Some of you may know that my Dad suffered a serious stroke this summer, which is horrible, but an interesting observation my mom and I have noticed as he's been in a rehab nursing facility, is that his decades-long battle with psoriasis on his legs, arms, and trunk has cleared up, as if it never existed. No more scabs, blistering, itching or inflammation. No more need for injectables.
While this still baffles my mother, it makes perfect sense to me - his skin has been on the most extreme "elimination diet" as everything that touches his skin (and gut), from the inside out has been restricted in terms of diet, cleansers and moisturizers.
This week I was listening to the latest episode on Dr. Louise Newson's podcast, Can Your Skincare Products Disrupt Your Hormones, with Nudum Skincare founder, Gina Lewis. They discussed the dangers of teenage girls using skincare products that have endrocrine disrupting chemicals - such as products that are overly perfumed (think Bath and Body Works, for example). And being that the skin care industry is self-regulated, not all ingredients listed on the bottle may be what they seem. Example: something labeled "Fragrance Free" may not actually be so - in fact, chemicals are added to mask the product's actual fragrance to make it seem unscented.
WHAT DOES ENDROCINE DISRUPTIVE mean:
Endocrine system is our hormone system (more than just the reproductive hormones) and our hormones and cells interact like a key and a lock - the hormones being the key that can "unlock" a receptor on a cell and allow for naturally occuring chemical reactions.
Endocrine Disruptors also act like a key, but they go into the cell's receptor and block the hormones from entering, or partially unlock the receptor and do some of the same job as the hormone would or do something entirely different.
WHAT YOU CAN DO right now:
Your skin is your largest organ and what we put on it does affect your endocrine system. Take a close look at the ingredient labels of the products you use that contact your skin: soap, body wash, shampoo/conditioner, laundry detergent, moisturizers, balms, etc. SELF-AUDIT by checking the product, brand or ingredients on EWG.ORG
I do this every once and awhile - just did so today and found a few products that I need consider pitching out!