Women's Health and the Environment Conference

Installment II

Alot of the conference September 25 was about chemicals in our every day life: cosmetic products, food, air, water, food containers, etc. We are exposed to hundreds of chemicals for which there is no FDA or USDA oversight and for which we do not yet know the long term consequences of this exposure. One of problems researchers are discovering is that many of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors which are thought to mimic hormones such as estrogen. A very concise description of endocrine disruptors can be found on the Extoxnet and cooperative effort of 5 Universities http://extoxnet.orst.edu/faqs/pesticide/endocrine.htm.
For more information, check out the film The Estrogen Effect: Assault on the Male a BBC documentary produced in 1998 (DVD616.65071 E87).

Today I came across a book that should interest everyone: Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life, by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD. The author provides a "shopping list" for anti-cancer foods, which have the least risk in pesticides, and which household products to avoid. One of the chemicals he suggests we avoid is one of those endocrine disruptors - phthalates, which can be found in perfumes and soft plastics.