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Article The Chemicals that Affect Men’s Health

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With Father’s Day just around the corner I thought this is the perfect time to share some vital information about men’s health so that you can give your fathers, brothers and sons the gift of health this Father’s Day.

There is a lot of talk at the moment in relation to the topic of endocrine disrupting chemicals. More and more research is being released as to the harmful effects of these chemicals.

To understand the implications of using products that contain endocrine disrupting chemicals we first need to understand what the endocrine system is and why it is so important to healthy functioning of the body.

What is the endocrine system and why is it so important?

The endocrine system is one of the body’s main communication networks and is responsible for coordinating numerous body functions.

Hormones are first produced by the endocrine tissues, such as the ovaries, testes, adrenal, pituitary, thyroid, and pancreas, and then secreted into the blood to act as the body’s chemical messengers where they direct communication and coordination among other tissues throughout the body.

For example, hormones work with the nervous system, reproductive system, kidneys, gut, liver, and fat to help maintain and control:

  • Body energy levels
  • Reproduction
  • Growth and development
  • Internal balance of body systems, or homeostasis
  • Response to surroundings, stress, and injury

Research is now showing that endocrine disrupting chemicals are interfering with the body’s own hormone signals because of their structure and activity and they are interfering in particular in men in the following way:

  • Reduction in male fertility and decline in the number of males being born. Large proportions (up to 40%) of young men in some countries have low semen quality, which reduces their ability to father children
  • The incidence of genital malformations, such as non-descending testes (cryptorchidisms) and penile malformations (hypospadias), in baby boys has increased over time or levelled off at unfavourably high rates
  • Neurobehavioural disorders associated with thyroid disruption affect a high proportion of society
  • Global rates of endocrine-related cancers (breast, endometrial, ovarian, prostate, testicular and thyroid) have been increasing over the past 40–50 years
  • Increase in male breast growth

One of the main culprits is the additive to most conventional products; this additive is called “fragrance”.

Fragrance is what we call a “cluster” ingredient and by that we mean it is a group of chemicals and according to the EWG (Environmental Working Group) “fragrance” as listed on conventional products can contain up to 4000 chemicals just in that one ingredient, yet those individual chemicals are not required to be listed on the labels.

Dr Carole Hungerford who spoke at the Gawler Institute in Melbourne 2013 stated, “Fragrance is the number one gender bender”.

The phthalates among other ingredients are known endocrine disruptors and mimic our hormones and the challenge is that our delicate hormonal system is drastically impacted by even the smallest amount of these chemicals.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals are found in almost all conventional products (deodorants, shampoos, conditioners, body wash, toothpastes, mouthwash, shaving gel, body cream, hair styling creams and gels, etc).

It is as equally important for men not to use products containing these nasty ingredients as it is for women as per the reasons above.

The only way to avoid endocrine disrupting chemicals as well as obesogens and absorption enhancers that are also commonly found in conventional products is to use only certified organic products.

Certified organic is your only guarantee that a product or food product is safe.

At Divine By Therese Kerr we have a deodorant that is unisex and certified through Australian Certified Organic (ACO) and is 95% certified organic (it would be higher except some of the ingredients like water, Celtic sea salt, bi-carb aren’t able to be certified organic).

We are releasing a personal care pack especially for men and it will contain a certified organic Shaving Gel, a Male specific deodorant (not antiperspirant as no one should ever use an antiperspirant) and a certified organic cake of soap and we can’t wait to share it with the males of this world.

All of the other Divine By Therese Kerr products (Moisturising Hand Wash, Moisturising Hand and Body Lotion, Tooth Mousse, Mouth Rinse, Fresh Breath, Sanitising Hand Gel and Deodorant) are non gender specific and we recommend men change over to them sooner than later if they wish to avoid the aforementioned challenges in their health. We also have a Special Father’s Day Gift Pack to help get the chemical out of your man’s life.

To find out more click here and join our Educated, Empowered and Chemical-Free and VIP Programs. We share the most up to date research with you from experts around the world and we look forward to sharing some more information with you through Mouths of Mums.

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.

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Comments

  • This list of chemicals should have cigarette smoking on it shouldn’t it? From all I’ve heard, smoking is one of the worst, and carrying it on your clothes harms your kids…..you don’t even need to smoke around your kids to affect them

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  • I had no idea thank for the interesting article.

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  • Very interesting, thanks so much for sharing!

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  • Thanks for sharing; have passed onto the menfolk!

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  • WOW it’s a bit scary. Thanks for the information.

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  • Have shared this with my other half

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  • Interesting article on men’s health. Thank you.

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  • very informative thank you I would like to find out a little more about this

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  • Good to know my other half will def be reading

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  • Wow you really don’t realise thanks for such a informative article will pass this on to my hubbie

    • My pleasure, there will be many more to come. Please do pass on, as many people as possible need to know about the dangers of these chemicals.

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  • Thank you for a very informative article!

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  • Great read.
    If only people stop being lazy and do some research before they buy the food they eat and stuff they put on their skin will they only realize how much harmful chemicals there are out there. A book or app I have with me all the time tells you what effects each number or name of ingredients listed on the back of the product can cause or do to you. ( chemical maze. Additives app) Once you do a little research and watch what you eat and apply on your body
    it’s easy from there on.

    • Perfectly said. I too am a huge fan of The Chemical Maze by Bill Statham and have the app on my iPhone whenever I go shopping. It’s an essential must-have for every mum if you ask me.

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  • Horrifying the sorts of nasty chemicals we are exposed to constantly in everyday life. I think the change needs to happen on a society-wide level, where we change our whole way of producing the basic goods all people need. Everyone should have access to safe and healthy products, not just those who can afford them and who have the time to seek them out.

    • So true, and we as mums or grandmothers usually have the buying power in the family which means we hold the power of voting with our dollars. Only by purchasing products that don’t contain any nasty chemicals will the big commercial companies stop producing them. We have the buying power to improve the health of our loved ones and make a stand that we are sick of seeing our family and friends suffering from terrible illnesses that research shows are created by lifestyle choices and not genetics. It’s time to switch to safe #switchtosafe

    Reply

  • Thank you for your article and time it was very enlightening.

    • Thank you so much for reading, I hope you learned some valuable information.

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  • So crazy what we put onto/into our body’s time to go back to basics me thinks

    • So true, we should be putting only natural products in and on our bodies, as nature intended.

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  • So crazy…we started of natural and then slowly added more and more chemicals to our lives and now we are battling to get rid of all the chemicals

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  • thats quite shocking that most hygiene products which we all use daily i.e. shampoo, soap etc is so bad for you!

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  • interesting read -thanks for the information.

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  • I’m sorry, but this just looks like self promotion for your beauty range.

    • Hi, please know that my goal is to educate people as to the impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals and have them choose safer alternatives. I had tumours in my spleen in 2001 and had my spleen removed and since then have been using certified organic products when I could find them. I adore anyone who creates certified organic products as it is not a simple process and certified organic products are the only products that are guaranteed not to contain the nasties as listed in the article and many more that I haven’t shared about. Please know I created a range of certified organic personal care products because I couldn’t find others that worked how I personally had hoped they would work and it has been a long drawn out process, for e.g., I have been trying for over 3 years to create a certified organic hair care range that actually works. The challenge with certified organic products is that people what a beautiful result but our ingredients, especially with ACO are so limited. With hair care in particular, to create a range that doesn’t leave your hair heavy and gluey has been the biggest issue. we have now finally, after three years created a range that I am happy to put my name to, but they won’t be released until Feb 2015 as we have to undergo stability testing to ensure they are stable. My goal is to have everyone choosing healthier options (certified organic products are honestly the only ones that don’t contain the pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, endocrine disrupting chemicals, absorption enhancers, obesogens, GMO ingredients, etc) whether they be mine or another brand, my goal is to somehow through what I do contribute to a decrease in the rate of autism, childhood illnesses (cancer is now the number one childhood illness for children under 150 and endocrine disruptive disorders such as endometriosis, fibroids, PCOS, infertility… the list goes on. Hopefully I can do that. Much love, grace and gratitude. Therese xxx

    Reply

  • Interesting article. I would like to know more on this topic as it briefly mentions ingredients, but doesn’t go fully into what they are etc.

    • I’ll definitely be writing more articles explaining the ingredients more but as a reference I definitely recommend Bill Statham’s “The Chemical Maze” book and he also has a smartphone app that I always take to the shops with me when buying anything – a shopping essential.

    Reply
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