Avoid Primpro, DES, Premarin, Cimetidine (Tagamet), Marijuana, and Birth Control Pills (BCPs are often prescribed FOR endo. Talk to your doctor).
* Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
* Progesterone creams or other lotions made with paraben preservatives
* Soy
* Ground flaxseed – If you’re looking for the Omega-3 effect, use fish oil instead
* No sunflower oil, no safflower oil, no cottonseed oil, no canola oil – Use olive oil or grapeseed oil
* Avoid Tea tree oil (melaleuca) – I know, I love tea tree oil, this one is tough
* No lavendar oil
* Avoid coffee and caffeine
* Sage and rosemary
* Shampoos, lotions, soaps, cosmetics that contain paraben or phenoxyethanol – Almost all contain them, you have to look far and wide. Be diligent, you’re getting hundreds of times more exposure through your skin than through your diet. So far, I’ve found Kiss My Face brands to be okay.
* Shampoos that purposely include estrogen (these are shampoos that cater to the African-American market)
* Avoid reheating foods in plastic or styrofoam containers
* Avoid drinking out of plastic cups and containers
* Air fresheners that contain pthalates

Avoid naturally occurring plant estrogens:

* Coffee
* Clover, red clover tea, alfalfa sprouts
* Sunflower seeds
* Queen Anne’s lace (wild carrot)
* Pomegranate – The Greeks used this plant as a contraceptive!
* Dates
* Fennel
* Licorice, red clover, yucca, hops (beer) and motherwort
* Bloodroot, ocotillo, mandrake, oregano, damiana, pennyroyal, verbena, nutmeg, tumeric, yucca, thyme, calamus rt., red clover, goldenseal, licorice, mistletoe, cumin, fennel, chamomile, cloves

Chemicals:

* 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC) (sunscreen lotions)
* butylated hydroxyanisole / BHA (food preservative)
* atrazine (weedkiller)
* bisphenol A (monomer for polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resin; antioxidant in plasticizers) – also known as BPA
* dieldrin (insecticide)
* DDT (insecticide)
* endosulfan (insecticide)
* erythrosine / FD&C Red No. 3
* heptachlor (insecticide)
* lindane / hexachlorocyclohexane (insecticide)
* methoxychlor (insecticide)
* nonylphenol and derivatives (industrial surfactants; emulsifiers for emulsion polymerization; laboratory detergents; pesticides)
* polychlorinated biphenyls / PCBs (in electrical oils, lubricants, adhesives, paints)
* phenosulfothiazine (a red dye)
* phthalates (plasticizers)
* DEHP (plasticizer for PVC)

Here is another list from Dr. Peter Eckhart, MD:

1. Do not heat food or water with plastic in the microwave. Do not drink hot liquids in foam styrofoam cups or receptacles.
2. Change your laundry detergent because it cannot be fully washed from the clothes and can be absorbed through the skin. Do NOT use dryer sheets or fabric softener.
3. Do not use anything on the skin with parabens or phenoxyethanol in them. This includes shampoo, soap, makeup, hand lotion, body lotion, and toothpaste. Oral substances are 90% filtered by the liver. Skin-absorbed substances are 100% absorbed by the body, thus, a skin dose is 10 times an oral dose.
4. Avoid coffee. Avoid decaf coffee. No caffeine. No tea. No colas. Caffeine increases estradiol levels by 70%!
5. No sunflower oil, no safflower oil, no cottonseed oil, no canola oil. (Guess that leaves olive oil).
6. Avoid shampoos that are “rich in hormones” and have estrogen added to them.
7. Avoid estrogenic herbs especially TOPICALLY such as sage and rosemary. (Good to know coming up on Thanksgiving!)
8. Avoid weak estrogens such as soy and ground flax seed.
9. Many sunscreens are estrogenic. Use a hat and long sleeved shirt.
10. Use cosmetics with minerals or grapefruit seed extract as a preservative.

According to Dr. Elizabeth Smith, MD, there are some things you CAN do:

* Use glass or ceramics whenever possible to store food and water. Heat up your food using a glass or ceramic bowl covered with dish. When plastic is heated, it diffuses very rapidly into food.
* Use a simple detergent with less chemicals; Nature Clean is a good choice for both laundry detergent and dish washing detergent.
* Simple Soap is a safe choice for shampoo and a body soap.
* Use natural pest control not pesticides.
* Avoid Synthetic Chemicals – Healthy Living in a Toxic World by Cynthia Fincher PhD. is a good place to start.
* Don’t use herbicides; use a cup of salt in a gallon of vinegar.
* Buy hormone free meats to eat.
* Buy “Organic” produce, produce grown without pesticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizer or hormones.
* Use Condoms without spermicide for Birth control instead of Birth Control Pills. Use Natural Progesterone instead of HRT.
* In general, the hormones taken orally are first pass metabolized by the liver 80%-90%. However, when these hormones are applied to the skin, the hormones are directly absorbed by the body. Thus, any skin dose is 10 times that of an oral dose. The vast majority of skin lotions and creams use the parabens as a preservative. Avoid them at all costs. Instead apply a vegetable oil right after a shower to hydrate the skin and lock in the moisture.