{"id":9385,"date":"2026-08-19T16:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/?p=9385"},"modified":"2026-08-19T16:00:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:15:28","slug":"endocrine-disruptors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/?p=9385","title":{"rendered":"Endocrine Disruptors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dr Devika Thapa
<\/strong>She is a dentist with specialized expertise in pharmacology and a strong passion for research and academic excellence. She has been serving as a lecturer for the past three years, where she is dedicated to teaching medical students and fostering their academic and professional development.
Her professional interests lie in integrating dental science with pharmacological principles to enhance patient care and promote the safe and rational use of medicines. She is committed to equipping future healthcare professionals with a strong foundation in pharmacology, enabling them to understand pharmacological concepts and use them effectively in clinical practice, and advocate for the responsible use of medications.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the modern world, we use thousands of chemical agents in our day to day life. These synthetic chemicals are easily found in plastics, cosmetics, household cleaners, pesticides, etc. You start your day with toothpaste, hand wash and facewash right, all chemicals, some we might have looked into the composition, some not. They have made our life much more convenient in various aspects, do you remember ever using Datyun for brushing your teeth or using ash powder for handwashing, most of us don\u2019t, because this has been our way of life already. However, these little conveniences might have introduced a huge number of chemicals in our daily lives and some of them might even have hazardous consequences to our body\u2019s hormonal system. These agents are known as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) or endocrine disrupters in short.
To find out what are these chemicals, their impact on human health various researches are being carried out. Understanding the source and how to reduce its exposure is of prime importance<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are Endocrine Disruptors?
The endocrine system consists of glands that produce and secrete hormones in our body. Hormones regulate body functions such as growth, metabolism, reproduction, mood, sleep, and development.
The World Health Organization defines an endocrine-disrupting chemical as \u201can exogenous substance or mixture that alters function(s) of the endocrine system and consequently causes adverse health effects in an intact organism, or its progeny, or (sub) populations\u201d. 
According to the endocrine society out of approximately 140,000 chemicals registered under the European Union\u2019s \u2018Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals\u2019 regulation, more than 1,000 are known, or suspected, to have endocrine-disrupting properties. 
These agents can interfere with the normal functioning of hormones either by blocking hormone production, its transportation or may act similar to natural hormone synthesized in our body. Let us look into some common endocrine disruptors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common endocrine disruptors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Bisphenol A (BPA)
    Sources: Plastic water bottles, food storage containers, canned food linings, disposable cups and thermal paper receipts<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Problems: Acts as estrogen distrubing reproductive health and leading to breast cancer, obesity and early puberty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ways out: Avoid plastics marked with \u201cPC,\u201d for polycarbonate and canned food. Ensure that the kids feeding bottle is BPA free, most of the kids items these days are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Phthalates
      Sources: Vinyl flooring, Food packaging, perfumes, lotions, and nail polish<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Problems: Acts as apoptosis-inducing signaling agents in testicular cells hormone changes, lower sperm count, less mobile sperm, birth defects in the male reproductive system, obesity, diabetes and thyroid irregularities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Ways out: Avoid plastic food containers, plastic wrap made from PVC and phthalates-free personal care products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. Pesticides
        Sources: Agricultural pesticides exposed through fruits, vegetables and contaminated water.
        Problems: Lowers testosterone and alters thyroid hormone levels.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Ways out: Buy organic products having fewest pesticide residues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Sources: Non-stick cookware, water-resistant clothing, food packaging and firefighting foams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Problems: Affects thyroid and sex hormone levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Ways out: Skip non-stick pans as well as stain and water-resistant coatings on clothing, furniture and carpets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          DuPont-Teflon- Cookware- Cancer
          DuPont chemist Roy Plunkett accidentally discovered PTFE (Teflon) while experimenting with refrigerant gases, but then we mostly know TEFLON as cookware and coating right. DuPont patented the chemical in 1945 and by 1948 was producing about two million pounds of Teflon a year at its Parkersburg, West Virginia plant, eventually marketing it for pots and pans, with Teflon sales peaking at roughly a billion dollars a year by 2004.
          The manufacturing process relied on a helper chemical called PFOA, or C8, used starting around 1951 to smooth out lumpiness in freshly made Teflon. This is the substance at the center of the scandal. Internal industry documents surfaced decades later through litigation show danger signals appearing almost immediately. A 1961 DuPont toxicology report found Teflon materials could enlarge rats’ livers at low doses and recommended the material be handled “with extreme care,” with skin contact “strictly avoided”. By 1970, internal researchers already knew C8 was highly toxic when inhaled and moderately toxic when ingested. Studies through the following decades on workers and on animals kept turning up liver damage, immune effects, and eventually elevated cancer rates, yet none of this was disclosed to workers, regulators, or the public.
          The cover-up only unraveled after attorney Robert Bilott, representing a West Virginia farmer whose cattle were dying mysteriously, obtained thousands of pages of internal company records through discovery. That litigation eventually forced a 2005 EPA fine of $16.5 million against DuPont over its decades-long cover-up, and led to a scientific panel later linking C8 exposure to testicular and kidney cancers among heavily exposed populations.
          Today’s Teflon pans use short-chain replacement chemicals rather than C8 itself, though questions about their long-term safety remain far less studied than the original scandal that exposed them. Have you still been using the old non-stick pans? It is about time we toss them out of the houses. We certainly can cook without them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          1. Dioxins
            Sources: Environmental pollutants generated from industrial processes and waste burning can accumulate in animal fats and enter the food chain.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Problems: Powerful carcinogens that affect the immune and reproductive systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Ways out: Consuming fewer animal products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Who are the Vulnerable Groups?
            Pregnant women, infants, and young children require special attention.
            Measures to be followed to reduce exposure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            • Using glass baby bottles when possible<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Choosing fragrance-free baby products.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Avoiding microwaving food in plastic containers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Encouraging a diet rich in fresh foods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              The path ahead
              Various regulatory bodies, public health organization, scientist all around the world are working to evaluate and understand about endocrine disruptors along with its potential harmful effect on health in order to develop better alternatives. We as consumers must be more vigilant to reduce exposure to these agents by making informed choices about food, packaging, personal care products and household items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Conclusion
              EDC interfere with our body\u2019s hormonal balance and lead to hazardous adverse effects on growth and development. We come across these agents in our day to day life. Complete avoidance is difficult but choosing better alternative can significantly lower its exposure. Being aware and making informed choices on products to be used daily can significantly lower exposures and protect human health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Dr Devika ThapaShe is a dentist with specialized expertise in pharmacology and a strong passion for research and academic excellence. She has been serving as a lecturer for the past three years, where she is dedicated to teaching medical students and fostering their academic and professional development.Her professional interests lie in integrating dental science with …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":9387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[39,107,183,93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-feature","category-flash-news","category-technology-next","category-treatment"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/medicosnext.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/close-up-shot-young-woman-getting-her-neck-examined-by-doctor-using-ultrasound-scanner-modern-clinic.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9388,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9385\/revisions\/9388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}