Xenoestrogens (xeno, meaning foreign) are other man-made chemicals found in everyday products that our bodies do not know how to handle. They have not only toxic effects
but hormonal effects. Because these chemicals are similar in structure to the natural hormone estrogen, they affect the same areas of the body naturally regulated by estrogen. Found in foods, toiletries, hair products, make up, plastics, and feminine hygiene products, they are suspected of reducing sperm counts and causing breast cancer, fibroids, and other reproductive diseases. Nonylphenols, one specific source of xenoestrogens, are found in spermicides used on condoms and in vaginal gels, thereby directly exposing the reproductive organs to the chemical. The main problem with all of these man-made chemicals is that we are being overexposed to them because of the number of products they are in, so we are currently experiencing an epidemic of problems that did not exist in such number seventy years ago.
