Bowled Over By Toxins

Slow Response of Conventional Medicine?

Every day, in the food we eat, the air we breathe and the consumer products we use, we encounter, ingest and absorb undesirable chemicals. Deceptively, many of these toxins won’t make us feel sick right away. But years later, after building up in the body, they can wreak havoc on our overall health. This prolonged exposure to toxins is a particular problem for baby boomers, who on average carry around 15 pounds of stored toxins—the equivalent of toting around a 15-pound bowling ball of toxic waste. And those 15 pounds of toxins can significantly affect your overall health.

As digestive care and nutrition expert Brenda Watson points out in her book The Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps:

“Every citizen of an industrialized nation now carries an average of seven hundred synthetic chemicals in his or her body from food, water, and air—most of which have not been well studied.”

Watson goes on to describe a series of studies conducted by the non-profit health and environmental research organizations Environmental Working Group and Commonweal, which reported that

“[Each participant] tested positive for a combined total of 455 out of 528 chemicals, including pesticides linked to birth defects and developmental delays; heavy metals shown to cause brain and nervous system disorders; and dangerous PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) that have been banned in the United States since 1977 because of their damaging effects on the skin, blood, urine and liver.”

Long-term Storage of Toxins

Consider the problems linked to contaminants such as PCBs, chemicals originally used as insulating and cooling fluids for electronics and incorporated into varnish and caulk. They were outlawed after being linked to thyroid problems and decreased function of the endocrine, immune, nervous, and reproductive systems. In addition, they were found to raise the risk of breast and other cancers. Despite the fact that they were banned more than 30 years ago, scientists still report detectable levels of PCBs in water, soil, sediments and municipal sludge sometime used as fertilizer. A similar situation exists with DDT, an insecticide banned in the US in the1970s (Incidentally, both PCBs and DDT are still used elsewhere in the world.)

Tests performed by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz show that both DDT and PCBs are now widely found in birds, and their levels seem to be increasing. One source: as global warming melts glaciers in Antarctica and the North Pole, researchers find that DDT and PCB residues locked in the ice are being released into the sea, where they are absorbed by penguins and other animals.

The Heart of the Matter

The toxins we have let loose into our environment and our bodies present serious problems to our cardiovascular systems. For example, mercury, which is frequently found in fish, can cause inflammation that compromises healthy heart function. This toxin can be discharged from fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, thermometers and blood pressure monitors and is emitted during coal burning at power plants and at oil refineries. The mercury contained in dental fillings is potentially so lethal that these amalgams have been banned in Norway.

As Watson points out, “Mercury … is stored in the cardiac muscle in amounts 22,000 times greater than in skeletal muscle.” So, although experts often recommend eating fish for heart health (fish oil conveys significant circulatory benefits), the mercury found in fish may counteract its advantages.

According to research compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency, mercury can raise blood pressure, interfere with healthy heart function, and increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke. One study in Finland found that men with the highest concentrations of mercury in their hair had the greatest risk of congestive heart failure, stroke and fatal heart attacks.

Men in the top 25 percent for mercury in their hair had a 70 percent greater risk of developing coronary heart disease. In our toxic environment, our predilection for fast food also makes us more prone to cardiovascular difficulties. For one thing, the easy availability of these foods and their lack of fiber have contributed to our nationwide weight problem. That added body weight makes us more prone to arteriosclerosis (a hardening of the arteries surrounding the heart). Furthermore, the majority of food today is loaded with artificial flavors, colors and preservatives that all add to our toxic load.

Brain Attack

The toxins that build up in the body also present serious problems for the brain and nervous system. In studies of childhood development, for example, scientists have found that children exposed to high levels of PCBs in breast milk (common among baby boomers) more often suffer learning problems and endure mental and motor skill difficulties as they grow.

As an adult, toxic overload may increase your risk of problems such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Studies demonstrate that fire-retardant chemicals known as polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), which are used in the manufacture of computers, televisions, toasters and furniture and have been found in house dust and human tissues, interfere with neuron function and may invade the brain.

Watson warns that these types of toxins “can accumulate inside the brain tissue and eventually disrupt normal brain function, most notably causing damage to the cells, disrupting normal brain chemicals and neurotransmitters, and damaging the myelin sheaths protecting the nerves in the brain.”

Other brain problems linked to long-term toxic exposure include Parkinson’s disease, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Bone Weakness

Toxins can also be the cause of another health threat endangering baby boomers: osteoporosis. A lifetime of exposure to lead from paint, insecticides, batteries, and air pollution can result in relatively large amounts of lead stored in bones. Baby boomers that grew up during a time when cars burned leaded gasoline have extra amounts of this toxin within their skeletons. The problem is that this buildup of lead not only weakens bones, but when bones generally thin out as you age, it can mean the release of lead into the bloodstream, allowing this chemical to infiltrate and damage other organs including the kidneys, heart and brain.

Extenuating Circumstances

Unfortunately, even though the average American baby boomer has been exposed to a long list of toxins, some of us, because of special circumstances, may be carrying around an even greater burden. For example, research shows that men and women who served in the first Gulf War have a significantly larger toxic load than the average person. That’s because back then the military treated soldiers with chemicals such as the insect repellent DEET, the insecticide permethrin, and the anti-nerve gas agent pyridostigmine bromide, all of which have been shown to have damaging effects on overall health.

Researchers at the Duke University Medical Center have also found that male veterans of this war have damaged testes and reduced sperm production. All of these facts stress the importance of cleansing and detoxifying the body on a regular basis. As you age and your body becomes more vulnerable to toxic damage, the necessity to help your body defend itself becomes ever more urgent.