Plastics in the modern world are integrated at every level of our civilization, these petrochemical cocktails can be found in the paint on our walls, the toothbrushes we clean our teeth with, the keyboard you type on, the carpet you walk on, the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the hygiene products we apply to ourselves, and so on.
“Sure, so what?” you might say, but what if I told you that these plastic-petrochemical substances leach estrogen mimicking compounds (xenoestrogens) which are directly absorbed through your skin or are ingested, and that these chemicals adversely influence the delicate chemical balance of your body, they control the delicate expression of our genetics, how we appear, how we behave, our very brain structure. However much we’d like to think of gender as a social construct, science suggests that real differences do exist between female and male brains.
More testosterone is proven to influence the part of the brain associated with empathy, it makes a person slower to recognize emotions, this is an essential proponent to pro-activeness in masculinity – perhaps explaining the effect of ‘manliness’ exhibited in healthy men. Testosterone also boosts dopamine, the go-getter attitude is rewarded and incentivized by testosterone, explaining the male tendency to be the initiators. Testosterone gives unflinching confidence, the desire to dominate, aggressiveness, and the feeling of invincibility. Testosterone sharpens the mind and gives it focus.
“High amounts of the female sex hormone estrogen in your system will not do any good to your body and will change your body inside out. Us men today have a very high amount of estrogen in our blood because of certain chemicals in our environment that mimic the female sex hormone estrogen. Keep in mind that we all need a certain level of estrogens, but too much estrogen will suppress our testosterone production and cause female effects inside the male body.”
Please refer to this website if you are interested in taking estrogen blockers.
Likewise, estrogen also affects the brain – at the neuronal synapse, estrogen increases levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, as well as increasing the number of receptors for these chemicals, this explains the womanly tendency to perceive with emotion – it’s how their brains are wired, to the role of the motherly carer, whereas a man must be the hunter an protector, empathy would be a hindrance for the male, yet an advantage for the female gender role.
From this, it is apparent how ‘beta’ or submissive males can be explained, too much estrogen has influenced their brains to the point where they are emotionally wired, they overthink and lack the directness and clarity of the masculine brain. Physically, their bodies don’t fit the image of masculinity due to a deficit in testosterone, the effect of low testosterone is both mental and physical.
You’d probably say “I don’t presently feel ill-affected, so what’s the issue here?”
Well, it’s not a matter of whether you feel perceptibly ‘good’ or ‘bad’ these chemicals influence us all at a subtler, longer-term level than what is immediately obvious. This is because this chemical bombardment is happening from the womb, right through our lives to our deathbeds, it’s a slow, chronic chemical drip that we live with. So how could we ever truly know what hit us?
Bisphenol A (BPA) use is so widespread (6 billion pounds a year), that it can be detected in the urine of 93% of the population. Other data shows that adolescents have higher BPA concentrations than adults, and young children the highest of all.
Men are the hardest hit in this situation, but both sexes suffer as both testosterone and estrogen are needed in a balance for optimal health, too much estrogen in women is bad news, as is it in men.
Why are hormones important?
Being signaling molecules, hormones control the delicate balance of many body functions. Some which include hair growth/loss, skin issues, sleep, mood, libido, and weight. Our bodies have multiple hormones circulating at any one time and all can be effected by internal and external factors like stress, toxins, disease, and eating habits.
You know how I mentioned delicate in the above paragraph, I want to take a sec to emphasize just how delicate I mean. Natural hormones act in extremely low concentrations in the blood, even at the picomolar level (source). That’s like super super small, 1 billion picomole is 1 millimole…didn’t think I would bring you back to high school chem did you?
This is why a slight change to the levels of hormones can cause symptoms. Some of these changes are from the body naturally maintaining homeostasis. For instance a woman’s menstral cycle is full of ups and down of various hormones. However, another cause for these changes are environmental. Endocrine disrupting compounds do act at the nanomolar range (source) and therefore even with extremely low exposure (like daily plastic exposure) of the compounds changes can and do occur in our hormones.
When any hormone is out of balance the body feels symptoms. Also, when one is off usually other hormones are also out of whack in attempts to compensate. This leads to life long problems that can cause chronic disease and generally feeling poor.
SOME OF THE SYMPTOMS
- weight gain especially the muffin top appearance, especially that’s resistant to exercise and diet changes.
- acne
- cold hands and feet
- mood swings that feel like they are out of nowhere
- fatigue
- infertility
- vaginal dryness
- irregular periods
- sugar cravings
- Endometriois and PCOS
- low libido
- brittle nails
- miscarriage
- accelerated aging, poor skin recoil, sagging skin
- PMS
- Insomnia
- dry eyes
- allergies
- memory loss
- hair loss…..and more
Bad news, estrogen-mimicking compounds are everywhere.
Most plastic products, even those marketed as BPA-free, leach chemicals that act like the sex hormone estrogen, reveals a new study of 455 common products.
About 70% of the plastic items tested positive for estrogenic activity [EA], but that number jumped to 95% when they were subjected to “real world” conditions such as microwaving and dishwashing, according to the study, published this month in the peer-reviewed journal, Environmental Health Perspectives. Such EA exposure has been shown to alter the structure of human cells, posing potential risks to infants and children.
The chemicals that are leached into our bodies on such a wide, wide scale are making men more effeminate, they are also making us more infertile than ever, the sperm count has dropped in the decades following the plastic revolution by 50%. Testosterone levels are being suppressed, and at an all time low. Men both appear and act more feminine because of this, i.e. wider pelvises, thinner arms, smaller jaws, a scrawnier look, it only takes a quick glance at the present generation of kids to see this in effect.
The implication of this is a drop in the western population, and the dilution of the crucial male-female bond, we are being distanced from our inherent biological templates. The chemicals are leaching into the water supplies, many animals are experiencing drastic population drop-offs, cases of animals exhibiting homosexuality and asexuality is on the rise.
“Although BPA [bisphenol A] is the most notorious chemical with estrogenic activity used in plastics, it is not the only one, nor does it have the highest biological effect,” — George D. Bittner, a neurobiologist at the University of Texas, Austin
This also translates to us, the human race. There are more transgender & gay people now than ever before in history, the mainstream media is trying to pin this down to societal changes, and greater overall ‘acceptance’ – but this is not so, the truth is that it is down solely to the chemical onslaught at hand, something covered up by those who want it hidden from the public eye; the population controllers and biological manipulators that seek to end the threat of masculinity in the masses.
How can we turn the tide?
- Vote with your wallet, purchase all natural, non-plastic products, this is not hipster, this is more relevant than ever to do.
- Hit the gym if you’re a man and get some testosterone flowing through you at least three times a week to counter-balance the effects of these chemicals, if you’re transgender or gay, get hormone treatment. Also work out as a woman, exercise helps balance hormones.
- Purchase and consume organic food as much as possible, steer clear of pesticide (atrazine) drenched foods, and give emphasis to natural foods in your diet, not chemical-laden processed foods.
- Join movements and sign petitions that advocate the removal of these chemicals from our society, don’t do nothing.
- Take supplements/estrogen blockers to get the right hormonal balance back.
- Consume phyto-estrogens to stave off xenoestrogens; you can think of phyto-estrogens as nature’s estrogen mimickers, except much weaker than the unnatural ones and in a form your body knows what to do with. Filling the estrogen receptor sites with phytoestrogens will help protect against xeno-estrogens. Fermented soy products are a great source of phyto-estrogens.
- Try to avoid these lesser known sources of plastics
- Canned Food (read also why you want to avoid BPA free lined cans here)
- Frozen food in trays, when you microwave in these plastic or plastic coated cardboard an EXCESSIVE amount of xenoestrogens are released. I urge you stop microwaving in plastic it is one of the worst possible offenders.
- Faux flooring
- Non-stick cook wear (teflon)
- Grocery and restaurant receipts
- Soda cans
- Hormones in conventional meat/dairy
- Starbucks, or your fav local coffee shop’s, disposable cardboard cups
- Dental sealants
- Enteric coated/time released capsules (yes Advil is enteric coated, check out 5 Natural Alternatives to Advil).
- Faux leather items
- Your car interior, the perfect excuse to upgrade to leather
- Try PrimeMale, a naturally sourced, proven formula to boost testosterone.
The Spearhead Journal 