If you look at any of the information/links below and believe we need to get our government to act to limit the use of these chemicals in our everyday lives then please send the link on to any of your friends or family who you think would sign. This petition needs 100,000 signatures of concerned citizens to get the Xenoestrogen (literally means "foreign oestrogens") issue debated in parliament. I am also interested to hear other mums views/feelings about this issue.
Please use this link and sign:
epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/21870
I began this a few days ago because as soon as I started reading some of the links below I realised that Xenoestrogens (man made chemicals/synthetic oestrogens) are so pervasive and common in our lives yet many people have not heard of them or of the ill effects they can cause:
carcinogenic particularly associated with breast cancer;
possibly linked to rise in Endometriosis (Endo sufferers should definitely try to avoid Xenoestrogens);
earlier puberty/onset of development for young girls and problems with menopause for older women;
low sperm count for men;
oestrogens act as an anti-thyroid agent so can cause weight gain.
I don't want to be too reactionary/obsessive but the more I read on the subject the more scared I get that in the not too distant future we will see huge consequences of our own mismanagement of these chemicals unless we look at limiting their usage and treating our water to take out the oestrogen.
They are found in fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides, plastics, foods fed to animals so therefore in the food, personal care products, food additives and our water (huge amount of synthetic oestrogen from contraceptive pill flushed away each day as the liver screens a large percentage out and only a fraction is absorbed).
Red sweets often contain a red food additive that is a xenoestrogen called Erythrosine - from what I've read it's not used much in US anymore due to it's health risks and lots of leading sweet makers (such as Haribo, Swizzels Matlow and Nestle new E-less smarties) and supermarkets are all trying to use healthier food additives but the Food Standards Agency has chosen to allow manufacturers the choice of how to proceed as regards additives (some of which are banned in other European countries but no the UK).
Xenoestrogens can be absorbed through the skin from the use of lotions, fabric softener, shampoos, conditioners, nail varnish etc. Women on the birth control pill urinate synthetic Oestrogens into the water supply that are not taken out during the re cycling of water - think what this means if you live in the South East area in particular as the effect on men can be reduced sperm count.
Some coatings on the inside of food cans contain Xenostrogens that pass into the food - but how as a normal consumer can you know this if it's considered ok practise? Are these coatings used worldwide or are they banned in some countries and why?
Some reading/websites that were interesting though there are many more out there.....
Scientific paper that shows impact of sheer number of oestrogens we are subject to in our environment and concludes that even in small amounts will have an impact on our bodies hormone levels. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1240992/pdf/ehp0110-000917.pdf
More food additive and Xenoestrogen info links:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1519121/pdf/envhper00355-0084.pdf
www.cancernet.co.uk/xenoestrogens.htm
www.exploreenumbers.co.uk/childrens-sweets-e-numbers.html
www.ironmagazine.com/blog/2009/two-food-additives-found-to-have-estrogen-like-effects/
kerryg.hubpages.com/hub/Reducing-Exposure-to-Xenoestrogens
natural-fertility-info.com/estrogen-fertility-guide.html
www.canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=3148