This article is the result of my recent experiment to answer one question: Can you influence serum testosterone by eliminating artificial oestrogens from your daily life?

Video version of this article:

https://youtu.be/zN7oxGV0ASI

1. Introduction:

Oestrogens in the environment - ruining your gains?

I’ve been down another rabbit hole recently. After reading Anthony Jay’s work and doing a podcast with him, I started to see the extent to which we are exposed to environmental oestrogens, and what hormonal disruption is doing to us as a population: cancer, obesity, infertility, and even allergies.  The problem with oestrogen is that it’s subtle. There’s a time lag. It causes epigenetic modifications, functionally altering your DNA long term. It’s not like being spiked with caffeine where you'd instantly feel something. Being exposed to environmental oestrogens doesn’t mean you’ll have an instant urge to dive under the blanket and watch sex and the city, tearfully shovelling in the Hagen Dazs.

It’s worse. What it does, over the long term, is hamper your muscle gain and fat loss progress 😱️

As drug-free lifters, especially if we’ve trained for some time, we cannot afford to take chances with our hormones. Testosterone is precarious at the best of times: if any ONE of your diet, training or recovery is not at 100%, your testosterone will suffer.

2.1 What is oestrogen? 

This is the oestrogen molecule:

Note the benzene ring at the bottom left. This is what interacts with the oestrogen receptor to trigger it’s downstream effects.

Now look at the BPA molecule, one of the main compounds we are heavily exposed to, used in plastics and resins. It’s got TWO of the buggers. It’s like the T2000 version of oestrogen: acts strongly on the receptor, but much more difficult to destroy.

2.2 Population effects:

There are some well documented, biological trends that point towards direct effects of oestrogen on a population-level:

Markedly reduced sperm count

Rates of erectile dysfunction ↑

Metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction)

The evidence for these effects is growing to a point that it’s indisputable. If you're interested, I’d encourage you to read Anthony Jay’s book for more data.

It is hypothesised that the recent buildup of oestrogen-analogues in our environment has produced feminising effects on a cellular level. These effects are more pronounced in prepubescent/adolescent boys, who are more developmentally susceptible to hormone disruptors. Even plant oestrogens, such as lavender oil have been known to cause gynaecomastia or delay puberty in children.

There are alternative hypotheses. Historians posit a more psychosocial cause of this feminisation: the industrial revolution: Boys being brought up in increasingly female-dominated environments (households & schools). Their fathers were mostly absent, now either in industrial work, or at war, leaving boys to be socialised almost exclusively by women in their early years. 

No value judgements or political statements here about the inherent value of femininity or masculinity: That's not my area.

My concern as a clinician is the effect of oestrogens on your health and physique, and nobody wants to be drugged against their wishes. 

By now, I am fully aware that I sound like this:

I didn’t want this oestrogen stuff to be true. Not least because I’m BUSY, mannnn. I want life to be simple: to eat and train, and not worry that I’m driving with the handbrake on by inadvertently ingesting anti-androgens.

As you know, our motto is “Simple rules, dramatic results“. Until now, I believed that worrying about hormonal optimisation was getting caught in the weeds, obsessing over minutiae.

“If this is real, it’s probably only negligible amounts anyway”

WRONG

Unfortunately not. The sheer DOSES that we’re exposed to from artificial oestrogens are no joke, and difficult to avoid.