Category Archives: Environment

Combinational Toxicity – The Toxic Soup Within Our Bodies

In an article published in the British journal, New Scientist, author Bijal Trivedi reports on how combinations of the toxic effects of the toxins within our bodies can be far greater than the sum of the toxins. Say if the lethality of each of 8 chemical toxicant by themselves was .01 on a scale of 0-5, with 0 being non-toxic and 5 being deadly. Put them together in your blood stream and the toxicity goes to 4, you can see that each alone add up to just .08, but combine them and they become much more toxic, you see why scientists in the field of toxicology are getting nervous seeing that there are an estimated 75,000 artificial chemicals that you and I are exposed to every day.

As Mr. Trivedi point out, “Most toxicity testing has been done on a chemical-by-chemical basis, often by exposing rats to a range of concentrations to find the maximum dose that causes no harm.” Dr. Andreas Kortenkamp from the University of London found that when he added 8 chemicals ranging from plasticisers, sunscreen ingredients and others found in cooling and insulating fluids in quantities that were considered very low or the level toxicologist call “no-observed-effect concentration, something strange happened.  The chemical combination created an endocrine disruption which should not have logically happened. The effect is called “the new math – zero plus zero equals something.”

As noted phthalate researcher Shanna Swan said “People can’t keep phthalates [or other chemicals] out of their air, water or food.” So what to do? Make your body an efficient detoxifier. Make sure you eat organic when possible and test yourself for toxins to see if you have high levels in your body. One real good test is the Environmental Pollutants Biomarker from US Biotek, From that test you can find out what detoxification protocol you need to do to the best protect yourself from the inevitable exposures you face each and every day.

USDA Bastardizing the Word Raw – The Battle Over the Definition of Raw Almonds

In a astonishingly bad decision, the United States Department of Agriculture has decided to force almond producers to pasteurize their product. One of the approved methods uses propylene oxide which is considered by the European Union as a carcinogen. It is also a highly toxic flammable chemical compound, once used as a racing fuel, but that usage is now prohibited under the US NHRA rules for safety reasons. Safety reasons! Yet the USDA wants almond growers to spray it on their crop?

The Organic Consumers Association is sprearheading a campaign to role back the rules. Please go to this site and make your opinion known. We, as consumers, need to stop this madness. Don’t take this sitting down because if you do, what next?

When Boosting Your Thyroid is the Wrong Thing to do.

In my mind, the concept I’m going to talk about here, is such a common sense theory, that I am amazed that every health care practitioner doesn’t know about it. In fact, very few know about the fact that stimulating the thyroid through the use of medications such as SynthroidTM or more natural thyroid stimulants like Westhyroid or Amour can be highly detrimental to a persons health if they are environmentally toxic. The reason is so basic that perhaps it is too simple so that many in the health care industry may simply be missing the obvious.

So why would increasing metabolism be a bad thing when so many people have low metabolisms which inherently can lead to fatigue and obesity? The answer comes from experiments done in animal research and duplicated in humans.  When a mammal is exposed to environmental toxins, it naturally slows down its metabolism in order to fend off the effects of the toxins be they petrochemical, heavy metal or other. The body temperature goes down, metabolism slows and the organism can handle the toxin better. By increasing metabolism we can negate the protective mechanism that is inate in our bodies and cause more damage to our health.

The proper method of dealing with a depressed metabolism is not to artificially boost it with either a pharmaceutical or natural product but to deal with the underlying cause, environmental toxicity. Get tested by doing a Whole Blood Elements test and an Environmental Pollutants Biomarker which will look at both the petrochemical exposure issue and the heavy metals. If you find issues with elevated toxins, then you and your health care practitioner can develop a detoxification protocol to improve the excretion of these detrimental chemicals.

Of course, not everyone has this issue of excessive toxicity, but I would venture a guess that at least 70% of you do. If in doubt, check it out. The health you save may be your own.

Phthalates in the News….. Again

Data on the negative effects of the common plasticizer phthalates keeps on coming. Last month, it was the relationship between phthalates, insulin-resistance and male waist circumference and this month it is the effect of this toxin on thyroid function in men.  The journal Environmental Health Perspectives has published numerous articles on the subject but the last two issues seem to really bring home the fact that we need to look at phthalates more closely and avoid exposure as much as possible.

The June 2007 article, authored by Stahlhut, et al, shows a link between levels of urinary excretion of phthalates and insulin resistance as well as obesity in males. The gist of the article found here, is that phthalates may be anti-androgenic, meaning it blocks the production of testosterone. We know that by depressing testosterone you see an increase in cholesterol and a decrease in the ability to regulate blood sugar.

This month, researchers Meeker, Calafat and Hauser report on a study they did which looked at 408 men and measured their urine output of two forms of phthalates. There conclusion was that there may be an association between phthalate concentrations and altered free T4 and/or total T3 levels. This is the first time that human studies were conducted on this relationship and it seems to back up the limited animal research that showed this same correlation.

To find out where your levels are, have your doctor call Lab Interpretation LLC at 775-851-3336 and ask about the Environmental Pollutants Panel and you can check not only your phthalate level, but a number of other petrochemical solvents (benzene, toluene, xylene, parabens, trimethylbenzene and styrene), Phthalates are commonly found in drinking water as well as cosmetics, shampoos, perfumes and other skin and hair care products. Go to the Environmental Working Groups website (click the link) and go to their Skin Deep database. There you will find out where your exposures may be from.

Could Stain-Resistant Chemicals Make People More Allergic?

PFOAs, also known as perfluoro-octanoic acid, which is used the manufacture of stain-resistant fabrics and carpets, may make people more allergic to other things in their environment according to Jean Meade and colleagues at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Morgantown, West Virginia. In an animal experiment, those who were exposed to PFOAs produced a greater allergic response to egg allergens than those who went unexposed.

Dupont, the leading user of PFOAs of course denied this report vehemently. What I found interesting that while they denied this issue, they did admit that their assertion was not based on any research they did on the subject. PFOAs are found in the blood of everyone out there, but according to researchers, is only found in very small amounts from carpets and upholstery.

My thought on where it comes from is the same as the issue of global pollution; a little bit doesn’t harm the environment, but a little here and a little there and pretty soon you don’t have a little anymore.

Obesity and Men – New Data Linking Toxins to Waist Circumference and Insulin Resistance

In a study published in the June 2007 issue of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, authors Stahlhut et al, report that they have found that “phthalate (a plasticizer) metabolites showed statistically significant correlations with abdominal obesity and insulin resistance.” The correlations were found in a cross-section of US males. The mechanism they believe is the way that this man-made chemical can reduce androgen (e.g. testosterone) production and/or function. In a number of human studies, men who have had androgen deprivation therapy have shown increases in serum glucose, total fat and have shown the propensity to have a greater chance of having metabolic syndrome.

The study, available from the EHP journal free of charge, has major implications. As some of you may know from my lectures around the world and some of my blogs here, I have always asserted that there is a link between toxicity and obesity. Here is yet another powerful study that shows yet another reason why we need to keep on our toes and make sure that our bodies are able to detoxify efficiently. It also leads to the answer to the proverbial chicken vs egg question, but here it is which came first, obesity (fat is a gerat storage place for toxins) or toxicity.  I firmly believe, toxicity is one of the causative factors of the obesity epidemic. My suspicion is that these toxins cause people (even young children) to crave, then eat to excess, sugars and fats to deal with their increasing insulin resistance issues.

Testing for two urinary metabolites of phthalates is easy and inexpensive. Have your physician contact Lab Interpretation LLC and ask for the Environmental Pollutants Biomarker test from US Biotek. Not only does it measure urinary output of phthalates and monoethyl phthalates, it looks at metabolites of xylene, toluene, benzene, trimethylbenzene, styrene and parabens.  Since almost every human on earth now has detectable levels of a number of toxins flowing through their body, it is imperative that we measure whether we excrete the toxins effectively.

In today’s toxic world, you need to know your enemy so you can effectively deal with it and find the sources of exposure.

Tidbits and Findings From the World of Medical Research

Can Standard Cancer Treatments Cause Metastasis? 

In an article in the May 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, discovered a protein known as transforming growth factor beta (TGF-bets) which can increase the likelihood of developing additional tumors after the use of traditional cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation. While TGF-beta is normally found in healthy individuals, its presence in cancer patients can present a problem if this mouse study is confirmed in human studies. The future may be brighter for cancer victims if methods to lower the prescence of TGF-beta while treatment is ongoing.

Men, Migraines and Heart Attack Risk

According to the Archives of Internal Medicine, men between the ages of 40-84 who have migraines are 24 percent more likely to have a heart attack than non-sufferers. While the reason is unknown to researchers, I have an idea.

I believe that a large number of migraine sufferers suffer from an inflammatory reaction to foods and food additives. This is borne out by the positive results from Signet Diagnostics and their LEAP MRT blood test which looks for the pro-inflammatory reaction of foods on people. Their success rate with migraine sufferers is a astonishing 67%. Basically, they check to see which of 150 items your body reacts to in an inflammatory manner and has you change your diet accordingly.

Heart disease is really not so much about cholesterol and fat as it is about inflammation. If we reduce inflammatory processes, we will probably reduce heart disease as well as many other diseases and syndromes. Just something to think about.

Are Your Food Packages Harmful to your Health?

According to researchers reporting in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, the answer is yes. A coating put into food packaging called polyfluoroalkyl phosphate surfactants (PAPS) that acts as a oil and water repelent may convert into the toxic substance known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), This chemical which helps make TeflonTM, is a known carcinogen and is being found with increasing regularity in people around the world.

What is disturbing about the revelation is that the researchers found that our bodies are converting the PAPS into PFOAs and the chemicals created in the intermediate steps between the two may be even more toxic. This is also found in the detoxification pathway of Xylene and Toluene where the intermediate of 2- or 3-methylhippurate (final stage of those solvents detoxification and excretion) is 2- or 3- methylbenzoate which is highly toxic.

What the researchers led by Dr. Scott Marbury and Jessica C. D’eon of the University of Toronto are now doing is finding out how prevalent and widespread PAPS are in our environment. My guess is that it is all over and in higher quantities than expected.

Is Inflammation the Major Issue in Obesity?

My old mentor, John Kitkoski used to tell me that inflammation and excessive oxidation were the two bad boys when it came to health problems. Oxidation he said, could cause people to gain weight much like a rusty nail (which is oxidized) weighs more than the non-rusty nail. Inflammation caused problems because of the added stress around the tissues infected. More and more scientists have come to the conclusion that these two factors, especially inflammation are major players in a number of diseases and health issues.

In the May 31st issue of Nature (pg 525-7), author Kendall Powell, a science writer out of Broomfield, Colorado, talks about the many issues surrounding obesity, fat distribution and ill health. It turns out that fat, especially the type that surrounds organs like the liver (known as visceral fat) and is found in both the obese and supposedly lean individuals, send out signaling molecules that can increase damage to the organs. Subcutaneous fat, also known as cellulite is not as metabolically active and presents less of a problem.

The upshot of the article is that it is the distribution of fat more than just the presence of it that is critical.  I for one, after reading the article have a greater appreciation of the issue and will be working hard to remove the “accumulation” I have around my waist due to inactivity due to my problem with a torn Achilles tendon and torn rotator cuff.

Interested in the Planet Earth – Try This Informative Website

I just found a fascinating website today, Earth Portal. Instead of having a Wikipedia like system where anyone with a computer can edit and add to articles, Earth Portal has 150 authors whose credentials have been verified (along with a editor conversant within the field in question) writing articles about all things related to our planet and ourselves.

Find out how the body expels toxins, what a “dust budget” is, or the latest news about our planet. An excellent website with great information written by reliable scientists. It also has a well attended discussion forum as well.

Take some time today and visit.

Truths, Half-Truths and Myths Surrounding Global Warming

One of my favorite weekly reads is the British magazine – The New Scientist.  In their May 19-25, 2007 issue, their main article is about laying out some truths and dispelling myths about the issue of global warming. Here are some of their major points:

  • Myth – “Carbon dioxide levels only rose after the start of warm periods, so CO2 does not cause warming.” Anti-warmists claim that the evidence does not show that CO2 levels were causative factors in global warming in the past, which is true. The problem is that never in history did humans add carbon dioxide into the atmosphere above and beyond what nature has.
  • Half-truth – “It has been warmer in the past, so what’s the big deal?” Just because it has been warmer in the past doesn’t mean that getting warmer now does not have a potential for disaster.
  • Half-truth – “Human carbon dioxide emissions are tiny compared with natural sources.” True but the average CO2 levels over the past half-million years have been between 180 – 300 parts per million. Only in recent time, since the start of the Industrial Revolution, has it gone to 380 ppm. Due to carbon dating and the levels of carbon-14 in ice cores, we are pretty sure that it is human caused.
  • Myth – “…volcanoes emit more CO2 than human activities.” That is simply not true. Volcanoes emit .3 gigatons of CO2 annually which is about one hundreth of the amount humans emit.
  • Myth – “It’s too cold where I live. A bit of warming will be great.” What a myopic attitude. This issue is not about weather (which is local), it is about global climate. If your area gets better, others who are too warm already, will get worse eventually affecting you. Current predictions claim that agricultural yields in most of the world will halve by 2100. Yeah but we’re warmer up north than before?  Ugh.
  • Myth – “It’s all down to cosmic rays.” Measurements of cosmic ray intensity has only started in the late 20th century and no data model has shown any relationship long-term.
  • Half-truth – “Antarctica is getting cooler and the ice sheets are getting thicker.” Yes they are but it is in part due to air circulation because of the hole in the ozone layer. As that repairs itself, the circulation is expected to change and the ice is expected to rapidly melt.
  • Myth – “It was warmer during the Middle Ages than it is now, with vineyards in England.” Actually, this seems to be a regional phenomena (local weather versus global climate).

One other issue is that it is not just how warm it is now but how much warmer it is going to get. Anti-warmists love to point out that science claimed that the planet was heading towards an ice age back in the 70’s so ha ha, why should we believe them now?  Boy is that a silly way of thinking. Hey, we thought that most ulcers were caused by stress and stomach acid back in the 70’s but now they say it is caused by heliobactor pylori so why should we believe doctors?  Hey guys, we have better science and computers than back in the 70’s. If you don’t believe it go to climateprediction.net and check the project they are doing that could not have been done 30 years ago.