Read 'n' Seed: Part 3 of Hormone Deception

In this portion of Hormone Deception, I ready pages 145 through 210 which included Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11. These chapters discussed the effects of hormone disruptors on women in several different aspects.

Chapter 8: Women's Health
Berkson starts the chapter off by pointing out the many differences women have from men physically. Since women are smaller and have higher levels of estrogen, they are much more susceptible to they hormone disruptors they encounter. These have been found to cause the following problems

• endometriosis
• uterine fibroids
• benign breast disease
• premenstrual syndrome or PMS
• permenopausal problems
• endometrial polyps
• ovarian cysts
• infertility
• increases in breast and ovarian cancer

According to the book, approximately 80% of women in the United States reports having taken oral contraceptives at some point. Studies have shown that women who started taking birth control early in life or for a prolonged time have an increased chance of developing breast cancer at a earlier age. Adversely, once a woman reaches the age of her mid-forties, early use is shown to decrease the risk of developing breast cancer. Since there are so many women taking birth control that is excreted from their bodies into our water supply without proper water systems to filter out the estrogen, it is present in the water we use and drink on a daily basis. The fertility drugs that women are taking to combat the rising rate of infertility can possibly cause an increase in deformities and abnormalities in the children that are the product of them.

Chapter 9: Breast Cancer
According to Berkson, 46,000 women are killed by breast cancer every year and is the number one cause of death for women between the ages of 32 and 52. Young women are more susceptible to the hormone receptors in their breasts since they are not fully developed and are more impressionable. Over half of all diagnosed breast cancers are estrogen sensitive. This means that higher estrogen levels will increase risk of developing breast cancer. There are other hormone disruptors may also affect the breasts such as through hormones such as thryoxine (made by the thyroid gland which affects the response of breast tissue to estrogen), prolactin (which is the hormone that produces milk in pregnancy), insulin (maintains blood-sugar levels in the body), and progesterone (regulates female cycles).

Chapter 10: Synthetic Hormones and Menopause
Hormone replacement therapy or (HRT) is typically administered to women going through menopause to attempt to lower the risk of various diseases associated with growing older such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Even though they may be beneficial, they can have very severe side effects since as close to the real hormone it is, it is still synthetic and foreign to the body. Even though it is believed that hormones in women are declining at this time, they are actually all over place from high to low. Therefore, adding more estrogen with HRT's and from the environment can cause problems such as breast cancer. There is no evidence that shows that HRT's may actually cause liver damage, cardiovascular problems, cancer, asthma, and may not be as beneficial in preventing osteoporosis as previously thought. The main point that Berkson is trying to make is that every woman is different; therefore, doctors should be more cautious of prescribing HRT's to them to prevent adverse affects.

Chapter 11: Other Health Problems
To shortly sum up this chapter, Berkson discusses how hormone disruptors have been shown to cause the rise in several other diseases such as allergies, autoimmune conditions (where the body attacks itself) thyroid and adrenal problems, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (which is what my boyfriend actually had so I found this to be interesting), diabetes, and higher levels of blood pressure.

It is easy to see how much these synthetic hormones are disrupting everyone. I think it explains why there as been a rise in so many of the diseases that are so common now. It is important to be aware of the risks along with the benefits associated with what we are around and putting in our body. I find all of this to be really disturbing, and it makes me feel like I am not safe doing anything.