Hormonal havoc

Think back to when you entered puberty. How old were you? Maybe 12? Or was it 13? Last spring, a study published in the journal Pediatrics reported that of 11,000 girls studied in the United States, 15 percent of the Caucasian girls and 48 percent of the African-American girls were beginning to develop breasts and/or pubic hair by age 8. In a few cases the girls were as young as 3.

What could have possibly caused such a shocking change in the female rate of development? Some scientists speculate that early physical maturation may be the result of synthetic hormone-disrupting chemicals (HDCs)--a wide spectrum of toxins that includes the pesticide DDT and industrial byproducts like PCBs and dioxin. All of these have the potential to alter normal hormonal activities, not only in humans but in at least 30 other species, as well. This situation has become "probably the number one environmental issue in toxicology right now," says Robert Kavlock, Ph.D., director of the Environmental Protection Agency's reproductive toxicology division. As a result, the federal government has dedicated $40 million to 400 research projects studying HDCs.

The issue took on urgency two years ago with the publication of the landmark book, Our Stolen Future by Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski and John Petterson Myers (Penguin, 1996). This work detailed how various chemicals may be undermining reproductive health--a process that is manifesting itself in everything from hermaphroditic fish swimming in rivets below sewage-treatment plants to thinning eggshells and sterility in bald eagles. In humans, suspected HDC-related problems include rising rates of breast cancer, endometriosis, infertility, declining sperm counts and a recent doubling of the incidence of hypospadias, a rare birth defect of the urethra.

While the exact number of HDCs is still uncertain, most scientists agree that approximately 70 chemicals are either "known or likely reproductive or develop' mental disrupters," according to Peter deFur, Ph.D., a comparative biologist at the Center for Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. These chemicals are found in various pesticides, industrial byproducts, insect repellents, PVC plastic, some dental sealants and the linings of some food cans.

Although the United States banned some of the culprits--notably DDT and PCBs--years ago, these and many other hormone disrupters persist in the environment indefinitely by lodging in soil and water and then working their way up the food chain to ultimately accumulate in animal fat. Those with high-fat diets--seals, polar bears and people--have the highest PCB levels. "High-fat foods, like meat, are our major route of exposure," says Gina Solomon, M.D., M.P.H., of the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, D.C.

Cutting out meat and fish and choosing skim dairy products are important precautions, especially if you're a woman planning to have children--as mothers can pass on HDCs to their children in the womb and through breast milk. Even if you're not planning a family, consider eating a vegetarian diet. Says Solomon: "It's one of the most effective things you can do to reduce your overall exposure."

RELATED ARTICLE: Protect Yourself

If you're a vegetarian, you've already taken an important step toward reducing your exposure to HDCs. Here are some other things you can do:

* Buy organic products to reduce exposure to pesticides.

* Minimize use of plastic food containers; they may contain HDCs that can leach into food, particularly during heat processing. Always microwave in ceramic containers or heat-resistant glass rather than plastic.

* Wash hands often; hormone-disrupting chemicals can vaporize and settle on the surfaces that you come into contact with regularly.

* Use natural cleaning products. Baking soda, vinegar and borax often make good substitutes for synthetic cleansers. (For a list of alternative detergents, write to The Ecology Center, 117 N. Division, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. For information on natural cleaners, refer to The Green Kitchen Handbook by Annie Berthold-Bond (Harper-Perennial, 1997) and Clean House, Clean Planet by Karen Logan (Pocket Books, 1997).

* Avoid using pesticides, particularly indoors or on children and pets. Do not use head lice shampoos that contain lindane.

* Avoid shampoos with "nonoxynol" or "octoxynol," as both are potentially harmful to the water supply.

* Talk to your dentist about alternatives to plastic dental sealants that may contain HDCs.

* Choose unbleached or nonchlorine-bleached paper products because chlorine bleaching generates dioxin.

* For more information on avoiding HDCs, call Mothers & Others (888) ECO-INFO or (212) 242-0010.

COPYRIGHT 1998 Vegetarian Times, Inc. All rights reserved.
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