The Greatest Story Never Told
Excess estrogen levels during pregnancy can disable, in their daughters, a powerful breast cancer tumor suppressor gene, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. They found the DNA repair gene BRCA1 to be silenced in one year-old girls exposed to a high hormonal fetal environment.
Did you catch the Dateline episode yesterday? It was a great report. The producer Andrea Canning wanted to see how her daily behavior could affect the levels of bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates and triclosan in her urine.
Something strange is happening to modern girls: menstruation is starting much earlier than it should. The traditional age of onset for menstruation is between ages 12 and 13, or around two years after the first signs of puberty begin. However, more and more girls are beginning to menstruate at 10 years of age – up to five years early. What is causing this significant and frightening shift?
In yet another study drawing a connection between bisphenol A and potential negative health effects, researchers at Duke University have linked environmental exposure to the plastics chemical with disruption of a gene necessary for proper functioning of nerve cells.
New research from the University of Michigan School of Public Health found BPA, or bisphenol A, in fetal liver tissue, demonstrating that there is considerable exposure to the chemical during pregnancy.
Another possible cause of cardiac syndrome X is changing oestrogen levels — menopausal women are particularly at risk of the condition, explains Professor Collins.
‘This condition affects around nine women for every one man,’ he explains.
‘The peak ages affected are 50 to 55-year-olds, around the time of the menopause.
The report explains what hormone disruptors are and how these chemicals affect women’s reproductive systems – particularly at critical stages of development
Rarely have I encountered a female patient who does not present with some sort of hormonal imbalance. Young women complain of PMS signs such as menstrual cramps, mood swings or breast tenderness. Middle-aged women complain of foggy brain, sluggishness, depression and weight gain around the middle. Fortunately, the majority of my patients are wonderfully observant regarding their symptoms, yet all seem to lack a basic gynecological/hormone education. I include myself in this observation, at least when I was a teenager.
