Health Dangers Lurk in Thousands of Everyday Productsby Margaret Durst
Xenobiotics and Xenoestrogens are chemicals in our environment and in our food supply that have a hormone-like activity. There is mounting evidence that exposure to these chemicals may be a significant cause of breast cancer, the decline in male sperm production, testicular cancer, prostate cancer and other serious health conditions. Nearly all xenobiotics are derived from a petroleum source. They are found in literally thousands of products that we use everyday. These products include plastics, microchips, medicines, foods, soaps, lotions, clothing, pesticides, herbicides, cleansers, etc. Our main source of xenoestrogens in food is from animal fats, particularly red meat and dairy products. Cattle and chicken are given estrogenic substances to make them gain weight. Additionally, they are exposed to xenobiotic chemicals through their food supply that has been grown with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Anyone who eats meat and dairy products from traditional commercial sources is exposed to these compounds. The danger in these xenobiotics and xenoestrogens is that they mimic our natural hormones. Because of their close resemblance to natural hormones, the cells accept these hormone-like molecules. However, because these chemicals are not our natural hormones, the cells get either a contaminated message or no message at all. If even one atom is missing from a hormone molecule, the cells’ messages will be incorrect causing cells to malfunction. April 17, 2010 Copyright © 2010 Mason County News
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