Hormonal imbalance is always accompanied by a large number of unpleasant and even dangerous changes. When it comes to a healthy and beautiful body, balanced hormones are essential.

But what actually affects your hormones? Your favorite cosmetics or foods might be disrupting your hormones. Unfortunately, we're constantly surrounded by hormonal disruptors. Things like infertility, weight gain, persistent fatigue can be caused by environmental exposures to hormone disruptors. 

The factors can range from the more obvious to the seemingly harmless, and when working together, they can really imbalance your hormones. Here are 11 hormone disruptors that may shock you. 

1. Nail Polish

According to various studies, most nail lacquers contain one chemical called triphenyl phosphate. That chemical has a scary effect on our hormones and can even cause infertility and weight gain.

Unfortunately, triphenyl phosphate is not the only harmful toxin in nail polish. Many nail polishes contain three dangerous chemicals: formaldehyde, teratogens toluene, and dibutyl phthalate. Formaldehyde used to harden polish is a powerful carcinogen. Teratogen toluene is a neurotoxin that has a severe impact on the central nervous system. Dibutyl phthalate can damage the liver, kidneys, lungs, and reproductive system, and it can lead to thyroid dysfunction as well. In fact, phthalates have been shown to increase the risk of miscarriage.

2. Exercising Too Much 

Exercise is an important part of healthy life and balanced hormones but exercising too much can actually cause many health issues including hormonal imbalance. Certain exercises put too much stress on the body. This makes adrenals produce too much cortisol. High cortisol levels can provoke weight gain, headaches, gut issues, and low libido. Additionally, low-fat percentage in the body can disrupt estrogen and progesterone levels in women that in turn can affect mood, hunger levels, and even menstrual cycle.

3. Lack of Socializing

Yes, lack of socializing and spending not enough time with friends can increase your cortisol levels and lead to stress. Moreover, socialization plays a big role in mental health and longevity and can reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. 

4. Poor Sleep

Even one bad night of sleep can affect your hormones by increasing cortisol levels. Lack of sleep along with high cortisol leaves you both wired and tired and creates a vicious cycle of one bad night of sleep after another. Long-term sleep issues can actually affect other hormones. 

Also, sleep issues increase ghrelin levels (the hunger hormone) and decrease leptin levels (the satiety hormone). Plus, it causes blood sugar spikes which in turn can provoke weight gain and type 2 diabetes. 

5. Sugary Foods

Eating too much sugar can affect insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that is responsible for the regulation of energy that comes from the food you eat to your body. When you eat too much sugar, your body doesn’t have time to break it down into glycogen, which is used for energy. In this case, your liver converts the excess sugar into fat. This process causes a cycle of weight gain and sugar addiction.

6. Lack of Exercise

Lack of exercise is able to impact your hormones as well. Without a healthy amount of exercise, your body doesn’t produce enough sweat that can have a negative effect on your thyroid. This is a gland that helps regulate your hormones and metabolism in general.

7. Couch

It sounds weird but your.. couch can also lead to hormone imbalance. This is due to a compound used to make couches fire retardant. This compound has been linked to endocrine disruption and is able to affect thyroid function in pregnant women.

8. Skincare and Makeup Products

In fact, the average woman applies 515 synthetic chemicals to her skin daily. Shampoos often contain chemicals (like parabens) that can have numerous negative effects on your thyroid, depending on the compound. According to one study, parabens were found in 19 out of 20 human breast tumors. While correlation doesn’t mean causation, scientists concern about the connection between parabens and adverse estrogenism in the body.

Fortunately, you can easily avoid those scary chemicals by using a natural and organic shampoo. Also, check labels and do your research to be sure. 

9. Cleaning Your Hands too Often 

Of course, cleanliness is essential, especially now during the coronavirus pandemic. The average use of soap and water is good, but using hand sanitizer too often can be really harmful. Hand sanitizers contain high levels of triclosan. Triclosan is a chemical that kills all traces of bacteria but according to various studies, it negatively affects thyroid function.