Despite all the health hazards, estrogenics might seem to be worse for males
overall. This may not be true but it’s a cultural expectation.
I often hear: “Females are probably not at risk with estrogenic exposures,
except maybe for the puberty issues.” Or: “Women are adapted to high levels of
natural estrogen so they’re probably fine.” It’s a sentiment I understand. On the
surface, of course, it makes sense. But it’s wrong.
Essentially, this idea emerges because we all recognize natural estrogen as a
female hormone. And estrogen mostly is. Redneck comedian Jeff Foxworthy
describes his daughters, and the disproportionate numbers of daughters in his
extended family, like this: “I live in the estrogen ocean. . . in the middle of the
Naked Barbie Woodstock—naked Barbie’s as far as the eye can see”. Foxworthy
is surrounded by women so he must be inhaling estrogen, right?
Seems legit. Estrogenics, therefore, must also be acceptable for women since
they have such high estrogen levels. The woman’s natural estrogen should
overpower all the artificial stuff, right? Well, get out your estrogen-breathalyzer
and let’s have a quick puff.
In boys and men, estrogen is so low it is usually measured in units of “pico”
grams. So far so good. As predicted, male estrogen levels are extremely low.
Usually, something like 20 picograms per milliliter (pg/mL) is found in men.
And, as a side note, I think it is remarkable that we can even measure such tiny
amounts, since 1 picogram equals 0.000,000,000,001 grams.
But, believe it or not, women measure in the picogram range in milliliters of
blood, for estrogen, as well. Depending on the time of the month, a healthy,
middle-aged, woman will usually range all the way from 20 pg/mL—the same
numbers as men—up to around 400 pg/mL. Even at the highest point, then, these
female estrogen numbers are not actually sky high.
These natural estrogen numbers are incredibly low because hormones have
such a massive impact on your cells. Plus, the impact lasts long, as we discussed
in the beginning of the book. Generations, even.
Now: contrast those natural levels of natural estrogen (20-400 pg/mL) with
our unnatural exposures, numbers that frequently bleed into the thousands.
Women will be impacted significantly by drinking 4,000 pg/mL of any of 10 IRS
estrogenic items, for instance. In other words, both women and men are
massively impacted. And if you have phthalates at 4,000 pg/mL, EE2 at 4,000
pg/mL, BPA at 1,000 pg/mL, and atrazine at 6,000 pg/mL, you really have a
problem! Probably a 15,000 pg/mL exposure problem or beyond, truthfully.

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