Planning Pregnancy–or Battling Infertility?

 

Why every woman should understand the ingredients in her skincare if trying to get pregnant or is already pregnant.

By Kassie Kuehl, Hairstylist and Health Coach www.KasiaOrganicSalon.com 

Most women know that when they become pregnant, there is a need to smarten up and realize how critical it is to eat well, and to avoid certain foods such as caffeine or fish, due to its elevated levels of mercury. There is also another side of the story for those wishing to conceive, and are battling with infertility.

Eating well and eliminating stress are important, but there is an even bigger picture to a healthy pregnancy, conceiving, and the toxic  "body burden."   The term body burdon pertains to the slew of environmental as well as man-made chemicals.  Chemicals made by man are fat soluble and not readily broken down by metabolic processes–and because of this, can be stored in body fats and build up to dangerous levels.

If a woman breastfeeds, female offspring are potentially most at risk of accumulative toxins. Over the past several years, studies have come out to show that chemicals have been found in the breast milk of American women. A study of the breast milk of American women published by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in 2003 found "unexpectedly high levels" of chemical fire retardants in every participant tested.

The average level of bromine-based fire retardants in the milk of 20 first-time mothers was 75 times the average found in recent European studies. Milk from two study participants contained the highest levels of fire retardants ever reported in the United States, and milk from several of the mothers in EWG’s study had among the highest levels of these chemicals yet detected worldwide.

While the news of these chemicals in breast milk is shocking and disturbing to most moms, doctors and experts agree that the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh the risks and breast is still best.

On and in Our Body

Each day American women reach for shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, and moisturizers. We apply blush, eye shadow, mascara, and lipstick, then maybe dab on some nail polish and perfume. We look good, we smell good–AND we have just exposed ourselves to 200 different synthetic chemicals.

It is not just a makeup problem–but a snapshot of the BIG PICTURE

We are seeing more benign lumps in breasts, thyroid problems, and infertility, which have become an increasingly common experience for many women. As a Western society, we are at an interesting disconnect–looking at how to treat disease–but not how to prevent disease.

Chemicals also affecting men–and some chemicals in these products are particularly problematic for men. We're all exposed to phthalates, and phthalates interfere with the production of testosterone, and they're also linked to health effects like lower sperm counts and testicular tumors.

We now know that what we eat passes into your bloodstream and to your baby, however it is as important to know what you are absorbing through your skin.  Our tissue uptakes 64 percent of everything we use topically–everything we put on our skin or hair.   Many manmade cosmetic chemicals are fat soluble and are not readily broken down by metabolic processes, and because of this, can be stored in body fats and build up to dangerous levels. Babies are potentially most at risk because during breastfeeding, further exposure to the pollutants stored in body fats occurs.

Since personal care products are not regulated by the FDA, you may be surprised that a number of controversial ingredients and known carcinogenics are found in our skin, hair, and body care. This is why it is up to you to decide what you feel at peace with as to what you’re putting onto, and therefore into, your body, and potentially passing on to your baby.

For years, retinoids,  salicylic acid, and accutane have been declared unsafe to use during pregnancy. Through research, this list continues to grow.  Pregnant women should be aware of other questionable ingredients such as parabens, PEGs, and acrylamides. Often women have reactions to fragrance, mineral oils and allergens during pregnancy.

Seek out products that are natural and do not contain parabens, PEGs, SLS, glycols, acrylates, mineral oils, silicones or artificial fragrance. To help change the face of this industry, stop wasting your money on bottom-line companies that use cheap additives or fillers in their products

SIMPLE SOLUTION:  Take this quiz to find out if you may be using products that could adversely affect you and your family’s health.

Take a look at the ingredients of the beauty products you use. Then answer the following questions True or False:

1. Sodium lauryl sulfate appears as an ingredient in my shampoo or other hair products.

2. I notice a combination of sodium lauryl sulfate and TEA (triethanolamine, DEA (diethanolamine), or MEA (monoethanolamine) in one or more of the hair products I use.

3. The word "methylparaben" appears on a label.

4. My product lists "fragrance" on the label.

5. I see the words "dibutyl phthalate, or DBP," or "diethylhexyl phthalate, or DEHP" on a label.

If you answered "True" to any of the questions, you may want to reconsider using those products. Here's why:

1. Sodium lauryl sulfate is a suspected liver or gastrointestinal toxiocant and sometimes causes eye and skin irritation, hair loss, and allergic reactions.

2. When sodium lauryl sulfate is combined with TEA, DEA, or MEA, it can cause the formation of nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic.

3. Methylparaben is a commonly used disinfectant in many products. But recent research has shown that, when exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun, it actually causes wrinkles and liver spots.

4. Artificial fragrances have been linked to a wide variety of health problems. Artificial musk, for example, has been shown to weaken the immune system.

5. Phthalates—plasticizers found in numerous cosmetics and other products—have been shown to be hormone disruptors that can cause birth defects and other harm.

Find out more about the toxic chemicals hiding in your beauty products at www.cosmeticsdatabase.com, The Environmental Working Group (EWG.com).

Visit with one of our team members at Kasia Organic Salon in replenishing your "Beautiful Health" routine.

About the Author: Kassie Kuehl, a natural products hair stylist and health coach, believes that it is crucial pregnant women pay close attention to the ingredients in their hair, skin, and body care products–and become educated in the use of non toxic products/services. Kassie has many educational articles and info about her Organic Salon Services at www.KasiaOrganicSalon.com. Kasia Salon offers high-quality, natural skin care products to help improve your overall health of your skin, body, and soul!

Hair Loss in the Pregnant and Post-Partum Woman

  This is a repost written by Tony Pearce RN.

Nothing reveals the unique beauty of a woman quite like a healthy woman displaying her pregnancy. The additional life growing inside her presents a glow that no cosmetic make-over could ever replicate.

Her hair too is usually at its most lush density and soft manageability. A pregnant woman’s scalp hair growth (anagen) cycle – usually a constant 85-90% - may increase to 95% during her 2nd + 3rd trimesters. Only during her young adolescence would a woman’s scalp hair follicles be so active in growth (Dawber+ Van Neste: 1995).

Her two dominant female sex hormones (Oestradiol + Progesterone*) increase immensely to help support the growth and development of the unborn child. These hormonal surges have a ‘flow-on’ effect to hair growth – adding to the expectant mother’s radiance.

As pregnancy progresses it’s generally accepted that higher oestrogen levels (oestradiol + estrone) are responsible for an increased and prolonged anagen phase, as well as thickened hair shaft density in trichometric studies. Pecoraro et al (1967) also suggested ‘telogen’ (shedding) phase is more rapid in a pregnant woman than the usual 2-3 months of a follicle cycle.

The rate of scalp hair growth in humans is profoundly influenced by the levels of unbound (i.e.: ‘active’) thyroid hormone (Dawber+ Van Neste: 1995). In their excellent text ‘Thyroid Power – 10 Steps to Total Health’, Shames + Shames (2002) note that women at the beginning of their pregnancy used to be given small doses of thyroid hormone to help prevent miscarriage and aid in foetal development. Even a minimal thyroid imbalance may be associated with miscarriage, premature birth, and even birth defects according to Arem (1999). He cites research that suggests 2-3% of pregnant women have an under-functioning thyroid gland. **

Excessive hair fall during pregnancy:

Essentially this should not occur, and is a contradiction of the hormonally mediated influences on hair growth during pregnancy.

When excessive scalp hair shed does occur it is likely due to:

1. Nutritional deficiency: iron, Vitamin D, Iodine, zinc or other deficiency.
2. Metabolic disturbance: thyroid gland dysfunction; pregnancy-related glycaemia (blood sugar + insulin) disturbance.
3. Telogen Effluvium from recent illness.

Regrettably - nutritional deficiency in pregnant women is not uncommonly seen, and is due (in my opinion) to NON-specific baseline pathology testing (i.e.: testing ‘Haemoglobin’ instead of a full ‘Iron Studies’ panel). Vitamin D (25 [OH] D), Iodine or Red cell zinc are rarely ever tested unless specifically requested.

It is unacceptable in a 1st world health system that pregnant women should be allowed to proceed through pregnancy with severe iron, iodine, vitamin D or other nutritional deficiency. One West Australian woman who consulted me was found to have an iron storage (ferritin) of 8ug/L (range: 20-300) at six months pregnancy.

Quite recently a young woman five months pregnant and expecting her first child consulted me for continual excessive hair shedding. Her Vitamin D levels were so low they could not be measured by pathology testing. The 2007 reference range for 25(OH) D is 50-200nmol/L; ‘target’ is to be greater than 100nmol/L – this woman could only register LESS THAN 10nmol/L.

There are now many studies (www.vitamindcouncil.org) which demonstrate that an optimal Vitamin D status (i.e.: >100nmol/L) during pregnancy is essential for both maternal well-being and in-utero development of the child. There is also a growing awareness of the link between gestational Vitamin D deficiency in the pregnant mother and autism in her still-unborn child: Canadian Paediatric Society. Vitamin D supplementation: Recommendations for Canadian mothers and infants. Paediatr Child Health 2007;12(7):583-9 + Cannell JJ.  Autism and Vitamin D. Med Hypotheses 2008;70(4):750-9.

We have a known national Iodine deficiency among the general Australian population (Eastman: 2007); women are physiologically more prone to iron, iodine and 25(OH) D deficiency than males because of their ‘femaleness’. The medico-legal implications of this are self-evident.

Post-partum hair loss:

In essence, post-partum effluvium is a withdrawal of specific hormonal influences previously mentioned which hitherto have prolonged the hair follicle’s growth phase and delayed entry into catagen/telogen.

Following childbirth telogen hair count begins to rise and has been reported as high as 65% at two months (Dawber + Connor: 1971) - typically though 30-35% of scalp hair may be in telogen phase at two months postpartum.

A diffuse effluvium – disproportionate hair shed from the entire scalp - may be distressingly excessive for about three months but can continue for as long as a year. In usual circumstances the duration of shed is less than six months, and the majority of women return to normal hair density within a year.

The prolongation and exacerbation of post-partum hair loss is influenced by Prolactin secretion in breast-feeding, blood loss during childbirth, sleep deprivation, nutrition, or the many reasons for emotional stress in a new mother.

Anecdotally I have found post-partum effluvium to be more severe in those women who are continually sleep derived for extended periods of time. Simply put: if we can’t sleep our Pituitary Gland won’t produce sufficient Growth hormone (GH); we’ll be fatigued, weak, suffer mood disturbance – and our hair will fall out (Arem: 1999).

Management:

• Post partum alopecia is considered the one true moult in humans, and new young mothers who exhibit post-partum effluvium should be reassured that (in time) a full recovery of lost hair density is the expected outcome.
• If not previously tested, baseline blood pathology should be ordered to assess iron studies, (red cell) zinc, 25(OH) D, Iodine, B12 etc. All levels need to be in the 50-75th percentile of respective reference ranges to facilitate a more rapid ‘resetting’ of follicle anagen phasing.

Activance Rhodanide is a natural ‘leave-in’ treatment (the vitaminoid Rhodanide is the active nutrient) which I have found very effective in accelerating effluvium resolution. Unlike Minoxidil it is completely safe for lactating/breast-feeding women to use (Minoxidil is excreted in breast milk). www.activance.com.au.

Photo-biotherapy such as ‘soft/cold’ low level laser light (LLLT) is in my experience most effective in effluvium-type shedding due to its anti-inflammatory and vaso-dilating (blood perfusion) properties. Six-twelve 15-20 minute treatments twice-weekly helps settle post-partum effluvium in the majority of women.

In theory – providing a post-partum woman experiencing effluvium and/or post-natal mood disturbance with a low dose natural Progesterone (P4) cream (1% or less) with a low-dose ‘Biest’ addition – should help to arrest both issues. However earlier studies by Skelton (1966) found ‘no consistent beneficial effect’.

Consult a qualified and experienced hair loss Practitioner only – such as a Trichologist or Medical Practitioner.

*The Corpus Luteum of non-pregnant females may produce 10-20mgs of Progesterone (P4) per day. A pregnant woman’s placenta produces up to 300mgs of P4 per day (Dr. John R. Lee MD; ‘What your Doctor may not tell you about Menopause’: 1996)

**Ridha Arem MD is a noted US Endocrinologist. He cites a study by Glenoer, D (1997) of American pregnant women.

About the Author: Tony Pearce RN, WTS is a Specialist Trichologist of female hair loss + scalp problems.

Xenobiotics and Beautiful Health

Are you aware of what you are putting in your body or on your body? Do you know what most pesticides, herbicides and fungicides contain?

"NO?" Than you will be able to say yes by the end of this blog topic.

Let's spread some light about xenobiotics, what they are, what they are in, how they have an affect on the body and burden it over time, the many diseases and disorders linked to them and how to detoxify your body from them.

What Are Xenoiotics?

Xenobiotics are a foreign substance, derived from petroleum oil, that originate outside the human body, have hormone like and estrogen like activity in the body, and thus a profound impact on hormone balance. The molecular structure of a petrochemical contains the basic "key" to the hormone receptor "ignition " of the cell switching on the hormonal action, thus behaving as potent estrogens.

How does this concern you?

Estrogen in general tends to promote cell division, particularly in hormone-sensitive tissue such as breast and uterine lining, this is why they cause cancer. Now there are several reasons why women in particular suffer from estrogen dominance, some of them being birth control, menopause, pregnancy, increased stress levels, etc. but without getting into that what I would like to do is recognize that in line with the already high levels of estrogen to progesterone imbalances people are suffering from, we are swimming in a sea environmental xenoestrogens (xenobiotics)

The longer these foreign substances stay in the body the more opportunity they have to do damage. The bottom line is that the body has to detoxify these chemicals every day and over time this can become a burden.

How do they get into our bodies?

One source of oral intake of xenoestrogens is by way of animal fats , particularly red meat and dairy fats. Not only are these animals exposed to estrogenic substances as a means to fatten them up for market, they are further exposed to petrochemical pesticide, herbicides, and fungicides, potent xenobiotics, by way of the grains they eat. Billions of pounds of these substances are dumped on our fruits and vegetables every year.

Other common sources of xenobiotics are found in:

· Solvents and adhesive found in nail polish, paint removers and glue

· Emulsifiers and waxes found in soaps and cosmetics

· Nearly all plastics (ex. baby bottles, Tupperware, water bottles, food wrapped or packed in plastic, medicines

· Waste from sewage treatment plants

· Synthetic estrogens and progestins found in the urine of millions of women taking birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy that is flushed down the toilet and eventually works its way into the food chain

What are some things you can do to reduce your exposure to these harmful substances?

Now that you have a better understanding as to how these foreign substances may be getting into your body lets explore some things you can do to reduce your exposure.

1. First take a saliva lab (this test the active form of hormones vs blood which tests the inactive) to find out the cycle of all your hormones.

2. Eat organic fruits and vegetables, the more we, as consumers, demand organic produce the more likely it will be grown that way. Studies show that organic fruits and vegetables contain 50-80% more nutrients than conventionally raised produce

3. Eat hormone free, antibiotic free, free range meats and dairy products. Toxins are stored in fats and keep in mind that "you are what you eat"

4. Use alternative ways to garden in your homes. There are several simple, easy and cost effective methods of organic gardening and pest control.

5. Because it is so difficult to identify which plastics contain high levels of xenobiotics assume all do. Eliminate all plastic from your house. Use pyrex glassware, stainless steal water bottles, get drinking water delivered to your house or use a filtration system, eat organic and hormone free foods, switch to essential oils or organic hygiene, and household cleaning products.

6. GO GREEN!

7. If you are on a birth control or Rx medication, start to educate yourself on what this does to your gut, immune system, hormonal system...your entire body! The body is a system of systems and nothing is linear when you take it.

8. Start reading food labels so you know what you are putting in your body. You would be surprised how much of what you eat is 95% chemicals!

Some arguments:

1. It is in such a small amount, which will have no affect on us humans?

What we are not taking into account is the many ways we are being exposed to the EVERY day of EVERY year. So it is not the small amount, it is the sum of the small amounts and the overloading of the detoxification system of the body that makes them so harmful.

2. How are we supposed to eat, heat things up, drink water out of, etc?

a. Eat out of: use pyrex glassware b. Heating things up: use stove top, toaster oven or oven c. Bottles: You can use bottles from SIGG or from Canteen.com, which are stainless steel. d. Water: install a sink, fridge or entire house hold filtration system

Symptoms of Xenoestrogens:

Some symptoms include but are not limited to:

Allergies, decreased libido, depression, fatigue, water retention, infertility, miscarriage, osteoporosis, fat gain around the hips, waist and thighs, breast and cervical cancers, early menstruation cycles for young girls.... for more information visit www.drjohnleemd.com.

Reference: East/West Natural Health & Dr. John Lee