 |
Tuberose.com
Information for Transformation |
This self-help alternative medicine site offers extensive educational information on the topics of natural healing, holistic and biological dentistry, herbal medicine, cleansing and detoxification, heavy metal detox, diet, nutrition, weight loss, and the finest, tried and tested health equipment and products available for the natural management of health. |
|
Toxicity
Everything on our planet has been contaminated with life-long and long-term radiation. Invisible does not mean safe. With many nuclear facilities in the US old and having numerous problems, the core issue of it as a hazardous endeavor remains. Two nuclear plants with serious troubles are Vermont Yankee, and San Onofre (built right on a fault line). They are just the tips of the proverbial radioactive iceberg. So, as long as profits trump safety, and as long as the entire nuclear industry has ties to the military, we will never be safe. Valid citizens’ and medical concerns continue to be ignored. We are in the midst of a long-planned and multi-pronged assault on our health and our planet’s. The destruction of real and long-term good health has been replaced by multiple and chronic diseases. Our entire biology has been battered for a century. The blood-brain barrier has been breached. Nano-technology and invisible stealth-created micro-organisms –both unregulated– are our modern-day plagues. Many were created in some bio-hazard lab. Add to this the poisoning of our water, air and food supply.
We have an illegal but on-going geo-engineered aerosol 24/7/365 stealth assault overhead that has completely changed our air and poisoned our health. Our air has been transformed to a plasma state; and with it is the associated tragedy of Morgellons syndrome that was created from some synthetic self-replicating nano-organism. There is no “off switch” for this; but the media ridicules sufferers. Into this synergistic nightmare are over 100,000 chemicals–90 percent of which are untested–that surround our every move. Then there is the hidden dangers of the EMF/RF spectrum [Electromagnetic Frequency/Radiation Frequency]. The proliferation of this deadly technology encompasses: cell phones and Wi-Fi and their towers that poison our landscapes. With more than 5-billion cell phones sold, consumers were never told how dangerous they were. Outdated data and reports do not include the now constant barrage of these higher frequencies that wreck our health. There is also newly reported research demonstrating that this also includes impairment of cognitive function and brain damage.
Corporations have the financial means to block any real justice for the environmental and health damage their products continue to cause. They are rarely held accountable. Add to that the destruction of 30-years of environmental laws meant to protect us, this is another part of the disaster recipe in which we live out our days. The nuclear industry has never told us the truth about the permanent level of radiation dangers to which we are all exposed. The plunder of our planet and the destruction of vast ecosystems have been documented for decades. These poisons, mostly invisible, envelop our every move, contaminate our DNA, and wreck our health and ability to reproduce safely. The past 10 years this destruction has been accelerated at a phenomenal rate, while mainstream media continues to report lies.
More and more millions of people are waking up and connecting many of the dots of these epidemics of serious illnesses, loss of millions of jobs, theft of millions of homes, stealing of trillions of dollars of wealth to pay off banksters, CEOs and insiders, while the middle class around the globe is in extremis.
There are over 75,000 toxic chemicals classified by the EPA as potentially or definitely hazardous to human health. And new chemicals are being tested in the
Three factors influence the distribution (movement) of molecules in the body solubility, lipophilicity and molecular size/shape. For small molecules (up to 500-600 Da) the last can be ignored, whereas for medium molecules (600-1500 Da) the interplay of all three properties is critical. The molecular size/shape is the most important factor for large synthetic molecules. These molecules are mainly transported by specialised mechanisms e.g. following engulfment by cells.
In order to excrete small molecules it is desirable to increase their hydrophilicity and/or size. This is the main function of foreign compound metabolism. Phase 1 reactions increase the hydrophilicity e.g. by hydroxylation while phase 2 conjugation reactions increase molecular weight. These reactions are performed by enzymes within the cell.
In order for life to proceed, the blood's circulatory system delivers all the nutrients needed to feed our trillions of cells. The final stages of this delivery system occur through the tiny capillaries. Pores in the membrane walls open momentarily allowing out the oxygen, glucose, potassium, sodium, calcium, iron, and all the inorganic salts and minerals which are necessary to the cells for their continuing "life force." Our blood is comprised of 91% water, and it is the water that contains all of these inorganic nutrients in the form of a solution, a plasma fluid, that "irrigates" each cell. Transport of a molecule requires it to go into solution to reach the cell membrane, pass through the lipid cell membrane and go into solution to leave the cell membrane. All of these processes are controlled by the physicochemical properties of the molecule and governed by fundamental laws such as Fick's law. The cohesion of a membrane barrier is determined by the tightness of intercellular junctions.
This irrigation or bathing of each cell with this life-giving plasma fluid is done very quickly. Within one second, the fluid is released through the membrane wall of the capillary to supply each cell, and is then drawn back into the capillary vessel. What causes this solution to be drawn back into the system? Why doesn't it just continue leaking out? The blood proteins, the albumins, the globulins and the fibrinogens, have an attraction for the plasma fluids. They are like a magnet in the blood supply.
In the perfect state, each cell is surrounded with just enough solution to encircle the cell and deliver the life giving nutrients. Dr. Arthur C. Guyton defined this as the dry state, in 1961. There is not only movement in the delivery of plasma fluids to encircle the individual cell, but there is movement, in and out of the cell. The delicately balanced distribution of inorganic salts (minerals), in and around a living cell, whether plant or animal, accounts for its electrical properties. What is the movement that occurs in and out of all the trillions of cells that provides this electrical energy? It is the metabolic conversion of oxygen and glucose, producing adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP).
If you have a new car, filled with gas, what do you need to do to get it moving? Turn on the ignition key. Similarly, ATP is the ignition for the electrical generator of the individual cell. This generates the sodium/potassium pump in each cell. Sodium single positive ions (Na+) naturally leach into the cell. Potassium single positive ions (K+) need to be brought into the cell, along with the glucose, oxygen, calcium, iron, and all of the other nutrients. The potassium level needs to be high and the sodium low. So, in the healthy dry state, potassium is brought in and sodium is taken out. This movement of solution, in and out of the cell, is the sodium/potassium pump. It is this rotation of solution, in and out of the cell, which generates an electrical energy, an electrical field, produced by the life process. Waste products and toxins released by the capillaries and produced by cellular activity are removed by the lymphatic system, at the cellular level, by lymphatic vessels.
The combination of electrical energy produced by the sodium/potassium pump, along with the ability of the lymphatic vessels to remove the resulting waste products, creates a perfect healthy environment. In this state (the dry state) every cell is a self-perpetuating electrical generator. With the trillions of mini-electrical generators humming away in a wonderful electrical grid system--there is no pain. Oxygen and glucose are producing ATP, the sodium/potassium pump is keeping the potassium high and the sodium low in the cell, and this movement produces an electrical field, and the lymphatic vessels continually remove the waste products. This is the life force and there is no pain or disease.
In the Textbook of Medical Physiology--5th ed., pg. 1027, by Dr Arthur C. Guyton, he states, "Almost all tissues in the body respond to tissue damage, whether the damage results from simple trauma or some cellular disease, by the process called inflammation. There is a leakage of large quantities of plasma-like fluids out of the capillaries into the damaged area, followed by a clotting of the fluids." At the site of injury, the inflammation process causes all the capillaries to dilate to provide the delivery of the leukocytes and various vital chemicals, including prostaglandin, serotonin, bradykinin and the soluble plasma proteins as coagulants. These coagulants, the plasma proteins, possess two qualities. First, they have an attraction for the plasma fluids, and secondly, they cluster together.
Whenever the plasma proteins escape from the system, they attract the fluid out of the capillaries into the interstitial spaces. This now creates a deadly chain reaction.
1. Plasma proteins cluster around the cell and become trapped.
2. Trapped plasma proteins attract plasma fluid into the interstitial spaces.
3. Excess fluid starts to surround each cell, altering the natural "dry State."
4. This excess fluid environment attracts the sodium single positive ions.
a. The solution around the cell becomes sodium-dominant.
b. The movement in and out of the cell (sodium/potassium pump) is reduced and electrical energy is diminished.
5. As the electrical energy is diminished, the oxygen and glucose do not produce ATP.
6. Deprivation of oxygen--fermentation of the glucose.
7. Cellular death on a massive scale.
8. Pain.
Pain occurs due to oxygen deprivation. As the trapped plasma proteins cluster around the cells, the plasma fluid is drawn into the interstitial spaces to form an ever-increasing lake of a glue-like fluid of inflammatory exudate.
In the dry state, each cell was surrounded by just enough solution to produce the required electrical energy. However, now we have a wet state. Every cell is drowning in its own fluids. The question now is, how can we get rid of these plasma proteins? Normally, this is the function of the lymphatic system. Plasma protein researchers, working within a normal, healthy system, have "tagged" the plasma proteins with radioactive iodine. Up to 50% of the plasma proteins can "leak" out of the circulatory system in 24 hours. These are picked up by the lymphatic capillaries and brought to the lymphatic vessels that are equipped with one-way check valves. These lymphatic fluids bring the blood proteins up through the muscles in the legs, and up into the thoracic duct, which then dumps the plasma proteins back into the blood stream through the subclavian vein at the base of the neck enabling these proteins to be used once again. The only way we can get these trapped plasma proteins back into the bloodstream is through the lymphatic system.
"The importance of this function of the lymphatics cannot be stressed too strongly, for there is no other route besides the lymphatics through which excess proteins can return to the circulatory system" (Textbook of Medical Physiology; p. 401). The answer then, to this disastrous "wet state" is simply to let the lymphatic system mop up these trapped plasma proteins, or simply let them be reabsorbed back into the capillaries. These affected cells exist in a sub-atmospheric condition. Imagine sucking the air out of an inflated balloon. The way the two walls of the balloon smack together is the way cells cling together around the capillaries and the lymphatics. Once the plasma proteins escape out of a pressurized blood system into a sub-atmospheric extra-cellular environment, it is almost impossible for them to get back into the pressurized blood vessels. Secondly, compare the blood's circulatory system, which is under pressure with the heart as its pump, with the lymph system. In contrast, the lymph system is not under any pressure.
If the blood stream could be likened to a gushing 40-foot fountain, then the lymph system is nothing more than a slow trickling stream in a shallow gully. Imagine now, you start to throw rocks and sod into this shallow gully. You block the stream. This is what the plasma proteins do to the lymphatics. They cluster and coagulate into gooey lakes in all the interstitial spaces and totally stop the stream, blocking the lymphatics. Movement is stopped. Slowly, everything stops moving at a cellular level. Now there is no oxygen getting to the cells. The waste products, tissue debris, and toxic chemicals are not being transported away. Because of a lack of oxygen, the glucose starts to ferment.No ATP is produced and there is no sodium/potassium pump. Without this movement at a cellular level there is a systematic electrical failure, and the grid system slowly but surely goes into a blackout. The power supply is unplugged. The seriousness of this deadly chain reaction cannot be underestimated.
When the body goes into this shock, there is an immediate and complete dilation of all the vessels. The plasma proteins empty out of the system, attracting all the plasma fluids. The emptying vessels start to collapse. Immediate cellular death begins a total electrical shutdown. Death follows within two hours. You drown from the inside--in your own fluids. Violent but temporary shock is one thing. The body's systems can cope. But there is one thing all our systems cannot cope with--constant, sustained, and unrelenting shock waves--one-after-another, year-after-year, with no letup in sight. The whole system implodes under this sustained stress on the system. This is the body's basic reaction to toxins. The medical profession has labels like fibromyalgia and others for this condition, but they have no idea how to correct it. A toxin is: any substance or causative effect that dilates the capillaries and releases the plasma proteins to the extent of causing total cellular death. The rate of cell death can be sudden--total cell death in less than two hours--or a lingering death. The name of the condition, the name of the disease, means nothing! It doesn't matter if you're talking about fibromyalgia, thoracic outlet syndrome, cancer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or a myriad of other named syndromes, the answer to these conditions is all the same.
Deficiencies of energy starve the cell of oxygen. Dr. Otto Warburg, Nobel Prize winner at the Max Planck Institute for Nutrition Research, in Germany, took perfectly healthy cells and withdrew the oxygen from those cells. They turned cancerous every single time. Without oxygen the glucose ferments. Cancer cells live on the fermentation of glucose. Remember, the trapped plasma proteins cause fluid retention. This lake of sticky fluid around each cell deprives it of oxygen and the benefit of all nutrients and access to the leukocytes and T-cells. We produce cancer cells continuously, but the white cells and T-cells destroy them. However, if the wet state distances each cell from the capillaries and lymphatics, how will these radical cancer cells be destroyed? This is why lymphatic massage and daily rebound exercise, along with lymph thinning herbs, are so important for the movement of lymphatic fluid out of the interstitial spaces, back into the blood stream for processing out of the body in the normal eliminative pathways. You can give a disease any name, but the cause is always the same. Consider arthritis. Trapped plasma proteins and excess sodium around the cells shut down these electrical generators. Everywhere that happens, calcium drops out of solution and forms calcium deposits. We give this the name arthritis. When you get rid of the trapped plasma proteins and the excess sodium, you throw the electrical switch and start the electrical generators. The calcium dissolves. No more arthritis--no more fibromyalgia!
As highly flammable synthetic materials have replaced less-combustible natural materials in consumer products, chemical fire retardants have become ubiquitous in consumer products. Of the many different kinds of fire retardants, one of the most common is a class of bromine-based chemicals known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. Today PBDEs are in thousands of products, in which they typically comprise 5 to 30 percent of product weight. During manufacturing, PBDEs are simply mixed in to the plastic or foam product, rather than chemically binding to the material as some other retardants do, making PBDEs more likely to leach out.
Materials used in |
Types of PBDEs used |
Examples of consumer products |
| Plastics | Deca, Octa, Penta | Computers, televisions, hair dryers, curling irons, copy machines, fax machines, printers, coffee makers, plastic automotive parts, lighting panels, PVC wire and cables, electrical connectors, fuses, housings, boxes and switches, lamp sockets, waste-water pipes, underground junction boxes, circuit boards, smoke detectors. |
| Textiles | Deca, Penta | Back coatings and impregnation of home and office furniture, carpets, automotive seating, aircraft and train seating. |
| Polyurethane foam | Penta | Home and office furniture (couches and chairs, carpet padding, mat tresses and mattress pads) automobile, bus, plane and train seating, sound insulation panels, imitation wood, packaging materials. |
| Rubber | Deca, Penta | Conveyor belts, foamed pipes for insulation, rubber cables |
| Paints and laquers | Deca, Penta | Marine and industry protective laquers and paints. |
There are 209 structural variants, or congeners, of PBDEs, classified by the number of bromine atoms in a molecule of the chemical: Penta-BDEs have five bromine atoms, octa-BDEs have eight, deca-BDEs have 10, and so on. The commercial PBDE flame retardants are actually mixtures of several different congeners, with the three major products called Deca, Penta, and Octa. (The common name of the commercial product can be somewhat misleading; the Penta product, for example, is actually a mixture of 40 percent tetra-BDE, 45 percent penta-BDE and 6 percent hexa-BDE congeners.) Worldwide, Deca is the most widely used of the PBDEs with 83 percent of the global market by weight, followed by Penta with 11 percent and Octa with 6 percent.
PBDEs are the chemical cousins of PCBs, another family of persistent and bioaccumulative toxins that came to the attention of regulators only after millions of pounds had been released into the environment. In the 26 years since PCBs were banned, numerous studies have documented permanent, neurological impairment to the developing child from low level PCB exposure. Recent evidence suggests PBDEs and PCBs may work together to cause adverse health effects. Not only do PBDEs appear to be acting through the same pathways as PCBs and dioxins, but a 2003 study found that early exposure of lab animals to a combination of PCBs and PBDEs affected motor skills ten times more strongly than exposure to the individual chemicals. PBDE use has skyrocketed in the last three decades, with Penta production almost doubling between 1992 and 2001. The market took off after the ban of a previously popular class of fire retardants, polybrominated biphenyls or PBBs, following the catastrophic contamination of cattle feed in Michigan during 1973 and 1974 that exposed nine million people to tainted meat and dairy products. Today, half of the PBDEs used worldwide are used in North America, with 73 million pounds being used in 2001. An unknown amount of PBDEs, probably millions of pounds, is also imported into the country each year in manufactured goods. Chemical industry analysts say the North American market for brominated flame retardants is $1 billion a year and growing by about 3.7 percent annually; the European market is a little more than half that size.
A growing body of research in laboratory animals has linked PBDE exposure to an array of adverse health effects including thyroid hormone disruption, permanent learning and memory impairment, behavioral changes, hearing deficits, delayed puberty onset, fetal malformations and possibly cancer. Research also shows that exposure to brominated flame retardants in utero or infancy leads to much more significant harm than adult exposure, and at much lower levels. Many questions still remain, but almost every month brings new evidence that PBDEs pose a significant health risk to developing animals and are very likely to pose a significant health risk to fetuses, infants and children. These findings echo what researchers have learned about the structurally similar, but much better known, PCBs. Used primarily as electrical insulators, PCBs were found to be rapidly building up in people and animals before they were banned in 1977. Although levels are now declining, PCBs persist in the environment and cause a number of well-documented health problems. Recent studies have shown that PBDEs can act in concert with PCBs and other chemicals through similar mechanisms to increase their effects. An unsettling, comparison of PBDE concentrations in the bodies of American women with the levels shown to harm the health of laboratory animals, the margin of safety is slim or may already be eclipsed. If PBDE levels in people continue to rise at anywhere near current rates, any remaining gap will likely be closed within a few years.
Many of the known health effects of PBDEs are thought to stem from their ability to disrupt the body’s thyroid hormone balance, by depressing levels of the T3 and T4 hormones important to metabolism. In adults, hypothyroidism can cause fatigue, depression, anxiety, unexplained weight gain, hair loss and low libido. This can lead to more serious problems if left untreated, but the consequences of depressed thyroid hormone levels on developing fetuses and infants can be devastating. One study, for instance, found that women whose levels of T4 measured in the lowest 10 percent of the population during the first trimester of pregnancy were more than 2.5 times as likely to have a child with an IQ of less than 85 (in the lowest 20 percent of the range of IQs) and five times as likely to have a child with an IQ of less than 70, meeting the diagnosis of "mild retardation." Even short-term exposures to commercial PBDE mixes or individual congeners can alter thyroid hormone levels in animals, and the effects are more profound in fetuses and offspring than in adults. These results aren't surprising, but are ominous as data in humans indicate that pregnancy itself stresses the thyroid, and developing fetuses and infants don't have the thyroid hormone reserves adults do to help buffer insults to the system.
Most studies on thyroid hormone disruption by PBDEs have been very short--with exposures of 14 days or less. The real question is how low doses over the long term affect the body's thyroid hormone balance. The answer is important, because the entire U.S. population is exposed daily to low levels of PBDEs, and studies of other thyroid hormone disrupters have found that long-term exposures can cause more serious harm at lower levels of exposure. Although no direct link could be made, one study found higher rates of hypothyroidism among workers exposed to brominated flame retardants on the job. Because the developing brain is known to be extremely sensitive to exposure to toxins, researchers have begun to examine whether short-term exposures to PBDEs at critical times could have long-term effects. The results are troubling: Doses administered to fetal or newborn mice and rats caused deficits in learning, memory and hearing, changes in behavior, and delays in sensory-motor development. Many of these effects were found to worsen with age and the effects were seen with the higher-weight PBDEs (the usually less harmful deca-BDE) as well as the more readily absorbed lower-weight congeners.
Experiments have shown that just one dose of PBDEs at a critical point in brain development can cause lasting harm. In two different studies a small dose--as little as 0.8 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight per day (mg/kg-day)--given to 10-day-old mice caused "deranged spontaneous behavior," significant deficits in learning and memory and reduced ability to adapt to new environments, with these problems often becoming more pronounced with age. This research also demonstrated the heightened sensitivity of the brain at certain critical phases of development and the importance of timing: While earlier exposures caused "significantly impaired spontaneous motor behavior" and "persistent neurotoxic effects," no effects were seen in mice that were exposed later on during development, despite having similar levels of PBDEs (or their metabolites) in the brain. Other animal studies have shown that early exposure to PBDEs, often at relatively low levels, can lead to delays in sensory-motor development, hearing deficits, as well as changes in activity levels and fear responses. At this point, scientists do not understand exactly how PBDEs affect neurological development. But there is evidence that PBDEs and/or their metabolites are in fact acting through several different mechanisms, including mimicking thyroid hormones, increasing their rate of clearance in the body, and interfering with intracellular communication.
In addition to their effects on thyroid hormones and neurological development, PBDEs have been linked to a gamut of other health impacts, from subtle to dramatic. For example, two new studies found that early exposure to PBDEs delayed the onset of puberty in male and female rats and decreased the weight of male reproductive organs. In studies of pregnant animals, PBDE exposure was associated with retarded weight gain, enlarged livers and raised serum cholesterol. In utero exposures have also been associated with serious harm to the fetus, including limb and ureter malformation, enlarged hearts, bent ribs, fused stemebrae, delayed bone hardening, and lower weight gain. The malformations of the fetus were consistently seen at levels much lower than doses harmful to the mothers--the lowest being 2 and 5 mg/kg-day, respectively.
The few studies that have looked at changes in organ structure have found that semi-chronic PBDE exposure can cause thyroid hyperplasia and enlarged livers at relatively low doses (10 mg/kg-day) and other adverse effects such as hyaline degeneration, focal necrosis and deformation in the kidney, hyperplastic nodules in the liver, decreased hemoglobin and red blood cell counts at higher doses. Only one PBDE congener has been tested for causing cancer, in a single study more than 15 years ago. High doses of deca-BDE given to rats and mice caused liver, thyroid and pancreas tumors. Deca-BDE is the least easily absorbed and the most rapidly eliminated of the PBDEs, and recent research indicates that other congeners can cause genetic recombination in cells, a sign of likely carcinogenicity. As a result, scientists believe that the congeners with fewer bromines are likely to be more carcinogenic than deca-BDE and have urged that such tests be conducted.
Experiments with the brain cells of rats show that contact with an ingredient found in shampoos, hand lotions and paint causes neurons to die. The chemical, methylisothiazolinone (MIT), belongs to a class of compounds called biocides. These are used in the manufacture of many common household products and industrial water cooling systems to prevent bacteria from developing. According to the National Institutes of Health, brands containing MIT include the shampoos Head and Shoulders, Suave, and Clairol, as well as Pantene hair conditioner and Revlon hair color.
"As far as I can tell, no neurodevelopmental testing has been done on MIT," said lead researcher Elias Aizenman, a professor of neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Aizenman said he is concerned that without such testing it is not known if, for example, a pregnant woman who is exposed to MIT could put her fetus at risk for abnormal brain development. People working directly with MIT are those most at risk, he said.
In earlier experiments with rat brain cells, Aizenman's team found that direct exposure to MIT in concentrations like those found in hand cream was enough to kill neurons. In the current series of experiments, also with rat cells, the researchers found that a long exposure to low concentrations of MIT caused a malfunction in the ways neurons communicate with each other. "One of the things that this compound was very good at was preventing neurons from communicating with other neurons," he said.
Aizenman presented his findings Dec. 5, 2004 at the American Society for Cell Biology annual meeting in
The work that Aizenman has been doing "is important in understanding the things that people are exposed to on a chronic, daily basis," said Beth Ann McLaughlin, an assistant professor of pharmacology at
"These findings are expected," said Gerald McEwen, vice president for science at the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association. "MIT is a biocide. The purpose of it is to kill bacteria. You would expect it to be detrimental to any type of cells." McEwen said that direct exposure to high concentrations of MIT will be irritating to the skin, because it can damage skin cells. MIT has been approved as a biocide by the EPA, which looked at the neurological effects, McEwen added. This information was published by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, an industry program that reviews the safety of cosmetic ingredients, he explained. However, McLaughlin remains concerned. "The quantity of compounds that we can make that make the quality of life wonderful, in the short term, is growing," she said. "But we are lagging in our understanding of what those compounds can do to our health and our children's health."
The National Institutes of Health has a list of household products containing MIT.
Many chronic mental as well as physical problems are caused by toxins that accumulate in the body. The most common toxin in the body originates in the bowels. Bowel toxins are due to the overgrowth of putrefactive bacteria in the small and large intestines. Putrefactive bacteria live on partially digested food (especially from animal protein), that accumulates in the intestines. These bacterial toxins are absorbed into the blood stream, sent to the rest of the body. They especially affect the brain, where they may cause mental disturbances.
Bowel toxemia is caused by overeating, eating too frequently, eating late at night (when the digestive powers are low, and a weak digestive system. The diet that most contributes to bowel toxemia is high in animal protein and fat, and low in complex carbohydrates and fiber.
In 1933, Dr. Anthony Bassler, MD, a professor of gastroenterology, summarized a twenty-five year study by saying, "Every physician should realize that intestinal toxemias are the most important primary and contributing causes of many disorders and diseases of the human body."
When intestinal toxemia is treated, physical symptoms such as fatigue, nervousness, gastrointestinal conditions, impaired nutrition, skin manifestations, endocrine disturbances, headaches, sciatica, various other forms of low back pain, allergies, eye, ear, nose, throat, and sinus problems, and even cardiac irregularities have been reversed. This doesn't mean that bowel toxemia is the only cause of these problems, but it is a factor that is often overlooked.
Intestinal toxemia, as mentioned, is also associated with a variety of mental disturbances. In 1917, medical researchers presented 518 cases to the AMA which showed that by treating a patient's bowel toxicity, there was an alleviation of the following symptoms: mental sluggishness, dullness, stupidity, loss of concentration, memory, and mental coordination, irritability, lack of confidence, excessive worry, exaggerated introspection, hypochondriasis, phobias, depression, melancholy, obsessions, delusions, hallucinations, suicidal tendencies, delirium, stupor, and senility.
Some of the main bowel toxins are ammonia, indole, indican (a conjugated indole), skatole, clostridium perfringen enterotoxin, guanidine, phenol, and high concentrations of histamine. Indican is one of the most common intestinal toxins, and its presence in the intestines generally suggests the occurrence of other toxins. A high indican count is often associated with sacroiliac, upper lumbar, and thoracic subluxations which do not respond to appropriate chiropractic adjustments.
One of the quickest and easiest treatments for bowel toxicity is an extended juice fast. The indican count is usually reduced to zero after only seven days of fasting and daily enemas or colonics. A liquid diet provides the bowels with a much needed rest, allowing any inflammation to subside, while the protein reduction provides the putrefactive bacteria with nothing to consume. For those who are uncomfortable fasting, a low protein (20-30 grams per day), low fat, and high natural complex carbohydrate diet of at least 80% raw vegetarian food will be effective, but will take longer to produce the same results.
There are several practices we can employ in our daily routines to avoid the occurrence of intestinal toxemia. The easiest, and most important, is to avoid overeating. Consuming the main meal of the day in the late morning or early afternoon, and eating only a light meal or juice in the evening provides the digestive system with a rest during sleeping hours when digestive energy is low.
Exercise, because it stimulates bowel motility, is another practice that reduces the occurrence of bowel toxicity. Lastly, a probiotic supplement, taken orally, will re-colonize the large intestine with normal healthy bacteria, while inhibiting the growth of putrefactive bacteria. Because most people's digestive systems are exhausted from overeating and eating too much cooked foods, adding digestive enzymes and/or herbs to stimulate and repair the digestive system is also good.
The second most common type of toxins found in the human system comes from the natural metabolic processes. Some of those originate within the body, while others are from external sources such as herbicides and pesticides found in our food. Both are harmful to proper neurobiochemical functioning.
For example, two of these metabolic neurotoxins--adrenolutin and adrenochrome--breakdown products from the body's own epinephrine. Both are associated with biochemical-based schizophrenia. Adrenochrome is a hallucinogen which also inhibits nerve cell transmission. If the body is making an excess of adrenochrome, from either stress or a poor biochemical ability to break it down into harmless by-products, we have the potential for brain dysfunction. A slowly emerging awareness from the scientific literature suggests there are a number of brain disturbances that are related to the accumulation of various neurotoxins in the brain.
Many of these neurotoxins are deactivated by liver enzymes. The liver uses two sets of enzyme systems to do this. The first is called the cytochrome P450, which makes bio-transformed intermediates, some of which are in themselves toxic. There are six separate pathways by which these toxin intermediates are made into non-toxic excretory products before they are excreted from the body. The deactivated neurotoxins are then excreted in the urine or the bile. This molecular detoxification is done by various types of molecules combining through a process called conjugation. If one of these two liver enzyme systems has broken down, or the two systems are not working in harmony, then neurotoxins may begin to accumulate in the brain.
A person who is malnourished, or has a toxic liver from a diet high in animal protein, fat, and food filled with herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals, may not have adequate liver enzyme function. Researchers have also found that if a person has an inflamed intestinal mucosa, substances from the putrefying bacteria in the gut get absorbed back into the system. This increase in toxins may overload the liver detoxification system and disrupt neurological functioning.
The neurotoxins create free radicals, and lead to more oxidative stress. Free radicals are highly active molecules that combine in a deleterious way with our normal healthy biochemical structures. These free radicals react with the different protein structures, such as DNA or cell membrane lipids, and cause non-specific tissue damage. In brain damaged children, researchers have found high oxidative stress levels. Like others under oxidative stress, these children were helped by the ingestion of supplemental anti-oxidants, such as vitamin C and E, coenzyme Q-10, B-vitamins, especially B3 and B6, bioflavinoids, carotenoids, enzymes and activating minerals such as zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium all of which are nervous system protectors.
Another way to strengthen the system against oxidative stress is to increase the amount of oxygen in the system through deep breathing and exercise. The increased oxygen enables the nerve tissue mitochondria to energize neuron cell function. When neuron cells have enough nutrients and oxygen, the breakdown products from epinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin begin to normalize and therefore stop acting as neurotoxins in the brain. A person whose body has developed and maintained energized neurons and a healthy liver has the power to detoxify a variety of toxic chemicals, pesticides and herbicides which may act as neurotoxins to another person's body that has a poor diet and lifestyle. No matter how complex the details of the biochemistry are, the general solution remains simple and the same.
Living a healthy lifestyle that includes plenty of deep breathing and exercise as well as a vegetarian diet high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and low in protein and fat, we give power to the nerve cells. This metabolic neuron power helps to create a metabolic energy that is sufficient to create neurotransmitters and neural regulators and sufficient biochemical power to detoxify these neurotransmitters without going into oxidative stress, or building an excess of neurotoxins.
Between 1965 and 1982, over 4,000,000 new chemical compounds were formulated. Since then some 6,000 new chemicals have been formulated weekly. Approximately 3,000 of these have been formulated to deliberately add to our food. American drinking water contains over 700 chemicals, 884 neuro-toxic chemicals are used in the cosmetic, perfume, and toiletries industries. One of these chemicals is sodium laurel sulfate, which is also known by some 90 synonyms and is used in many products. It has aggressive properties due to many unstable electrons and breaks the surface tension of water or other liquids; allowing the solution to penetrate into soils, fabrics, skin, hair, or whatever it comes into contact with.
In a study led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, in collaboration with the Environmental Working Group and Commonweal, researchers at two major laboratories found an average of 91 industrial compounds, pollutants, and other chemicals in the blood and urine of nine volunteers, with a total of 167 chemicals found in the group. Like most of us, the people tested do not work with chemicals on the job and do not live near an industrial facility. Scientists refer to this contamination as a person's body burden. Of the 167 chemicals found, 76 cause cancer in humans or animals, 94 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 79 cause birth defects or abnormal development. The dangers of exposure to these chemicals in combination has never been studied. These results represent the most comprehensive assessment of chemical contaminations in individuals ever performed. Even so, many chemicals were not included in the analysis that are known to contaminate virtually the entire U.S. population. Two examples are Scotchgard and the related family of perfluorinated chemicals, and a group of compounds known collectively as brominated flame retardants.
A more precise picture of human contamination with industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides is not possible because chemical companies are not required to tell EPA how their compounds are used or monitor where their products end up in the environment. Neither does U.S. law require chemical companies to conduct basic health and safety testing of their products either before or after they are commercialized. Eighty percent of all applications to produce a new chemical are approved by the U.S. EPA with no health and safety data. Eighty percent of these are approved in three weeks. Only the chemical companies know whether their products are dangerous and whether they are likely to contaminate people. As a first step toward a public understanding of the extent of the problem, the chemical industry must submit to the EPA and make public on the web, all information on human exposure to commercial chemicals, any and all studies relating to potential health risks, and comprehensive information on products that contain their chemicals.
Dioxins -- Pollutants, by-products of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production, industrial bleaching, and incineration. Cause cancer in man. Persist for decades in the environment. Very toxic to developing endocrine (hormone) system.
Furans -- Pollutants, by-products of plastics production, industrial bleaching and incineration. Expected to cause cancer in man. Persist for decades in the environment. Very toxic to developing endocrine (hormone) system.
Metals -- Lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium -- Cause lowered IQ, developmental delays, behavioral disorders and cancer at doses found in the environment. For lead, most exposures are from lead paint. For mercury, most exposures are from dental amalgam fillings, then canned tuna. For arsenic, most exposures are from arsenic (CCA) treated lumber and contaminated drinking water. For cadmium, sources of exposure include pigments and bakeware.
Organochlorine insecticides -- DDT, chlordane and other pesticides. Largely banned in the U.S. Persist for decades in the environment. Accumulate up the food chain, to man. Cause cancer and numerous reproductive effects.
Organophosphate insecticide metabolites -- Breakdown products of chlorpyrifos, malathion and others. Potent nervous system toxicants. Most common source of exposure is residues in food. Recently banned for indoor uses.
PCBs -- Industrial insulators and lubricants. Banned in the U.S. in 1976. Persist for decades in the environment. Accumulate up the food chain, to man. Cause cancer and nervous system problems.
Phthalates -- Plasticizers. Cause birth defects of male reproductive organs. Found in a wide range of cosmetic and personal care products. Some phthalates recently banned in Europe.
Volatile and Semi-volatile organic chemicals. -- Industrial solvents and gasoline ingredients like xylene and ethyl benzene. Toxic to nervous system, some heavily used SVOCs (benzene) cause cancer.
Chemicals listed as linked to cancer are those classified by the National Toxicology Program as "known" human carcinogens, or "reasonably anticipated" to be human carcinogens; or those classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as "known" or "probable" human carcinogens.
Sodium laurel sulfate reacts aggressively with many compounds it comes in contact with. It is used world wide as the standard irritant for biological research on skin and other bodily systems. On a scale of 0 to 10 for surfactant irritation, SLS is rated as a 10. Water would be rated 0. Ammonium laurel sulfate is rated at 4. It is made from coconut oil, sodium and sulfate; it has a molecular weight that allows it to penetrate through the skin even into the blood stream and thus will be carried and enters into every organ in the body, it denatures proteins, which cause damage to the brain, liver, eyes, etc. Sodium laurel sulfate can react with nitrogen bearing molecules to form carcinogenic nitrates. Most of the chemicals we put on our skin are readily absorbed into the body, especially nitrates. One shampooing can put more nitrate into your blood than eating a pound of bacon. This substance is also implicated in the formation of even more potentially dangerous carcinogenic dioxins which are poisoning our waterways. Its main industrial use is as an ingredient in floor de-waxers, engine degreasers, garage floor cleaners, and Agent Orange. Its chief non-industrial use is as a controlled skin irritant in laboratory tests. In America, many types of toothpaste carry a warning label by law because they contain sodium laurel sulfate: "Warning. Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age. In case of accidental ingestion seek professional assistance or contact a poison control center immediately."
Imagine how dangerous a bathroom is. Your gums bleed, so your dentist advises you to brush them harder, forcing chemicals into your damaged tissue. You then wash your mouth with a mouthwash containing alcohol, thought to be the biggest cause of oral cancer. You go into a warm shower which opens up your skin pores, in addition to absorbing large quantities of chlorine and fluoride from the water; you then massage carcinogenic chemicals into it. You massage the same chemicals, known to cause hair loss, into your hair. You then use an antiperspirant containing aluminum (known to cause Alzheimer's disease) and propylene glycol a known skin irritant. More dangerous chemicals could be in your talc, body lotion, sun screen, shaving gel, etc. The skin is a huge sponge. Rub a raw garlic clove on your toe, and you can taste it within minutes.
Sodium laurel sulfate is also added to shampoos to make it readily foam and making it thicker and therefore seem richer. Sodium laureth sulphate is a less harmful form, but both damage hair follicles and cause hair loss. They also harm the eyes, so stinging is nature's way of warning you. Tests show fetuses subjected to these substances do not develop functioning eyes, and they are implicated in the formation of cataracts in adults. Propylene glycol--antifreeze--is a known skin irritant and is thought to cause mouth ulcers and even oral cancer when used in mouthwash. It also damages the kidneys and liver.
Seventy five thousand (75,000) new chemicals have been introduced since WWII. Today, thousands of these chemicals are appearing innocuously on the shelves of your grocery store. Merely because they are for sale on the grocery store shelves, you assume these products are safe for you and your family — but they are not.
A USA Today computer database investigation found that employees in more than 35 states have unwittingly transported toxins away from work sites — potentially exposing legions of family members to contaminants such as mercury, radioactive material, beryllium, lead, asbestos, PCBs, pesticides and arsenic. Toxins have been carried in workers’ cars and on shoes, socks, clothes, hair, tools, folders and briefcases. Although family members may never develop medical problems or come into contact with the contaminants, others have died or now cope with lifelong health problems and fatal illnesses. Children often are in the most danger because of their developing organs and higher metabolic rates, health experts say.
The risk cuts across dozens of industries. USA Today found that researchers in university labs and medical clinics have inadvertently carried radioactive substances from the job site on their shoes, skin and clothes. Artists who work with ceramics reportedly have poisoned their children with lead. Pregnant wives exposed to toxins from their husbands’ jobs have had abortions rather than giving birth to children they feared might suffer harm. Leave your shoes at the door and ask guests to do the same to stop these pollution-spreaders in their tracks. It has been estimated that 85 percent of household dirt is carried in on clothing, shoes, or the paws of pets. If your children play soccer or football on playing fields maintained by your city government or school district, it is likely they come into constant contact with pesticides. Many playing fields with good looking white lines for games use diesel fuel or pesticides to kill the turf before applying the gypsum powder to make the line. As much as 100 gallons of diesel fuel may be applied to an average size playing field to make lines.
Toxic chemicals in our home cleaning and personal care products are three times more likely to cause cancer than outside pollutants. Frying chicken at the stove, spraying ants with insecticide, taking a hot shower, plugging in a room freshener, or sudsing the rug with detergent—all these release chemicals that swirl around rooms like invisible dust devils. According to Environmental Scientist Michael Wisner, there are numerous types of toxins that we may bring into our own homes unwittingly that can be absorbed into the body. “There are common sense things one can do to reduce the toxic exposure in one’s home,” says Wisner. “For example, if you leave your shoes at the door before walking into your house, you can reduce you and your family’s exposure to lead by 40%. We’re exposed to pesticides, fertilizers and toxic chemicals daily. Some of us do our best to avoid exposure to these toxins, taking normal safety measures around chemicals. Yet what if there are toxic dangers lurking in our own homes—that we bring into where we live or routinely use in household chores?
The majority of chemicals have never been tested for long-term effects.
EPA survey concluded that indoor air is up to 70 times more polluted than outside air. An EPA study in the 1980s, using an exposure model for “microenvironments,” revealed that indoor sources of volatile organic chemicals such as benzene are generally a greater contributor to total personal exposure than are some industrial sources. Since 1980, asthma has increased by 600%. Common household cleaners and cosmetics are triggers. One study found 90 chemicals in both air and dust in 120 houses, including some that cause neurological problems, cancer and birth defects and disrupt the endocrine system by mimicking, and increasing, estrogen in lab animals. Every house had more than 20 compounds and some were banned substances like PCBs, DDT and the impurity in TRIS, a flame retardant.
The most abundant were the phthalates, the plastic softeners in polyvinyl flooring, wall coverings, raincoats and shower curtains. Every home tested had DEHP, a phthalate suspected of causing cancer and reproductive damage. Most of the houses had DEHP at levels exceeding the EPA’s safety guidelines. The researchers also measured phenols, which are ingredients in disinfectants, detergents and adhesives. The smell you get when you open up a new shower curtain, is the phthalates. Over time shower curtains tend to get more brittle. That’s because the phthalates have gone out. Phthalates are in dashboards, seats and mats in new cars.
By 1986, the U.S. Surgeon General and the National Research Council concluded that secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and damages the respiratory health of children. Now coronary heart disease is also linked to secondhand smoke.
Chlorinated hot water in the kitchen sink, washing machine, dishwasher and the shower can release chloroform, a carcinogen. Emissions increase when people use chlorine bleaches and dishwater detergents containing bleach.
One study found 47 chemicals released as gas from personal computers, including hydrocarbons, or volatile organic compounds, from the adhesives. Inexpensive, engineered wood products such as particleboard, plywood, medium-density fiberboard and strand board contain adhesives that emit hydrocarbons. Some, including formaldehyde, are known irritants and probable human carcinogens.
Leave shoes at the door. When vacuuming, open the windows and ventilate. Don’t spray chemicals or put on nail polish inside the house. Avoid air fresheners, scented candles and incense.
In the USA the #1 cause of accidental poisoning is Dawn dishwashing detergent.
Families remain at risk in part because the health hazard has been widely ignored. Five years after a report to Congress by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) warned that the phenomenon “may pose a serious public health problem,” federal officials say no national surveillance systems exist to track cases. No programs exist to identify who is most at risk. And no comprehensive studies exist to document how effective workplace safety protocols are at preventing contamination at home. There is no federal funding to back the recommendations or requirements that any study be undertaken.
Safety advocates and researchers are calling for research into who is most at risk, stricter enforcement of laws to prevent contaminants from leaving jobs sites and more outreach and educational efforts about the hazard. Critics say many employers don’t provide safety precautions, such as showers and protective clothing, to keep hazards from entering employees’ homes.
Instances of known or possible take-home contamination have occurred in at least 40 industries, including lead smelting, nuclear medicine, chemical manufacturing, construction, farming, medical research, radiator repair and others. Family members exposed to workplace toxins reportedly have developed cancer of the blood and lungs, learning disabilities, impaired motor coordination, memory loss, liver problems, incurable lung disease, asthma and seizures. Some have died.
About 20 substances used on the job have been linked to take-home exposure, and many more hazards used in the workplace are believed to be linked to take-home contamination. The very steps family members take to reduce risks — vacuuming, washing clothes and other cleaning methods — may only increase exposure levels by spreading hazards throughout the home, federal studies and published research articles show.
Toxins that are transported off-site often are invisible or too small to be noticed, so relatives or friends may never know they’ve been put at risk. They may be exposed if they touch a contaminated worker, handle his or her clothing or clean a house that contains hazards tracked in from the job. Hazards can get into the home when workers or employers fail to follow or provide proper safety protocols, such as showers or protective clothing. But health experts say workers who abide by safeguards may still carry home hazards at levels high enough to pose a risk to children, who can often be harmed by even small amounts of contaminants.
“Even hugging Mommy or Daddy can be problematic,” says Jerome Paulson, an associate professor of medicine, pediatrics and community health at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and a fellow at the Children’s Environmental Health Network in Washington. “Pesticides may get tracked in on Dad’s shoes, and kids crawl on the floor and put their hands in their mouth. If Mom is pregnant, what Dad brings home may get to the fetus. The risk is out there, but there’s much we don’t know.”
Though the government sets standards designating acceptable exposure levels for workers who come into contact with a variety of toxins, there can still be take-home risks for children. “The standards don’t protect the children. They’re written for adults,” says Barbara Materna, chief of the occupational lead poisoning prevention program at the California Department of Health Services in Oakland. “We’re seeing more and more cases. The workers don’t look like they’re covered in dust. Lead is so toxic that even small amounts can be dangerous to kids.”
Employers may ignore regulations because they don’t understand the risks or they believe they won’t get caught. Workers also may ignore safety protocols. Employers are required to tell employees who come into contact with certain hazards to take safety measures, but no federal regulations require them to tell workers that those toxins also can foul the home and hurt family members.
When contamination in the home does occur, it might never be discovered because symptoms can masquerade as other medical problems—family members exposed to lead, for example, may not feel sick, or they may suffer from vague complaints such as fatigue, upset stomach, irritability, weakness and muscle pain. Health problems such as cancer that may be related to exposure to hazards can take 10 years or more to develop. Even then, environmental and other factors may play a role.
“There’s a potential for it to go unnoticed because doctors don’t always take occupational histories with the frequency we’d like to see,” says Michael Kosnett. An associate clinical professor in the division of clinical pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver.
Though many cases escape detection, research has found that certain substances—including mercury, radiation, cadmium, beryllium, lead and pesticides—have been carried repeatedly by unsuspecting employees from the job site.
Radiation is a hazard that has been connected to health effects in workers’ family members, including cancer and birth defects. Radioactive contamination typically can’t be seen. It can enter the body by being absorbed, inhaled, ingested or through cuts or scratches in the skin. USA Today reviewed federal NRC databases and Department of Energy (DOE) reports. In the past 10 years, more than 60 documented instances have involved workers who transported radioactive contamination, often on their bodies or clothes, to their homes or cars. That number is conservative because off-site contamination to the home is not uniquely coded, and text searches may not identify all cases.
Like radiation, mercury is a substance that can be transported on clothing and shoes. The metal is the source of the saying “mad as a hatter,” which refers to the tremors that once afflicted 19th-century hat makers who used mercury in the felting process. Low exposures may have mild or no effects, while higher levels can affect the nervous system and behavior.
Lead has been repeatedly tracked from the workplace to the home, and many employees work with the substance. Parents who restored antiques have transported lead home from sanding old finishes. Employees who fix batteries, repair radiators or splice cables have carried lead dust to the home. Based on survey data from 1981 to 1983, researchers estimate that about 48,000 families with children under 6 are living with household members occupationally exposed to lead, according to a mathematical analysis published last year in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. About half the children in these families may have elevated blood lead levels, the researchers estimate. Even small amounts can pose a hazard, especially to developing children. Lead dust is often so fine that it can be invisible.
Like lead, beryllium can be hazardous to family members when it is dust. The lightweight metal is used in aerospace components, semiconductor chips, transistors, metallurgy and dental work such as bridges and crowns. If it is ground or sanded, particles can be inhaled. Even minute amounts can cause a crippling and incurable lung disease that strikes people genetically predisposed to the disease. Victims often spend the last years of their lives tethered to oxygen tanks.
“What’s the probability that someone would leave with beryllium on their hair, their clothes, and expose family members? The risk is definitely there,” says Lee Newman, head of the division of environmental and occupational health sciences at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver and an expert on beryllium disease. “Some plants today allow (employees) to wear street clothes and launder them at home. Some ship it out to a laundry and there’s exposure there. There’s a potential spread, and no one knows the quantitative risks to family.”
Research shows employees who work with beryllium have transported the dust away from the work site even if they change out of their work clothes. In a 1999 study, researchers tested the hands and cars of beryllium plant workers at the end of their employees’ shifts. About 80% of production workers reported that they always or usually changed their shirts before going home or wore shop coats over street clothes while working. Even so, many employees had residual beryllium on their hands. The highest levels were on the driver’s side of vehicles, indicating that “workers were potentially carrying beryllium home with them on their hands, clothing and shoes,” according to the report published in Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.
As the beryllium studies suggest, employees who work with many dangerous substances can still take toxins to their home if they don’t follow safety protocols. Workers who wear respirators may think they’re safe, but they can have contaminants on their hair and body if they don’t change clothes before leaving the job, experts say. Even changing clothes may be insufficient because residue can cling to skin, and showers may be needed to wash the hazards away.
Family members who clean the home can raise their risks or spread the hazard. Laundry rooms where contaminated work clothes are washed can become toxic zones. Decontamination steps can be inadequate because small amounts of contaminants may linger on car seats, rugs, couches and other surfaces. Vacuuming up mercury can disperse the substance in the air, where it is more readily absorbed. Even the small amount of mercury in a thermometer can pose a health risk; dangerous indoor air levels can result if it volatizes in a small, poorly ventilated room. Tremors can result from long-term, low-level exposure, and mercury accumulates in the kidney and brain.
“Workers don’t know the dangers,” says Vikki Martinez, an advocate with at the Farm Worker Health and Safety Project at Texas Rural Legal Aid in Weslaco. “There’s a problem with training workers. They don’t know, and that’s a major factor with people getting contamination and bringing it home.” The whole issue of take-home toxins doesn’t get enough education. Workers aren’t generally aware of the concerns of bringing it home. There are a lot of good rules out there, but companies don’t do a good enough job of following them. People need to know. Wipe your feet before you come inside. This can reduce the amount of lead in your carpet dramatically. Even better is to remove your shoes before going indoors. Additionally, you should have a good vacuum cleaner and use it often.
Formaldehyde off gasses (evaporates) from cushions, particleboard and the adhesives used to manufacture most inexpensive wood-based products. Carpets and carpet cushions may also off gas formaldehyde, causing eye and upper respiratory irritation. According to the EPA, formaldehyde may even cause cancer;
Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, warns the Surgeon General. Radon is a natural radioactive gas that can seep into homes through cracks in the basement, the surrounding foundation and in well water. It enters the body quietly through the airways;
Lead comes from vehicular and industrial exhaust and being heavier than air, falls to the ground, where we then walk it into our homes. Another simple tip is to clean things with baking soda, vinegar and water rather than harsh store-bought chemical cleaners. Lead is found in paint in older houses, old plumbing and soil near highways and busy roads. It causes neurological and kidney damage, high blood pressure, disrupted blood cell production and reproductive problems;
Carbon monoxide Don’t look for exhaust fumes in the attached garage; the biggest culprit is the un-serviced furnace burning propane, butane or oil;
Arsenic is still lacing many household pesticides and is increasingly used as a wood preservative. Low levels of inorganic arsenic “may cause lung cancer risk,” according to the CDC. The Department of Health and Human Services agrees, adding arsenic compounds to the list of unknown carcinogens;
Vinyl chloride is the source of “new car smell”: The plastic interior of a new car off gasses this known carcinogen. Water sitting in PVC pipes overnight may also be steeping into a toxic tea. Very large exposures can lead to “vinyl chloride disease,” which causes severe liver damage and ballooning of the fingertips;
Hydrofluoric acid “can cause intense pain and damage to tissues and bone if the recommended gloves happen to have holes in them,” says Soloway. This highly corrosive substance is the active ingredient in many household rust removers. But even the most liberal list of known toxins pales next to the order of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs comprise hundreds of natural and man-made, carbon-based agents. They react quickly with other carbon-based compounds, and evaporate easily, making them ideal solvents. VOCs can be found in disinfectants and pesticides, too.
Solvents: Benzene and methyl ethyl ketone traverse cell walls unchecked by normal cell defense. Both are known carcinogens. Cousins toluene, xylene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane and trichloroethylene make up the lion’s share of the solvent market;
Disinfectants: Phenols, which include biphenyl, phenolics and the preservative pentachloraphenol, are found in disinfectants, antiseptics, perfumes, mouthwashes, glues and air fresheners;
Pesticides: Chlordane, aldrin, dieldrin, though all banned for nearly two decades, continue to show up airborne in older houses.
Don’t be a statistical figure on the CDC’s tracking list: Be aware of what substances, from pesticides to cleaners, pose threats in your household. Maintain ingredient awareness. Many poisonings still occur because of product combinations, like the ammonia-chlorine bleach reaction, which produces the deadly respiratory irritant chloramine (a problem labeling practices have not addressed).
Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder
Crest Tartar Control Toothpaste
VO5 Hair Conditioner
Clairol Nice N Easy Hair Color
Ajax Cleanser
Lysol Disinfectant
There are some fast first steps to improving your air quality at home. The idea is to break down into simple steps and just do one thing at a time. The first place to look for fast impact is under your kitchen sink. Products such as Mr.Clean, Fantastik, Pinesol, Javex, Spic and Span, Windex, floor waxes, furniture polishes, air fresheners, etc. all create a toxic chemical cloud around you when you clean. This cloud lingers and will significantly overload your already beleaguered immune system. Replace these products with safer items like Down East and Nature Clean brand cleaners which you can usually find at a health food store. Next go to the bathroom and look at your body care products. For your scented soaps, shampoos, body creams, etc. substitute unscented, hypoallergenic products. Lines such as Almay and Marcelle can be found at most pharmacies.
Clinique also has many options, and most health food stores carry a variety of alternatives. Ask for help and others will share their finds. Remember, your skin absorbs everything that you put on it and the substance ultimately ends up in your blood stream! In the laundry room use detergent from Down East or a brand like Tide Free which is fragrance and phosphate free. Eliminate scented fabric softeners and dryer sheets like Bounce. These products envelop you in a scented cloud all day and even while you are asleep at night. Better yet, since all fabric softeners contain strong chemicals; try using laundry disks in your washer to soften the water.
Poorly maintained, cracking, and flaking lead paint is the number one culprit in lead poisoning, and it’s still in millions of homes. Though pregnant women and kids 6 and younger are at greatest risk, lead poisoning contributes to health problems in other adults, including high blood pressure and memory problems. Lead paint that isn’t cracking or chipping isn’t usually a hazard. According to the EPA, lead paint that is in good condition can be left alone unless it’s on a friction surface (a window or door frame) or it’s within reach of children, such as a windowsill.
Tuna may be a no-no for women who are or who may become pregnant, as well as for nursing moms and young children. An FDA advisory committee recently recommended that tuna join high-in-mercury shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish on the list of fish to avoid. Pick varieties lower in mercury, dioxins, and PCBs, and watch serving sizes. Dioxins and PCBs accumulate in animal fat, so choose organically raised varieties or simply leaner cuts of meat, such as sirloin, round steak, and pork tenderloin, and chicken breasts or drumsticks.
If your water is heavily chlorinated, it may also be contaminated with by-products of chlorination called trihalomethanes (THMs), including chloroform. Some studies suggest a link between THMs and cancer and, possibly, to other health problems. Arsenic is another water contaminant linked to cancer. Here’s how to stay safe.
Most commercial polishes, for example, contain poisonous solvents that emit vapors. These products are often composed of the same toxic chemicals that industrial dumpers have used to pollute our land, air and water. The simple household pesticide you use to eliminate bugs in your garden is the same deadly poison which has given farm workers high rates of cancer. These persistent organic compounds are among the most deadly substances known.
Aerosols, artificial sweeteners, cosmetics, dyes, inks, paints, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, plastics, synthetic fabrics--our homes are overflowing with chemicals.
|