Mayo Clinic claims that ‘forever chemicals’ found in thousands of household products may affect women’s heart health.

Thousands of household products that you may use every day contain human-made chemicals.  They are also known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they break down very slowly over time. Studies at Mayo Clinic have recently found that even small exposures to these substances pose a health risk.

Dr. DeLisa Fairweather explains why postmenopausal women are at such a high risk for heart disease caused by these ubiquitous chemicals: Read on.

A new American Heart Association study found that middle-aged women, those with high blood levels of these chemicals, are 70% more likely to develop high blood pressure than their peers who had lower levels of these toxins.

“As soon as you go through menopause, you have a dramatic drop in estrogen,” explains Dr. Fairweather.  “When that happens, it really affects your immune response.  And, so, you enter a much more proinflammatory state that can increase your risk for various types of heart disease, like atherosclerosis and stroke.”

Forever chemicals are in thousands of household products, including shampoos, cosmetics and plastic packaging.

“It’s also in our nonstick pans, stain-removing products that are in our carpeting and furniture, and on our clothes,” says Dr. Fairweather.

They’re also found in water sources and foods we eat… “We’re finding that fish we’re eating have it because the water is contaminated with it.  It’s a major contamination in wells and other sources of water.  It’s in dairy products because the cattle or dairy cows are receiving it through fertilizer and other contaminants in their environment,” says Dr. Fairweather.  Previous studies have shown that even at low levels these forever chemicals create adverse health effects.

“What we can do proactively to help ourselves is to read every label on the food that we’re purchasing and make sure that it does not have chemicals that we don’t understand?” says Dr. Fairweather. “We need to educate ourselves and just make sure that if there’s anything that isn’t the actual food and natural ingredients that we don’t buy the product.”

Here at The Renewal Point, we understand that this information can be very overwhelming, especially if it’s not something that you’ve already been doing.  However, we don’t want that feeling to deter you from making changes.  Even small changes can make a big difference.  If replacing things feels daunting, then a good place to start is with any new purchases.  For example, the next time you buy shampoo, check to make sure it has natural ingredients; for Christmas, put a stainless-steel pan or ScanPan on your wish list; use the “Dirty Dozen” (by the EPA) as a guide for buying healthier fruits and vegetables.  Over time, you’ll see that most of your household items are no longer toxic.

Additionally, at The Renewal Point, we can run tests to see if toxic contaminants are at harmful levels in your body. This will help determine how critical the issue is and how quickly you need to act in removal of the chemicals from both your body and house.  If toxic chemicals are detected, we can then work together to create a manageable plan to rid your body and house of them before they cause health problems. 

While preventing and/or catching the problem before it becomes a health issue is ideal, we certainly understand that this is not always the case.  So, if you believe that you already have health issues caused by toxins, know that it’s not too late, ~ only more critical ~ to act.

Reference:

• Mayo Clinic Minute: ‘Forever chemicals’ found in thousands of household products may affect women’s heart health. July 20, 2022. DeeDee Stiepan