Environmental Endocrine Disruptors with Dr. Philip W. Faler ND

Video Transcription

Dave: Every day we’re exposed to hidden chemicals that can disrupt our hormones. Where do they come from, and how can people protect themselves from them?

Philip W. Faler: Yeah, it’s a big topic right now, Dave. I’ve got twenty-eight-year-old men who say were exposed to chemicals in Afghanistan. This is an extreme case, right? But they’re over there and they’re exposed to a lot of things. Firemen are exposed to a lot of things. 28-year old men with testosterone in the two hundreds as a result of environmental endocrine disruptors. BPA, bisphenols, phthalates, all these things, they’re found in plastics, they’re found in pesticides. They’re found in fossil fuels. So anybody who’s getting exposed to that, which is all of us, they have widespread impact on the endocrine system and health overall.

Dave: You mentioned that men, affecting their testosterone. How does it differ between men and women?

Philip W. Faler: Yeah, so a lot of them will mimic estrogen in the body, which in men will shut down testosterone. Testosterone is governed by how much estrogen is made from it. We need estrogen. Men need estrogen too. And we have a certain number of units of estrogen. But the hypothalamus pituitary governs testosterone production based on how much estrogen there is. So when there’s these chemicals that behave as though they’re estrogen molecules, it’ll turn down testosterone production.

There’s a lot you can do. You can’t wholly avoid it, and you don’t want to overthink it and stress yourself out about it. But things like, let’s not microwave our food in plastic. Let’s not use a plastic spoon in a boiling pot. Getting your food sources from as natural a source as you can. There’s no better wild grass pasture raised meat than a wild deer. If you or a friend harvests that deer and then puts that in your freezer, you’ve skipped a lot of hormones and a lot of steps that … Clean food, growing a garden and picking your own vegetables rather than relying on food that shows up wrapped in plastic.

Dave: Are these short-term negative impacts? And do they go long-term, or can you stop it just by changing your lifestyle?

Philip W. Faler: You can decrease it. In the environment in which we live, you’re not going to get rid of it. And there’s benefits to that. I love modern society. I love all the conveniences and safety we have, and our life expectancy has gone up tremendously due to a lot of that. But like everything else, it has a cost. So minimizing it, being smart, getting rid of the biggest things you can. I keep a glass water bottle, that’s helpful. Just avoiding what you can.

Dave: Some will call it the silent hormone threat. Is that accurate?

Philip W. Faler: It is accurate. It is accurate. I’ve got young guys, young gals, who wonder, why would I have an endocrine problem at this age? And it’s a lot related to environmental endocrine disruptors.

Dave: And then when you talk to them, you listen to them, you recognize what they’re doing to introduce it to themselves.

Philip W. Faler: And in some cases, they can start to avoid some of it. But let’s take a fireman, a young 30-year-old fireman with a couple of kids. What’s he going to do? He’s going to go to work, and he’s performing a community public service that benefits all of us. So we treat his hormones. Maybe we do some liver detox and stuff like that. But what he needs is let’s get his testosterone back up so that he can keep doing his job and take care of his family.

Dave: If you’re concerned about toxins and hormones, Dr. Faler’s Team can help reduce your risks. You can start with a free consult at antiagingnorthwest.com. There’s also a direct link below this video.