by Dr. Joseph Mercola, Mercola:
Story at-a-glance
- Leah Segedie founded Mamavation to investigate toxic chemicals in consumer products, inspired by family tragedies. The organization conducts independent testing and collaborates with scientists to educate the public about endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)
- EDCs, often found in plastics and other products, can activate estrogen receptors and increase cellular calcium, leading to oxidative stress and potentially contributing to autoimmune diseases, especially in women
- Mamavation tests for chemicals like PFAS, phthalates, and bisphenols in various products. Their work reveals that even some organic products may contain higher levels of contaminants than conventional alternatives
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- Strategies for reducing chemical body burden include blood donation to lower PFAS levels and using infrared saunas. Segedie aims to test products across the entire grocery store to provide comprehensive consumer information
- By increasing awareness and demanding safer products, consumers can influence industry practices. Mamavation’s work empowers individuals to make healthier choices and pressures companies to improve their products
In an eye-opening interview, I spoke with Leah Segedie, the founder of Mamavation, about her groundbreaking work investigating and exposing toxic chemicals in food and consumer products. Segedie’s organization has become a beacon of hope for health-conscious consumers, conducting independent testing and research to help people navigate the often-murky waters of grocery shopping and make informed, healthier choices.
Segedie’s journey into the world of consumer product safety began with a personal tragedy that reshaped her life’s purpose. She recounted the pivotal moment that set her on this path:1
“When my father passed away from mesothelioma, it just rocked our family. And then after he passed away, I had an aunt die of breast cancer and uncle die of lung cancer and another uncle die of, you know, complications to pharmaceutical drugs.
From that whole experience of having a big extended Nordic family, we were so tight knit to just decimation and my cousins moving all across the United States, it was so impactful on me, it just gave me this desire to have two things. Health and family were the most important thing for me after that.”
Mamavation’s Mission: Empowering Consumers Through Knowledge
Since its creation in 2009, Mamavation has focused on a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of health: the presence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in everyday products. Segedie explained the organization’s core mission: “We help women navigate the grocery store by providing really hard-hitting investigations about hormone disrupting chemicals in food and consumer products.”2 This mission is carried out through a multifaceted approach:
- Independent testing — Mamavation commissions studies on a wide range of products, from dental floss and contact lenses to coconut oil and ghee, sending them to labs for analysis of contaminants such as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), phthalates, heavy metals and pesticides.
- Scientific collaboration — The organization works with a team of scientific advisors, including partners at prestigious institutions like Carnegie Mellon Institute, to analyze the data and interpret the findings.
- Public education — Mamavation communicates its findings to the public through its website and social media channels, making complex scientific information accessible to everyday consumers.
Emphasizing the impact of this work, Segedie says:3
“I know that if I spend my own money and spend my resources and just start testing things, it moves the needle right away, because a lot of these companies, for the contaminants, a lot of these companies haven’t done this testing. And the second I start doing it, it’s out there in public, and then it kind of stops them from being able to say, ‘Oh, we don’t know.’ Then they have to start looking into it themselves.”
Increasing Awareness About EDCs May Lower Chronic Disease
My new book, “Cellular Health: The Unifying Theory of Health for Ultimate Longevity and Joy,” will be out shortly and is filled with details on how to improve your mitochondrial function. It identifies three factors that contribute to virtually all diseases. If you address these factors, you can recover from most any disease.
The three factors include seed oils (linoleic acid), electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and EDCs, which is largely related to plastics, though there are many others as well. EDCs represent a broad category of substances that interfere with hormone function and have been linked to various health issues, including reproductive problems, developmental disorders and certain cancers.
These chemicals primarily work by activating estrogen receptors in your cells, similar to how EMFs activate voltage-gated calcium channels. This activation increases calcium influx into cells, and excess intracellular calcium dramatically increases superoxide and nitric oxide. These can quickly combine to form peroxynitrite, which is an extremely potent oxidant stressor. This leads to severe oxidative stress and cellular damage.
Interestingly, women naturally have higher estrogen levels than men, which could explain why most autoimmune diseases are significantly more prevalent in women. Examples include rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
While biological estrogen is necessary for optimal health, EDCs provide an additional estrogenic stimulus that activates estrogen receptors. When combined with natural estrogen, this can lead to overload and a variety of diseases through a destructive chain of events:
