A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) reported three cases in which young boys aged 4-7 began to grow breasts after using skin care products containing lavender oil and tea tree oil. The doctor in the case contacted a governing agency which tested the oils on in vitro cells and found that they acted as estrogen. The oils appear to be endocrine disruptors.

Let’s first get an understanding of what the endocrine system is. The endocrine system consists of glands—the pineal, thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal. These glands secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream and each controls organ function in the body. One hormone will stimulate growth, another controls the maturation of sex organs, yet another controls metabolism, etc.

During recent decades, millions of tons of man-made chemicals have been produced and released into the environment. Many of these chemicals can be found in personal care products such as soaps, lotions, cosmetics, and perfumes. The danger is that many of these chemicals act as synthetic hormones and disrupt normal endocrine function—hence the name endocrine disruptor.

The danger is two fold. Scientists do not know what long-term effect these chemicals will have on the environment because testing was sketchy at best prior to approving their use. Secondly, testing that has been done after the fact has shown that these endocrine disruptors wreak havoc on human beings and animals. They are responsible for such things as a fish having male and female sex organs, little girls going through puberty at age six, declining sperm counts, infertility, and little boys growing breasts.

Until now, lavender oil and tea tree oil have been considered pretty innocuous stuff in the world of homeopathy. They’re mainly used as additives to personal care products such as soaps, lotions, etc. In the NEJM article, the amounts were negligible, and breast growth stopped when product use was discontinued.

It’s not entirely certain that the tea tree and lavender oils were the culprits. The products were used on the children by their parents and doctors never had a chance to test them. The case has garnered attention because all three children presented at the same clinic in a very short time period. The one thing that came out of the study is that further research is needed, and that is being done.

In the meantime, there are known endocrine disruptors that you should try to eliminate from your environment:

• Buy organic produce from your local farmer’s market. It’s free of pesticides.
• Get plastic out of your diet. Stay away from prepackaged and canned food. The chemicals from the packaging can leach into the food.
• Drink milk that’s free of bovine growth hormone. It causes mastitis in cows and can be passed on to humans.
• Buy your personal care products from the health food store. They will be made with natural organic ingredients.

In general, it’s better to substitute natural products for synthetic products whenever possible. Keep in mind that what you flush or rinse away remains in the environment.

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