Uterine Fibroid Tumors

Xenoestrogens are environmental estrogens, artificially created as a by-product to the chemical industry.  In the past 10 years, there have been a lot of studies that have linked xenoestrogens to conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis, infertility, lowered sperm counts and cancer. 

They are found in pesticides, PCBs, plastics, the lacquer that lines the inside of cans used for storing food, and many common foods and household products.

Xenoestrogens are recognised by estrogen receptors, but have a stronger effect on the cells than other types of estrogen.  Some of the most deadly xenoestrogens are PCBs.

PCBs were used in industry decades ago, but were banned in the 1970’s.   Although these substances are no longer in use, they have accumulated in water, soil and in the fat of animals and humans.  Scientists have even found the substances secreted in human breast milk!

Because they’re a mix of synthetic chemicals, they’re not very biodegradable, this means it’s difficult for the environment, and human body to break them down. 

It can take hundreds of years for these substances to be broken down in the environment, and in our bodies as they are unnatural substances that nature does not have processes or tools to deal with. 

Estrogen is a hormone.  It is produced by the ovaries, and it’s the hormone responsible for the development of the female reproductive system during puberty.  It also stimulates the growth of the muscles of the uterus, and the thickening of the endometrial lining.

Hormones are essentially chemical messengers that travel from one organ to another, via the blood stream and instruct organs to perform specific actions at a cellular level.

Hormones affect the organs that have receptor sides.  Receptor sites are a group of cells that respond only to a specific hormone.  The cell will have receptors attached to it – receptors are microscopic structures that take a specific shape or configuration that match only the chemical composition of the hormone.  It works in a similar way to a key and a lock, if you imagine that hormones are keys, and receptors are locks.

When the hormone connects with the receptor, this gives the cells and the tissues that the cells make up, specific instructions, e.g. estrogen can tell the endometrial lining to thicken, and unfortunately, it can also tell fibroids to grow.

The more estrogen you have in your body, the more estrogen receptors you develop.  And the more estrogen receptors you develop, the more your body makes use of estrogen.

There are actually several types of estrogen:

• The estrogen your ovaries produce naturally

• Phytoestrogens – which are estrogens that occur naturally in plants, and are used by herbalists to help women who are going through menopause, and to help to block the effects of more powerful estrogens in women with estrogen-dependent disorders.

• Mycoestrogens – estrogens that are produced by fungi.  They mostly affect livestock and poultry, but you can find them growing on mouldy crops, such as rice, oats and wheat.

• Xenoestrogens – man-made chemicals that mimick the effect of estrogen in your body