A 2016 study found that more than 50% of the population said they’d prefer public spaces like offices, hotels, airplanes and healthcare facilities be fragrance-free. Despite this, fragrance use is ubiquitous: it’s found in everything from perfumes, beauty products, and cleaning supplies to plastics, paints, and disinfectants.

The problem with these synthetic and artificial fragrances is the health effects they can have on our bodies. Chemicals used to create or prolong these “fresh” scents often have deleterious effects on our health like neurological, metabolic, respiratory, and hormonal imbalances.

Today’s episode continues the summer series, answering your questions about hormones. Listen in as Erin gets into the nitty gritty answering your questions about fragrance effects on hormone health, and lays out what to be aware of in products we often use on our bodies or in our home. This is a topic everyone can benefit from because most people don’t even know how toxic synthetic fragrances are, nor how pervasive they are in products many of us use daily.

In this episode:

-Small steps we can take to get closer to non toxic living [4:38]

-Starting with the basics [6:56]

-Fragrance and endocrine disruptors [8:11]

-“Overly sensitive” or canaries in the coalmine? [11:30]

-A non exhaustive list of product types that contain artificial or synthetic fragrances [13:02]

-The real problem with fragranced products [17:16]

-How these fragrances can affect our health [19:28]

-Why and how synthetic fragrances linger [22:17]

-VOCs: what they are and common sources [23:36]

-Best way to protect yourself from outdoor pollution [25:27]

-Let’s talk about phthalates [26:08]

-Xenoestrogens and estrogen dominance [27:58]

-How these chemicals impact our metabolism [29:55]

-Mitochondrial dysfunction symptoms [32:11]

Resources mentioned:
Your Hormone Revival™ (get on the waitlist - next round starts Sept 19th!) https://www.erinholthealth.com/hormones

Forrester Cabinets: https://forrestercabinets.com/

Research articles about fragrance:
FRAGRANCE IN THE WORKPLACE IS THE NEW SECOND-HAND SMOKE http://www.national-toxic-encephalopathy-foundation.org/fragsmoke.pdf

Scientific American’s Scent of Danger: Are There Toxic Ingredients in Perfumes and Colognes https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/toxic-perfumes-and-colognes/

The Danger of Toxic Consumer Products, Fragrances https://www.huffpost.com/entry/toxic-chemicals_b_625648

Fragranced consumer products: exposures and effects from emissions https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5093181/

Investigation of relationships between urinary biomarkers of phytoestrogens, phthalates, and phenols and pubertal stages in girls https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20308033/

Phthalates induce proliferation and invasiveness of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer through the AhR/HDAC6/c-Myc signaling pathway https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22049059/

Exposure to Environmental Endocrine Disruptors and Child Development https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3572204/

Baby Care Products: Possible Sources of Infant Phthalate Exposure https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/121/2/e260?sso=1&sso_redirect_count=1&nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token

Adipose Tissue as a Site of Toxin Accumulation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6101675/

The Impact of Bisphenol A and Phthalates on Allergy, Asthma, and Immune Function: a Review of Latest Findings https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40572-015-0066-8

Concentrations of Urinary Phthalate Metabolites Are Associated with Increased Waist Circumference and Insulin Resistance in Adult U.S. Males https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1892109/

Phthalates and Metabolism: Exposure Correlates with Obesity and Diabetes in Men https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/ehp.115-a312b

Fragranced consumer products: exposures and effects from emissions