Structurally, many of these chemicals resemble hormones: Like keys, these chemicals can open those same locks that hormones do in your body, causing disruption to the delicate balance of biology in humans, ranging from fetus to adult. This effect is far-reaching and affects nearly every system in the body.
According to TedX, an organization that tracks scientific research on endocrine-disrupting chemicals, 870 chemicals can currently be classified as hormone disruptors. Each of these chemicals is associated with specific scientific data suggesting that they cause direct effects on the endocrine glands and their hormones, such as estrogen, testosterone, and insulin. These hormones also cause cascading effects on our other body systems. As such, endocrine-disrupting chemicals affect reproductive function and fetal development, the nervous system, the liver, bones, the heart, the metabolism and nearly all body systems.
It’s no wonder that infertility is on the rise.
TedX also mentions that fossil fuels, and their extraction, cause huge amounts of chemical products to be released into the environment. These chemicals can actually be found in our tissues, including the womb. They have effects on ovaries that can change our actual genetics, passing through generations.
The following diseases have been associated with chemical hormone disruptors: infertility, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, childhood, pubertal and adult cancers, obesity, diabetes, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and abnormal genitalia,
This quote by TEDx is quite sobering
Setting aside the effects of endocrine disruptors on infertility, and just considering their influence on intelligence and behavior alone, it is possible that hormone disruption could pose a more imminent threat to humankind than climate change.