Chemicals are all around us. And some of the most concerning belong to a class known as endocrine disruptors, a group of chemicals so ubiquitous—found in everyday objects like nonstick pans, canned goods, and even dental floss—that you’re likely being exposed to them on a daily basis.
Fortune spoke with experts about how these chemicals affect the body, and what to do to reduce your exposure to them.
What are endocrine disruptors?
Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that interfere with our endocrine systems, which control the body’s hormones—such as insulin, testosterone, and estrogen—and numerous bodily functions, including metabolism and blood sugar regulation. These chemicals can actually mimic hormones and interrupt normal function, says Linda Birnbaum, retired former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. That can impact the metabolism of an actual hormone by either causing you to get too much or too little of certain hormones.
These are some of the chemicals that the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences lists as endocrine disruptors:
- Atrazine: one of the most commonly applied herbicides in the world.
- Bisphenol A (BPA): used in manufacturing, food packaging, toys, and may be found in the lining of some canned foods and beverages.
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): a large group of chemicals used widely in industrial applications, such as firefighting foam, nonstick pans, paper, and textile coatings.
- Phthalates: used as liquid plasticizers and found in hundreds of products including some food packaging, cosmetics, fragrances, children’s toys, and medical device tubing. Cosmetics that may contain phthalates include nail polish, hair spray, aftershave lotion, cleanser, and shampoo.
- Phytoestrogens: naturally occurring substances with hormone-like activity found in some plants; they may have a similar effect to estrogen produced by the body. Soy foods, flaxseed, and cruciferous vegetables contain phytoestrogens, for example, but have been proven not to cause harm (in fact, studies show they have an overall positive effect on health).
- Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE): used to make flame retardants for products such as furniture foam and carpeting.
- Triclosan: an ingredient that was previously added to some antimicrobial and personal care products, like liquid body wash and soaps. In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of triclosan containing consumer antiseptic washes.
According to Tracey Woodruff, director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California, San Francisco, the most common sources of endocrine disruptor exposure are:
- Cans and plastic containers
- Nonstick pans
- Stain-resistant products, like fabrics, food packaging, carpeting
- Air, dust, and water
The chemicals enter your system through your skin, by inhalation, or by ingestion of food contaminated with the chemicals, Birnbaum says.
But it’s difficult to know which chemicals are in what materials since production varies across companies—and while one company may claim to have BPA-free plastic, it could have simply replaced it with another endocrine disruptor.
How do these chemicals impact our health?
The impact of endocrine disruptors lies in the name: They disrupt the endocrine system, which “maintains our general physiology,” Birnbaum tells Fortune. That disruption impacts:
- Glucose metabolism
- Thyroid function
- Fat metabolism
- Bone metabolism
- Reproductive hormones, which can lead to infertility and certain cancers including breast, kidney, and prostate, according to the EPA.
Woodruff says hormones act like signalers, telling the body what to do. When those signals are disrupted, they impact things like appetite regulation, cardiovascular health, brain development, and immune system responsiveness to vaccines.
Endocrine disruptors can have the most impact during periods when the body is going through developmental changes, Birnbaum says, such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, and pregnancy—a time when the chemicals can impact both the mother and fetus. These health effects, like fertility issues or certain cancers, may not develop until later in life, Woodruff says.
Birnbaum says that normal hormone function is essential to ensure normal development. “Endocrine disruption that occurs during developmental periods leads to irreversible changes,” she says. Recent studies have linked endocrine disruptors to girls getting their periods earlier, obesity, and infertility.
How can we limit our exposure to endocrine disruptors?
Reducing exposure is important, Birnbaum and Woodruff say—especially when it comes to PFAS, called “forever chemicals.” They don’t break down in our bodies or in the environment, and with more exposure, the concentration only builds, in a process known as bioaccumulation.
Below, some ways to actively avoid exposure.
Avoid plastic cookware, nonstick pans, and animal products when you can
Birnbaum says this is one of the easiest changes you can make: “Never cook in plastic.” In other words, do not microwave in plastic containers or cook with plastic utensils—even freezing and storing food in plastic isn’t ideal. Generally, she advises avoiding plastic because it is likely full of endocrine disrupting chemicals—but especially when heated, those chemicals can leach into food. Birnbaum also says to avoid using nonstick cookware, which is likely to be coated in PFAS chemicals.
She adds to stay away from certain makeup like waterproof mascara, as well as any stain-resistant products or carpeting, which usually have PFAS in them. Personal care products like soaps, shampoos, and lotions are often places where another endocrine disruptor—phthalates—can hide as an added fragrance, so read labels carefully when choosing products for your skin and hair.
Woodruff says it’s not just the food packaging that matters, it’s the food itself. She advises eating organic fruits and vegetables in order to avoid pesticides, and aiming to stick to foods lower down on the food chain—meaning not meat. Animals tend to have biomagnified levels of endocrine disrupting chemicals, and have higher concentrations of chemicals from consuming contaminated plants or prey.
Keep your water clean and dust at bay
Vacuuming with HEPA filters, mopping, and using microfiber cloths to reduce dust at home can also safeguard from inhaling dust containing the chemicals, Woodruff says.
Birnbaum also recommends checking your local tap water to see if it has been contaminated with PFAS. The Environmental Working Group has a tap water database and recommendations for water filters that eliminate PFAS specifically.
Woodruff and her colleagues at UCSF put together a comprehensive guide about avoiding toxic chemicals more broadly, for anyone looking to bolster their protective practices.
How worried should you be?
The EPA says that more studies are needed to fully understand the level of impact these chemicals have on public health. While it’s understood that high concentrations of endocrine disruptors lead to adverse health effects—in communities with substantial water contamination, for example—there is still uncertainty about how much day-to-day exposure will impact your health.
“It’s not like you have to be 100% perfect,” Woodruff tells Fortune. “Did I change every single thing in my life all at once? No.”
Not all endocrine disruptors are the same, either. Birth control, for example, is intentional, safe endocrine disruption, and the phytoestrogens found in soy are naturally occurring. But chemicals like PFAS and BPA are known to be health threats, which is why choosing the above healthy habits are a safe bet—not only to reduce exposure, but for general wellbeing, too, Woodruff points out.
“As you start to change your patterns over time it just becomes part of your routine,” she says.
Finally, she says, the most effective way to reduce overall exposure is regulating or banning the entire classes of chemicals—like known bisphenols, phthalates, and PFAS. The tricky part, though, is when one chemical is banned—like BPA, for example—another similar chemical usually takes its place, Woodruff says.
The EPA recently took a substantial step forward with new drinking water standards specific to PFAS chemicals, and is continuing to monitor endocrine disruptors for further action.
“I don’t believe you should be paralyzed with worry,” Birnbaum says, “but I think we should continue to be agitating for better regulations, which will be more protective.”
