“Xeno” = foreign
“Estrogen” = a chemical compound acting as or like a female sex hormone
Xenoestrogens are often endocrine disruptors, meaning those chemicals are able to disturb the natural hormone balance, which can lead to abnormal sexual development and fertility disorders. You can find them in many places – they can be of both synthetic or natural origin.
Since interactions between different food-derived xenoestrogens are part of my professional research portfolio, I wrote a dedicated series of posts on them:
Introduction: Natural Estrogens and Estrogen Receptor Signalling – Apr. 2018
Soy boys – Is soy latte consumption feminizing men? – Apr. 2018
Soy Boys II – Adverse estrogenic effects of soy-based infant formula? – Apr. 2018
Why are some compounds acting as endocrine disruptors, and where do they occur? – Apr. 2018
Hormones in Plastics – June 2018
Hop polyphenols. Is beer consumption messing with our hormone balance? – July 2018
Cumulative estrogenic effects. – Oct. 2018
