Blog
A collaboration between Vida Integrated Health and L'AVANT Collective
By Jamie Punzi, ND — Functional Medicine Resident, Vida Integrated Health
You wipe down the counters, run a load of laundry, and refill the hand soap. It feels like an act of care – and it is. But somewhere between the citrus scent and the streak-free shine, a quieter exchange may be taking place, one your body registers long before you do.
Your hormones are listening.
For Lindsay Droz and Kristi Lord, co-founder of L'AVANT Collective, that realization arrived in two very different moments. For Kristi, it came when her infant son developed eczema; as she dug into what she was spraying, pouring, and lathering throughout her home, she found that many of the products she trusted were built on chemistry she had never thought to question. For Lindsay, it came while mopping the floor one day and noticing the warning label on the back of the floor cleaner: a note that it should not be used around animals, since the chemicals could irritate their paws or make them sick if licked off. If it was not safe for a dog to walk across, why was it something she was breathing in and wiping across the same floors her family lived on every day? Those two discoveries eventually became a company. It is also a surprisingly good entry point into something we talk about often at Vida Integrated Health: the way small, daily inputs shape the systems that keep you healthy.
Key Takeaways
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) — including phthalates, parabens, and certain antimicrobials — are common in conventional cleaning products and can interfere with hormone signaling, sometimes at very low doses.
"Fragrance" or "parfum" on an ingredient label often hides phthalates; products that disclose their full scent ingredients reduce this exposure.
"Natural" and "green" are not regulated terms, so the most trustworthy non-toxic cleaning products are the ones that publish a full ingredient list, including CAS numbers.
Household products are one of the few hormone-relevant exposures you can control directly — swapping daily-use items like hand soap, dish soap, and laundry detergent offers the highest-leverage change.
Your Endocrine System is a Messaging Network
Before we get to what is under your sink, it helps to understand what is at stake.
Think of your endocrine system as your body's internal messaging system. Glands – your thyroid, adrenals, ovaries or testes, and pancreas – release hormones that travel through the bloodstream carrying instructions: sleep, burn this fuel, start your cycle, calm down, grow. These messages work in extraordinarily small amounts, and they depend on precision. A hormone fits its receptor the way a key fits a lock. When the right key turns, the message gets delivered.
What Are Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs)?
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, are substances from outside the body that interfere with this signaling. Some mimic your natural hormones and turn locks they were never meant to touch. Others block receptors so real messages cannot get through. Others change how quickly your body makes or clears a hormone (Gore et al., 2015).
In the Endocrine Society's landmark scientific statement, authors concluded that the evidence linking these chemicals to reproductive problems, metabolic disease, hormone-sensitive cancers, and thyroid dysfunction has grown stronger, not weaker, over time (Gore et al., 2015; Diamanti-Kandarakis et al., 2009). One of its most important findings runs counter to intuition: with hormone-disrupting chemicals, a very low dose can sometimes matter as much as a high one, because the endocrine system is built to respond to tiny signals (Gore et al., 2015).
"Just a little" can have a big impact.
Common Endocrine Disruptors in Household Cleaning Products
Here is where the conversation gets practical. Several of the most-studied EDCs show up routinely in conventional household products.
Phthalates
These are the ones most people have never heard of but encounter daily. Phthalates help synthetic fragrance linger, which is why they often hide inside a single, unregulated word on labels: fragrance or parfum. Human exposure is nearly universal, occurring through skin contact, inhalation, and ingestion (Hauser & Calafat, 2005). Certain phthalates are anti-androgenic, meaning they interfere with testosterone signaling (Hauser & Calafat, 2005). And the concern is not limited to men. In a study following more than 1,300 women, higher phthalate exposure was associated with lower anti-Müllerian hormone – a marker of ovarian reserve – pointing to a possible link with reproductive aging (Blaauwendraad et al., 2024).
Parabens
Used as preservatives, parabens can mimic estrogen by binding to estrogen receptors. They have been detected intact in human tissue, and researchers have raised questions about their role in hormone-sensitive conditions (Darbre & Harvey, 2008).
Antimicrobials and Surfactants
Certain antibacterial agents and cleaning additives have been flagged for effects on thyroid and reproductive hormone signaling (Gore et al., 2015). Triclosan (TCS) is perhaps one of the most studied antibacterial endocrine disruptors and has been detected in urine, breast milk, and blood (Sharma et al., 2025).
In 2016, the FDA prohibited triclosan from consumer hand and body antibacterial wash products, yet its replacements are not necessarily without concern. Quaternary ammonium compounds, or (QACs) which surged in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, are now drawing scrutiny for their own potential effects on hormone signaling and reproductive health (Bobic et al., 2024).
None of this means one spritz of surface spray will upend your health. It means the inputs are real, repeated, and importantly, largely invisible.
A Functional Medicine Approach to Hormones and Toxic Load
So, what do you do if you have already been exposed to these chemicals?
Functional medicine looks upstream. Rather than treating a symptom in isolation, we ask what is driving it – and we pay attention to cumulative burden: the sum of everything your body is asked to process day after day. No single exposure tells the whole story. Your genetics, your gut, your stress, your sleep, and yes, the chemistry of your home all stack together. Two people can share a kitchen and respond completely differently, which is exactly why bio individuality sits at the center of how we practice.
Here is the functional medicine takeaway: when a variable is both plausibly harmful and easily reduced, you do not need perfect certainty to act. You need leverage.
Household products are leverage. They are one of the few hormone-relevant exposures you fully control.
How to Reduce Your Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors at Home
The goal is not a fear-driven purge of your home. It is a steady shift toward inputs that ask less of your body.
Decode "fragrance." If a product lists fragrance or parfum with no further detail, assume phthalates may be along for the ride. Choose products that disclose what is in their scent or skip synthetic fragrance entirely.
Start with what you touch and breathe most. Hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, and surface sprays are daily, whole-family exposures. They are the highest-yield swaps.
Ventilate. Open a window when you clean. EDCs accumulate in indoor air and household dust.
Read past the marketing. "Natural" and "green" are not regulated terms. Look for brands that publish their full ingredient lists and stand behind their claims.
This is precisely the standard L'AVANT was built on – high-performing, plant-based formulas designed so the products you reach for every day are not quietly working against you. A cleaner home, in the most literal sense.
How to Choose Non-Toxic Cleaning Products You Can Trust
The hardest part of "read past the marketing" is that most brands never give you enough to read. L'AVANT Collective takes the opposite approach.
Every ingredient in their formulas is published in a public glossary – not just the name, but what it is, what it is derived from, why it is included, and its CAS number, the unique identifier scientists use to pin down exactly which chemical substance is in the bottle. The formulas were built by a green chemist, and the list holds nothing back: plant-derived surfactants from coconut and corn, enzymes that lift stains, essential oils for scent, and the preservatives too; each one named outright rather than buried.
That last point is where transparency meets the hormone conversation. Remember the "fragrance" loophole? Rather than a single undisclosed scent blend, L'AVANT discloses its fragrance as natural, plant-derived essential oils and botanicals – lavender, lemon peel, clary sage, and geranium. You are not asked to take "clean" on faith. Instead, you are given the full ingredient list and trusted to decide for yourself. That is exactly the standard your body deserves, and exactly the standard we encourage our patients to apply to every product they bring into their home.
Functional Medicine for Hormone Health in the Greater Seattle Area
Reducing your exposure is a powerful first move. Understanding your own hormones is the next one – and that is harder to do from the cleaning aisle.
At Vida Integrated Health, hormone health is not a single specialty tucked in a corner. Our functional medicine physicians provide full primary care – physicals, labs, prescriptions, and sick visits – alongside root-cause investigation, so the person helping you decode your fatigue or your cycle is the same person who knows your whole health picture. And because every Vida clinic brings chiropractic, physical therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, and functional medicine under one roof, your providers actually meet each week to review cases together. Your care is coordinated by a team, not scattered across a stack of referrals.
If you have been feeling off – tired in a way sleep does not fix, thrown by shifts in your mood, cycle, or metabolism – that feeling is information. It deserves a real look, not a guess.
Ready to rethink what is under your sink? Explore L'AVANT Collective's plant-based home care at lavantcollective.com.
Ready to dig into your hormone health? Request an appointment with Vida's functional medicine primary care team at thinkvida.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)?
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are substances from outside the body that interfere with hormone signaling. They can mimic natural hormones, block hormone receptors, or change how quickly the body produces or clears a hormone. Research from the Endocrine Society shows that even very low doses can meaningfully affect health, because the endocrine system is built to respond to tiny signals.
Which ingredients in cleaning products are most linked to hormone disruption?
The most-studied are phthalates (often hidden inside "fragrance" or "parfum" on a label), parabens (used as preservatives), and certain antimicrobials and surfactants such as triclosan and quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs). Each has been associated in peer-reviewed research with interference in hormone signaling.
Does "natural" or "green" on a label mean a cleaning product is non-toxic?
Not necessarily. "Natural" and "green" are not regulated terms, so a product can carry either label regardless of its actual ingredients. A more reliable signal is a brand that publishes its complete ingredient list, including what each ingredient is derived from and its CAS number.
How can I reduce endocrine-disrupting chemicals in my home?
Start with the products you touch and breathe most: hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, and surface sprays. Choose products that disclose their fragrance ingredients rather than listing only "fragrance," ventilate while you clean, and prioritize brands that publish full, transparent ingredient lists.
Are L'AVANT Collective's cleaning products non-toxic?
L'AVANT publishes every ingredient in its formulas in a public glossary, including what each ingredient is, what it is derived from, why it is included, and its CAS number. Its plant-based formulas, developed by a green chemist, name fragrance ingredients directly — such as lavender, lemon peel, clary sage, and geranium — instead of listing an undisclosed "fragrance" blend.
When should I talk to a doctor about possible hormone-related symptoms?
If you're experiencing persistent fatigue, or shifts in mood, cycle, or metabolism, that is worth a real evaluation rather than a guess. A functional medicine primary care team — like the one at Vida Integrated Health — can investigate root causes alongside standard primary care.
References
Blaauwendraad, S. M., Dykgraaf, R. H. M., Gaillard, R., Liu, M., Laven, J. S., Jaddoe, V. W. V., & Trasande, L. (2024). Associations of bisphenol and phthalate exposure and anti-Müllerian hormone levels in women of reproductive age. eClinicalMedicine, 74, 102734.
Bobic, L., Harbolic, A., & Warner, G. R. (2024). Reproductive & developmental toxicity of quaternary ammonium compounds. Biology of Reproduction, 111(4), 742–756.
Darbre, P. D., & Harvey, P. W. (2008). Paraben esters: Review of recent studies of endocrine toxicity, absorption, esterase and human exposure, and discussion of potential human health risks. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 28(5), 561–578.
Diamanti-Kandarakis, E., Bourguignon, J.-P., Giudice, L. C., Hauser, R., Prins, G. S., Soto, A. M., Zoeller, R. T., & Gore, A. C. (2009). Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: An Endocrine Society scientific statement. Endocrine Reviews, 30(4), 293–342.
Gore, A. C., Chappell, V. A., Fenton, S. E., Flaws, J. A., Nadal, A., Prins, G. S., Toppari, J., & Zoeller, R. T. (2015). EDC-2: The Endocrine Society's second scientific statement on endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Endocrine Reviews, 36(6), E1–E150.
Hauser, R., & Calafat, A. M. (2005). Phthalates and human health. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 62(11), 806–818.
Sharma, D., Sinha, R., Multisanti, C. R., & Faggio, C. (2025). From personal hygiene products to health threats: Triclosan and its impact on endocrine health. Science of the Total Environment, 1006, 180856.
