Endocrine Disruptors and Micro Plastics
The world that we live in is terrifying; take for example the country of Australia, a massive desert island completely filled with animals and plants that are seemingly designed to kill, inconvenience or simply annoy humans at every turn, additionally the outback contains what is arguably the most perfect killing machine that god has ever created, it is intelligent, quick moving, adaptable to nearly every environment, and has the stamina to take down packs of animals at will after days of chasing, it is Man. We seemingly exist to come up with ways to kill animals, and in many cases our fellow man, and we are good at it, extremely good at it, which is why the idea of our most effective attack on our fellow man being an invisible chemical force that is seemingly everywhere is such an existentially terrifying thought. We've created artificial hormones in our chase to create the perfect water bottle, and these endocrine disruptors that we've managed to allow to leech into our food, water, and land have lowered our birthrates and disrupted every stage of early life development including puberty, inflated all types of cancer cases, introduced us to some devastating nervous system and memory disorders, and as well lent a hand in our exploding cases of developmental disabilities, Autism spectrum disorders, and Memory deficit disorders as well. This however isn't to say that it is a one side battle in which nothing can be done, water filtration, avoidance of plastic food and drink containers, dangerous cookware, Non-organic foods as well as more sustainable sources of fertilizer and Homegrown food. And Finally in addition to the unintentional ingestion of these hormone disrupting compounds, we also have a major issue with the overprescribing of SSRI, and SNRI drugs without first attempting proper therapy and encouraging proper diet and exercise in an attempt to minimize non chemical depression cases, this goes hand in hand with the insanity that is early childhood prescribing of powerful amphetamine based stimulants for "focus" issues that are not only impeding childhood development, but causing irreparable damage to the brains of young children, setting them up for a life of mental and chemical issues. The chemicals that pollute our food, water, soil, and medication are the driving forces behind the shameless degradation of society, public health, mental health, and community, and there are ways to combat this.
Our birthrates have been declining for some time now, which while naturally occurring due to the stabilization of our society, our increased comfort and safety without worry, and our acceleration towards a higher level working society in terms of mental acuity versus physical ability. However, hormonal pollution due to the dumping of endocrine disruptors such as BPA and other PFOA and PFOS compounds has not only become a chemical influence that's lowering our ability to reproduce, but has also accelerated and disrupted puberty and disrupted many other forms of early age physical and hormonal development. "BPA also appears to have obesogenic properties, disrupting normal metabolic activity and making the body prone to overweight. In humans, cross-sectional data suggest that BPA concentrations are higher in women with PCOS than in reproductively healthy women" (Barrett, Sobolewiski) as well "In animal models, exposure to BPA during the perinatal period dramatically disrupts ovarian and reproductive function in females, often at doses similar to typical levels of human exposure." (Barrett, Sobolewiski). This is not only a terrifying idea to think about, but as well it does get a bit more bleak feeling when reading through lists of products that contain these PFOAS; such as some grease-resistant papers used in fast food containers, microwave popcorn and candy wrappers, as well as nonstick pans (this will be discussed at length in a few paragraphs), stain resistant fabric coatings, cleaning products, shampoo, dental floss, nail polish, eye makeup and many paints, all materials and products we use, consume, and contact on a daily basis. In addition to the idea of PFA's directly impacting the birthrate through having caused the PCOS epidemic we are seemingly facing, they are also shown to impact reproduction through causing much co-morbidity to infertile states such as heightened levels of BPA and other phenolic substances being found in children and adults experiencing adipogenesis, menarche in girls as young as 5, adrenarche being delayed until the late teens in some boys, cases of early life insulin resistance, and is extremely commonly related to altered overall hormone profiles. PFA's such as BPA aren't the only compounds causing these types of issues either "A relationship was shown between parental exposure to pesticides and increased risk of hypospadias and cryptorchidism in children" (Rivollier, Fabrice, et al) Pesticides, PCB's, and other phthalates are all intertwined as endocrine disruptors. These issues aren't simply impacting the reproductive health of people either; these compounds are linked to low birth weights, obesity, and additionally menstrual disorders in women. While many of these disorders are increasing in commonality, and directly impact the future and the future generations, they do not hold much of a candle to the bleak reality that is the explosion in neurological, and memory disorders coming in full force with the massive increase in cancer cases that are likely caused by these compounds.
Going back to the idea that man is the finest killing machine God has ever devised brings us to the idea of these chemicals not only eliminating the creation of future generations, but also the destruction of current ones, not only physically such as it is in cases involving cancers and neuromuscular disorders, but also breaking them mentally through the acceleration of dementia and Alzheimer's caused by these PFA compounds such as Teflon being used in the very things we cook the flesh of the animals we have evolved around killing and eating. As insane as it may sound "The chemical Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was used in non-stick Teflon pans up until 2015 and has been linked to many diseases such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, liver tumors and reduced fertility. This chemical was found to build in peoples bodies so daily use was eventually seen as an unacceptable risk." (Durward) and "Exposure to and bioaccumulation of various chemical pollutants is increasingly being established as a widespread determinant in the development of neurodegenerative illness such as Alzheimer's Disease. Despite this recognition, chemical toxicant accrual as an etiological and potential reversible cause of illness has generally been overlooked in medicine, neurology, public health, and psychiatry" (Genuis, Kelln). One of the worst parts about PFAs and similar chemicals is the fact that they are immensely bio accumulative, meaning that once they enter the body, they do not tend to leave, and being as they are hormonal analogues, they are generally fat soluble, leading to the main issue at hand which is the accumulation of these chemicals in the brain, which is made up of a majority "hard fat" adipose tissue, leaving it not only open as a target for fat soluble chemicals, but additionally given its more static state as an organ, very few opportunities are given for the brain to relieve itself of non-accumulative toxins and chemicals, where do you think the compounds that not only stay around, but also link themselves to fat tissue are going to go? Moving on from the bleak idea that is dementia, we also see a monstrous connection between PFOA (Teflon) and Kidney, Testicular, and Thyroid cancers, Ulcerative colitis, and heart disease to the point that they have been banned in the last few years, and even deemed "toxic to reproduction" by the European Union in 2017. Not only are humans consuming these compounds through their food preparation, but also through any other number of forms of consumption, such as through water and food itself through groundwater pollution caused by "firefighting foam, sunscreen, plastic treatments, pesticides, aviation, floor polish, and many car care products." (Chemtrust). This in itself is not that big of an issue, given that many chemicals get dumped and or released into environments quite consistently without issues, they wash away and dissipate right? Not so much with PFA's they are actually near indefinite in nature due to the same Carbon Fluorine bond that makes them so bio accumulative in the human body, with many such compounds having Half Lives in measured in the thousands of years.
In the last few decades the prevalence of childhood developmental disorders has become innumerably higher than it was in prior years, while much of this could be chalked up to better understandings of how the brain works, more proper diagnoses, etc... Much of it would also appear to be linked to the increased levels of prenatal and perinatal exposures to endocrine disruptors that is unfortunately the new normal. "To these six studies, we added four more studies that found an association between EDCs exposure and autistic traits, measured using scales about social competence" (Rivollier, Fabrice, et al) and "The results of seven studies, published between 2006 and 2012, Most of these studies present a positive association between prenatal exposure to EDCs and a decrease in mental and/or psychomotor index. Two studies found an association with phthalates , and two studies also found an association with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)" (Rivolier, Fabrice, et al). These elevated levels of EDC's found in blood not only of the affected children, but as well as the blood of the birthing mother seemingly are directly correlated to not only developmental delays, but autism, ADHD and many other intellectual disabilities. In addition to this, children with low birth weights are commonly found to be born to mothers with elevated BPA and PBDE levels in their blood, these both being very potent phthalates, and low birth weights are linked to a barrage of early and whole life issues including but not limited to Depression, ADHD and other psychiatric disorders, as well as subnormal growth, increased risk of infection and disease, and many neurodevelopmental issues. A very interesting aside, but tangentially related idea is that research into sexually dimorphic hypothalamic regions in the brain has shown that that the volume of this region in the hypothalamus is directly related to sexual behaviors in animals and humans, with the increased ones encouraging promiscuity and a lack of restraint in chasing sexual partners whether being for recreation (seen in lab rats and in dolphins) or reproduction, leading to increased hyper sexuality and in some cases homosexuality when partners of the alternate sex are unavailable, this is related due to prenatal exposure to PCB's having been shown to dramatically alter the volume of this region in the brain whether skewing towards larger or smaller than the mean size, possibly this could be contributing to our very polarized split in the younger generation currently maturing in terms of Hyper and Hypo sexual behavior. The idea of non-sexual reproduction and a lack of restraint in sexual actions and relationships can have a marked impact on birthrates in that many people will more readily consider use of contraceptives and abortions to prevent a full term pregnancy to avoid impedances upon their ability to constantly act on the overwhelming sexual urges that plague them, however much of this is more theoretical than anything, based around simple fact, but definitely seems to warrant further research into the elasticity of the hypothalamus. Now an idea that will be discussed in a later section is the prevalence and overtreatment of ADHD in young children, however an interesting finding by Rivolier, Fabrice, et al. is that Endocrine Disruptor exposure was linked directly to hyperactivity and anxiety in various animals tested upon, which is interesting in that maybe the current "Hyperactivity Crisis" that's been ongoing for 25 years and has seemingly only gotten worse as more and more kids are given actual methamphetamine (Dexosyn) to "help them focus" in an unnatural situation such as school with no physical outlets in sight; could have been manufactured by the very same companies and individuals who are at fault for the explosion of focus and hyperactivity disorders as well as the strange trend of every single teenager and adult seemingly on anti-anxiety and depression meds. Wouldn't it be a totally insane thought that a pharmaceutical company could create an epidemic that they profit directly off of, and as well profit massively off of the supposed treatments for the issues at hand, you'd think that must be impossible, well unless you're the Sackler Family and Purdue Pharma creating a new class of doctors to prescribe heroin tablets to half of America, creating an opioid crisis, killing a generation, and then profiting off of the various treatments for not only opioid overdoses ( many board members are shared between the old rank and file of Purdue, and Emergent bio solutions, as well as the financial holders being connected to the Sackler family themselves, as well as ownership of treatment and rehab centers, and their medical needs. Finally, in addition to the prenatal exposure to various phthalates, BPA, PCDD, and PCB's, those same compounds are consistently found to be in high concentrations in the blood of those affected with ASD, ADHD, GDD's, Communication Disorders, and General Behavioral disorders.
Depression has always existed, whether diagnosed or not, however many, cases of such are incorrectly treated, whether through lack of care, purposeful malice, or simple laziness, the overtreatment and younger and younger age treatment of these issues using chemical means has been devastating in terms of forcing chemical dependence for even the most base minimum of humanity most people would want out of their existence. In Addition to this, we are also seeing more and more cases that are simply caused by the massive levels of endocrine disruptor exposure many people experience on a near daily basis. "An extremely poor alignment has been discovered between the prevalence of psychotropic drugs and psychological disorders, meaning the dramatic recent increase in use of antidepressants does not necessarily address an increase in cases of depression or other related disorders that they're intended to treat." (Alduhishy). The first point I would like to address is simply the massive over prescription of powerful hormonally disrupting psychotropic drugs has and will continue to devastate the minds, bodies, and offspring of millions if not billions if it isn't dealt with soon; SSRI use is related to sexual dysfunction, weight gain, sleep disturbance, a lack of natural melatonin production, "inhumanity", increased inability to create positive emotional connections and feelings, suicidal feelings, loss of empathy, worsening blood sugar control, tricyclic antidepressants are known to cause hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia. Ironically enough these issues in and of themselves generally contribute to worsened depression and anxiety; an old saying is that the best anti-depressant is sunlight and exercise, and recent studies showing that a combination of Vitamin D and 30 minutes of cardio a day can help level out serotonin and dopamine levels more effectively than low dose first generation anti-depressants seem to back this up. Finally, prenatal exposure to SNRI, SSRI, and Endocrine disruptors have all been demonstrated as precursors to childhood and adult depression, anxiety, neuropathy, OCD, Bipolar Disorder, and strangely enough fibromyalgia.
Now we can move past the bleak, Escape From New York-esque vibe I have emanated through this paper, and move into a much more positive section, there are actually ways to combat these issues, and it is actually nowhere near as hard as you would think given the complexity and confusion surrounding these weird little phthalate bastards. The absolute number one option the world over, as offered up by the number one authority on the subject Alex Jones, uh, The National Sanitation Foundation or NSF is simply an effective water filtration system, a typical 6 stage Reverse Osmosis system that is NSF 58 and 61 rated will take the vast majority of harmful chemicals out of your drinking water, and when used in conjunction with a 401 rated or Solid Carbon block filter, near every common hormonal disrupting compound will be filtered out for your use, as they are shown to remove pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, and phthalates + PCB's and other EDC's. As well simply just eliminating plastic drink ware and storage methods, as these are some of the most common sources of micro plastic and EDC leeching that are currently known, cheap, pure glass cups, glass jugs, and metal ice trays combined with an effective water filtration system can likely improve the average American's hormonal health more than most traditional medicine could ever dream to. In addition to proper water filtration and storage, avoiding plastic storage containers, birth control, cosmetics, lotions and shampoos that aren't certified as organic or at the very minimum sulfate free are all extremely effective and easy ways to avoid hormone disrupting chemicals in your day to day life, glass storage containers can be purchased nearly as cheaply as plastic ones anymore, they last far longer, and many of them work double duty as cookware in addition to being effective storage ware. Finally a seriously impactful way to counteract many of the EDC's we encounter daily is simply ensuring proper Vitamin D, A, and K intake, as these are not Vitamins in the sense that they are based from minerals, but instead are actually near indistinguishable in terms of bodily processing from other hormones or hormone appearing compounds, and in the same vein as iodine caplets preventing radioactive iodine from affecting the thyroid, these supplements are paramount to preventing bodily damage from EDC exposure; as well Zinc and Iron levels are extremely important for proper bodily hormone levels, in fact "We also measured serum testosterone in nine elderly men (64 +/- 9 y) who were marginally zinc deficient before and after 3 to 6 mo of supplementation with 459 mumol/ d oral zinc administered as zinc gluconate. Serum testosterone concentrations were significantly correlated with cellular zinc concentrations in the cross-sectional study (lymphocyte zinc versus serum testosterone, r = 0.43, p = 0.006; granulocyte zinc versus serum testosterone, r = 0.30, p = 0.03)." (Prasad, Mantzoros, Beck, et al.) While this is specifically for testosterone in men, it's a perfect example of a common issue (low testosterone in men) with a simple solution; most people do not get enough zinc in their diets unless they are eating an organ meat and nut heavy diet.
Carrying on with the idea of changing consumption and storage habits, another major contributor to EDC intake is cookware and the food you eat. Many sources of food are contaminated with hormonally harmful pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics and steroids, as well as micro plastics due to low quality filler laden livestock feed; changing out produce for locally grown organics from say a farmers market, getting cage free grain fed eggs, and just generally avoiding phytoestrogen heavy foods such as "Soy products: tofu, tempeh, miso, and edamame, Red clover, Coffee, Flax seeds (linseed), Oats, Lentils, Legumes (peanuts, beans, peas), Apples, Sweet potatoes, Sesame seeds and Licorice root" (Smith) can have a massive reproductive, hair, skin, and cardiovascular impact, as overconsumption of estrogenic analogue substances whether through manmade chemicals, or gods own soybean, is extremely unhealthy to not only these systems, but as discussed earlier, can lead to some insane side effects and long term disorders and issues. Additionally to eliminating these food borne sources of chemicals, plastics, and phthalates, a massive way to not only improve the chemical quality of your food, but also the actual taste of it is through replacing nonstick pans (lined with PFA, PFOA, or other phthalate based "Teflon" type coatings) with safe alternatives, the most effective, and stable being pure stainless steel, and cast iron, enameled or otherwise, these have the benefits of being extremely stable materials, with no strange hormonal interactions or leeching to be found, while acidic food can tend to draw iron from untreated cast pans, that is more of a taste affecting issue than anything; however there are alternatives that are newer and likely safe, but have yet to be proven as safe as the two named materials, these being anodized aluminum and ceramic coated pans and pots. While the negative health impact of aluminum cookware is well established (increased likelihood of many memory and neuromuscular disorders) anodizing is a treatment applied to aluminum which creates a nigh impenetrable and indestructible coating on which the food is actually cooked, the same applies to ceramic coated pans, where the coating itself is inert, but whether the underlying material can still leech through is yet to be studied widely yet. Factory farmed produce, meat, dairy and eggs are only as good as what goes into the animals, so finding out what feed animals are given, what water sources they drink from, and of course whether they're treated with antibiotics and steroids is very important, so while many factory farmed sources of these animal products are likely fine, to play it safe, organic, local raised, or at least cage free grain or grass fed products should be sought out over any alternatives, not only for the hormonal safety and benefits, but also for the fact that they are immensely better tasting and healthier for other reason as well. Finally, prepackaged, canned, and frozen foods should be avoided when and where they can be, as most if not all of these are packaged with and include all of the negative food products we've discussed thus far, and when compared to other sources, they can tend to be especially egregious whether because the food sits and stews in the plastic lining of a can, gets cooked in its included plastic tray in the microwave, or simply due to not being able to always know the materials and sources used to create the products you're about to put into your body, between the preservatives, the plastics, and the general unhealthy levels of sodium, fat, sugar and any other number of horrific types of simple carbs and hydrogenated trans fats that most fried and frozen foods contain, you really are better off all around avoiding these items.
To continue off of an earlier section, Exercise and psychotherapy should be pushed much more heavily as the first line treatments for mental health issues rather than continuing our insane culture of "give them a pill so they leave us alone" the over prescription of SNRI and SSRI disruptors is offensively transparent, whether due to apathy or greed on behalf of doctors and pharmaceutical companies, I'm not here to judge. However, as explained earlier, the side effects of anti-depressants are arguably worse than the symptoms they are treating, physical effects, sexual effects, endocrine effects, the laundry list goes on. "About one-fifth of the participants said antidepressants helped them to function well. However, some said that if they'd known about the side effects and possibility of withdrawal, they would never have started taking the medication at all." (Dellwo), which is inexcusable given the pain and suffering that many people go through for no reason; there is a large sect of the population who simply need physical help and a support group to talk to, this isn't to downplay depression, chemical depression specifically which needs to be properly treated to ever see a difference (even if many of these cases are likely caused by endocrine disruptors that we've introduced to the planet) but to simply explain that before radical psychotropic drugs are handed out like candy, drugs that cause seizures, memory issues, systemic damage and diabetes, weight gain, "inhumanity", chemical dependency, and reproductive issues; but to say that non chemical counseling, proper nutrition, exercise even if minimal, and working towards overall bodily health is effective in the majority of cases that are caused due to circumstantial, seasonal, or self-created situations . We seemingly live in a world of apathetic shortcuts, not only in the mental and physical health senses, but in the spiritual and really day to day sense as well. People want instant gratification for everything, we have no attention spans, and children are raised by a damnnable iPad; rather than attempting to spend time with our loved ones, trying to make our best connection with nature and working towards a self-sustaining life, people instead seemingly strive towards a pod in a major city, working for a massive company that contributes nothing real to the world, they want material things, and they want to appear to be the best, but do not care if they live or die; we pay for subscriptions for food so we don't have to cook, we pay for subscriptions for cars so we don't have to drive, we have subscriptions for everything to make life "easier" people wonder why depression is widespread, it's because people live without purpose and have replaced God with Gucci, I'm far from devout, but to say that this weird hellscape the planet has become isn't related to our loss of faith and our spitting on the past, nature, and our roots on this planet is unimaginable. Trying something, putting some effort in to helping yourself, into helping Improve your life and those around you can create more dopamine than any little white pill ever will.
Finally we have the biggest, closest to my own heart topic I wanted to bring up in the vein of pharmaceuticals destroying the planet, giving children literal methamphetamine. It's been a long running joke that elementary school teachers would prefer every student be drugged so they listen to every word they say like good little drones, torpedoes be damned. However this "joke" simply isn't funny, because children who are a bit hyper are treated as freaks and in many cases are forced into taking powerful stimulants that again in some cases are literally meth. This rolls into the last discussion about shortcuts, rather than teachers learning to deal with and effectively work with hyper children, which as they are children, they will tend to be hyper, it's not unnatural for a child to not want to sit still for 8 hours at a time, in fact the opposite is what should be considered unnatural. Chemical treatment of hyperactivity from a young age is simply detrimental to the free will, mental, and physical development of the child, the brain is not formed fully until 25, and given that time without chemical interference, most children mature into perfectly normal adults, these children being those with parents who had the willpower to face down the schools and teachers and refuse to pump their child full of powerful stimulants because a 3rd grade teacher can't understand why an unoccupied child might want to ask if there are any jobs they need done, or starts playing with pencils or tapping their foot. The simple truth is, Montessori schools have been proven more effective in teaching children with "untreated" ADHD than standard schools with medicated children, they do this through allowing a more flexible schedule to allow time for the children to get outside and blow off steam, building classrooms with minimal distracting decorations, and teaching styles that bend to the learning style of the child rather than forcing a fixed plan onto every child, each of whom will learn at different rates and in different ways. To say with a straight face that children aren't naturally hyper unless there is something wrong with them is the most asinine, revisionist thing that has ever been taken as an official stance by anybody that has a major influence not only on children, but their entire futures. Even disregarding the ethical problems with drugging children, even knowing that simple changes to the scheduling and instruction of hyper children can have a lasting impact, and even assuming that hyperactivity is a bad thing that needs to be taken care of posthaste in a learning environment, the simple fact remains, Children prescribed Ritalin (Methylphenidate), Adderall (Amphetamine Salts), and Dexosyn (Methamphetamine Hydrochloride) are known to develop stimulant abusing addictions later in life, as well as simple dependencies on these drugs. Not to use the phrase "right side of history" but I would argue that the side AGAINST giving children meth is likely the side with the better human beings on it.
The chemicals that pollute our food, water, soil, and medication are the driving forces behind the shameless degradation of society, public health, mental health, and community, and there are ways to combat this. Life is hard enough as it is, balancing our time between ourselves, the people we love, work, and the things that we love that let us feel fulfilled in our time on the earth; things do not need to be harder because we are worried about the minefield that is the chemical wasteland that it feels like our food, water, and planet seems to be anymore. This is an obvious exaggeration but it isn't far from the truth in terms of the physical and mental impacts that a lot of the most innocuous compounds can seemingly have on us as children, adults, and every minute in between, the doctors can't be trusted to care about us as humans, only as numbers, and much like their Used Car Salesmen brothers, neither can the shills pushing pills on everything with a pulse. If we ever want a return to some semblance of normalcy, we need to learn how to live simpler lives, lives where mass consumption isn't nearly as central to our hearts, one where we can take the time to make wholesome food for our loved ones, rather than eating a box of plastic and potassium sorbitol with a side of antidepressant and birth control filled tap water, this isn't to say the modern world and its conveniences aren't incredible, and the "laziness" a lot of people exhibit these days is not always bad, an electric heater is lazy compared to a wood stove, but the time saved by the new technology can be put towards beneficial causes and hobbies, however we need the right mindsets to take advantage of the near unlimited conveniences offered to us, we might eschew some that are detrimental to our physical and mental health, but take advantage of something like working from home, which gives not only the ability to self-care in a familiar and open environment, but allows us to work simultaneously on professional and personal goals. We need to change the ways we live, and come closer to our humanity, come closer to our roots, because it's becoming clear that our Judge Dred existence is taking its toll on our bodies and souls. We are surrounded by poisons, we are surrounded by evils in everything we drink and eat, we are surrounded by pill pushers and those who aren't willing to deal with even the slightest inconvenience if they can pass the buck on it, you have to care for your own progeny, your own interests, and put them first. We are at a crossroads, we can start to do something about this cesspool that we've created, or we can sink deeper into the vat. Which Way Will You Choose Western Man?
I Would Appreciate and Genuinely love any feedback I can get, it is a rough draft so much of the rambling will be reworked, I know my weaknesses are in topic sentences, transitions, and in getting overly technical at times. Basically I just would like to hear what's good and what isn't. Thank you in advance!