Thursday, April 7, 2016

Our Stolen Future (S 29)


This reading discusses some studies done on animals that help show some of the hormone disruptors that are effecting the animals and humans of our planet. The author discusses some of the flaws with these studies as well as some of the positive outcomes. Many of the flaws involve the amount of chemicals that are used in studies, and the positives involve showing the similar outcomes that these chemicals have on both animals and humans. The author also talks about a historic meeting that brought together all of the best scientists in the field of endocrine disruptors to share their information and discuss connections. The author further discusses how big of an issue endocrine mimics are, and explains how quickly something needs to be done before it is too late.

An environmental hormone disruptor is a chemical in the environment that mimics hormones in the human body. Hormones that are mimicked can easily throw off an animal or humans entire hormone system very easily. Often when hormones are mimicked the animal or human does not produce enough of the hormone because the body believes it already has the required amount. In other cases, irregular hormones trick our body into thinking that they should be there. Whether hormones are irregular or tricking our systems into believing they are there when they are not, they are throwing off hormone systems balance. This is most detrimental in growing and developmental stages (younger years of life) when our hormone system plays a more significant role in our lives. 


Below is a simplified diagram that shows how easily some hormones can be mimicked. 


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