Abstract

Did you know that hormones not only influence your mood but also most of your body’s functions? They are messengers involved in telling you when to feel hungry or when to get tired, for example. It is very important to have the right levels of hormones in your body to stay healthy. But there are a lot of man-made chemicals that find their way into our environment. They can then disrupt those important biological messengers in the animals and humans living nearby. Hormones are particularly important in providing instructions for your development before you are born and when you are a baby.

We reviewed the scientific literature to find out how these chemicals get into our bodies and the environment. We found that a lot of them get used in industrial processes or are in pesticides. But some also turn up in food packaging materials, cleaning products, or cosmetics.