It Might Not Be Your Hormones. It Might Be the Plastics.
With Jessica Morrell, NP, owner of Radiant Health and Hormone Therapy - Sioux Falls, SD - 15+ years in functional medicine
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Sometimes the patient on hormone therapy feels worse on a low dose. The instinct is to blame the hormone. Often it is the receptor - clogged by endocrine disruptors. A gentle, targeted receptor detox restores the body's ability to actually use the hormone. Then therapy works the way it is supposed to.
The Receptor ProblemAn endocrine disruptor either mimics a hormone or pushes a hormone to signal too much or too little. When it docks in a receptor, the real hormone cannot get in. Plastics, pesticides, fragrances, non-stick cookware, plasticizers in makeup, flame retardants on furniture - they are everywhere, and the body has no native pathway to clear them.
What an Endocrine Disruptor IsYou will not solve this in a weekend, and chasing every exposure at once is the fastest way to give up. Tackle what you actually control. As your shampoo, lotion, or cleaner runs out, look it up on EWG SkinDeep and pick a better replacement. Slow swap-out beats panic overhaul.
Tackle What You ControlReal detox is daily. Deep breathing, sweat, fiber, hydration, regular elimination - that is how the body cleans. The average American eats around eight grams of fiber a day. The target is 25. You cannot supplement your way past low fiber, but you can supplement on top of real food when you need a push.
Daily Detox, Not a CleanseBy the time the average woman walks out the door in the morning, she has applied around 150 different chemicals. None of them are individually catastrophic. Together, they are a load. The fix is not perfection. It is reducing what comes in across many small categories at once.
150 Chemicals Before 9amThe most important window to clean up your environment is the year before pregnancy. A pregnant woman with a female baby is also forming her grandchildren - the ovaries are already developing. Exposure during pregnancy has been linked to impacts on 20 future generations. The cost of intentionality in that one year is small. The reach is generational.
The Pre-Pregnancy YearWhat is an endocrine disruptor?
An endocrine disruptor is a chemical that either mimics one of your hormones or pushes a hormone to signal too much or too little. When it acts like a hormone and blocks the receptor, the actual hormone cannot get in to do its job. Common examples include plastics, pesticides, herbicides, non-stick cookware, fragrances, plasticizers in beauty products and lotions, and flame-retardant chemicals.
What everyday products contain endocrine disruptors?
Plastics, pesticides and herbicides, non-stick cookware, fragrances and perfumes, plasticizers in liquid and cream-based makeup, lotions, shampoos, flame-retardant fabrics and pajamas, water-resistant clothing, stain-resistant treatments on couches and carpets, and many cleaning products. The Environmental Working Group's SkinDeep database at EWG.org is the easiest way to check the toxic load on a specific product before you buy it.
How do I know if endocrine disruptors are affecting me?
Most people have some degree of disruption because exposure has been so widespread for so long. The clearest red flags are fertility issues, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), premature ovarian failure, certain cancers, and metabolic conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes. In a clinical setting, the story is more useful than a single test - a provider asks about how you grew up, your parents' work, what you use in your cookware and home, and your fiber and liver support.
Can I detox endocrine disruptors out of my body?
You can support your body's daily detox - that is what good elimination, deep breathing, sweating, hydration, and 25 grams of fiber a day are doing. You can also do periodic supported detoxes a few times a year that focus on liver support and very clean eating. What you cannot do is reset to zero. Exposure is constant, so the goal is reducing input and supporting daily clearing rather than chasing a one-time cleanse.
What is the difference between a real detox and a marketed cleanse?
A real detox is what your liver, gut, kidneys, lungs, and skin do every day. You support it with 25 grams of fiber, hydration, sweat, sleep, and reducing the load coming in. A marketed cleanse can give the liver a short break, which is fine in moderation, but it is not going to clear forever chemicals or undo years of exposure. Marketing tends to overpromise; the real win is consistent daily input reduction.
How does this connect to hormone therapy?
Sometimes a patient starts hormone therapy at a low dose and feels worse, not better. The instinct is to assume the hormone is wrong. Often it is the receptor that is the problem - clogged or blocked by endocrine disruptors. A targeted, gentle receptor detox supports the liver and clears the receptors so the hormone can dock correctly. After that, hormone therapy works the way it is supposed to. The billboard line: it might be your hormones, but it also might be the plastics.
Are clean products enough to protect my hormones?
Switching to clean products definitely helps - the less exposure you have, the less your body is working to clear, and the fewer wrong things filling your hormone receptors. But clean products alone are not enough. Water, food sources, agricultural runoff, indoor air, and inherited body burden all matter too. Think of it as reducing the load from many directions, not solving it from one.
Is bottled water bad for my hormones?
Bottled water is not automatically safer than filtered tap. The plastic bottle has likely sat in a hot truck or warehouse, which leaches microplastics into the water. The city tests tap water for some contaminants but does not test for microplastics, and pesticide and PFAS thresholds are based on what is considered tolerable rather than what is ideal. A whole-home or strong drinking-water filter usually beats both options, especially in agricultural runoff regions.
When in life do toxins matter most?
The year before getting pregnant. Women planning pregnancy should be very intentional that year about what they use, what they eat, how clean their water is, and how supported their liver is. A pregnant woman is not just carrying her child - if it is a female child, she is also carrying her grandchildren, because the ovaries are forming. Toxic exposure in pregnancy has been shown to impact 20 future generations.
If something is sold in stores, it has been tested for safety.
Switching to clean products is enough to protect your hormones.
My tap water is fine because the city tests it.
The amount of toxins in everyday products is too small to actually affect you.
You can detox your body quickly with a cleanse.
This is Jessica Morrell's return to Dialed In Health. In her first appearance we covered hormone therapy itself - what your body is telling you and what to do about it. This time we zoomed out to the chemicals quietly disrupting hormones in the first place, and the receptor problem that explains why hormone therapy sometimes stops working.
Jessica is a nurse practitioner with 15+ years in functional medicine and the founder of Radiant Health and Hormone Therapy in Sioux Falls. Her practice is built around the patient who has been told her labs are normal but knows her body says otherwise.
If something in this episode prompted a question, the next step is straightforward. Visit Radiant Health on Dialed In Health, take the hormone quiz, or call the Sioux Falls office at 605-604-0200.