In a past blog I mention that giving a developing fetus the best opportunity for a healthy life started with the parents making sure that they were as environmentally healthy as possible. In lectures I have given around the world, there is one test I adamantly propose as a must for both men and women who are contemplating having children and that is the Environmental Pollutants panel from US Biotek in Seattle, Washington.

This test looks at excretion levels of the following chemicals, some of which are carcinogenic and can disrupt hormonal levels in the developing child. These chemicals include benzene, trimethylbenzene, styrene, toluene, xylene, parabens and phthalates. The last one, phthalates, has been shown to affect male children especially, making them more feminine structurally as well as shortening pregnancy by up to two weeks which has been shown to have a negative long-term health effect on children.