We are surrounded by headlines and social posts screaming at us about how we have to eliminate our exposure to parabens because they’re bad for us. Many of us stop there and say “oh sh*t! Okay I’ll throw away all of my personal care products and find some that say “paraben-free”. Excellent. But what are parabens and why are they so bad?
Parabens are chemicals that are used as preservatives to increase the shelf life of products like cosmetics, soaps, toothpaste, some foods and drinks, and even some medications. These chemicals are “endocrine disrupters” which is a complex way of saying they F*** up your hormones. This can cause a lot of problems, but one of the most common issues is the impact on your reproductive system.
How can these chemicals mess with your hormones?
Hormones are molecules that travel around the body in the bloodstream. They work in the body kind of like a lock and key. Specific hormones (keys) match up with specific target cells (locks) in different areas of the body. Those matching hormones are supposed to be the only thing that can fit into the locks of that system, but some chemicals can look very similar to the hormone and sneak their way into that lock. This prevents the actual hormone from fitting into it and makes it so that hormone can’t do what it is supposed to do in the body.
Let’s use the estrogen hormone as an example. It travels through your bloodstream looking for target cells. These cells can be in the uterus, pituitary gland, liver, breast tissue, and many other areas, even the testicles (that’s right gents, women aren’t the only ones with estrogen!). For the sake of this example, we’ll use uterine cells as the target cell. The estrogen “key” floats through the bloodstream through a bunch of different tissues until it finds a uterine cell, fits into the “lock” and opens the door that increases blood flow to the uterus to build up the uterine lining. The buildup of the uterine lining is an integral part of the menstrual cycle.
Why are these chemical look-alikes a problem?
If someone is trying to get pregnant, the ability of that estrogen hormone to fit into those target cells is crucial. If that target cell gets blocked by a look-alike chemical molecule, then that entire hormonal pathway supporting the buildup of the lining gets interrupted. This is why those chemicals are called “Endocrine disrupters”. They disrupt the normal function of the hormones they mimic.
What can you do about it?
Many products and companies preach that a complete overhaul of your lifestyle is necessary to completely eliminate ALL toxins from your life.
In theory, that would be the best way to avoid exposure to these chemicals. In practice, that isn’t always a sustainable approach. There is something to be said about maintaining your sanity and setting realistic expectations for yourself.
If you take steps to be more intentional about the products you choose, that will help to minimize your exposure to KNOWN sources of these chemicals. You can do this by buying organic products when you can, and choosing products that are free of parabens, phthalates, paraffin/petroleum products, sulfates, BPA, PFAs, and are California Prop-65 compliant.
There are also some apps you can download to make this easier such as Yuka and ThinkDirty, or you can look for personal care products that are EWG (Environmental Working Group) verified.
If you’re like me and you enjoy some of life’s little luxuries, you don’t have to give them up. Just choose products that are transparent about their ingredients and avoid those chemicals I listed above. Small changes can have big impacts.