Toxins – Invisible And Deadly

Our imaginations run wild when we listen to ghost stories . . . or watch scary movies . . .

The unknown – the invisible – gets the skin on the back of our necks prickling!

But while ghouls and goblins may make you shiver, there’s another unseen danger lurking about. And whether or not you believe in ghosts, this danger is undeniably real.

What is this health threat? It’s what I refer to as the “toxic load.”

I first discovered how serious this toxic problem was in the early 1980’s. I was working with patients, helping them to balance blood sugar levels. They were receiving nutritional supplements, but still that wasn’t enough.

Something else was keeping them run-down and sick.
That something else turned out to be environmental toxins. Toxins had snuck into their bodies and were wreaking havoc.

Toxins Are Everywhere You Turn . . .

These same toxins continue to show their ghoulish faces when I work with my patients today. Everywhere you turn, there are toxins:

• There are 80,000 chemicals registered in the United States, and an estimated 2000 are added every year.

• In a recent American Red Cross sample study of babies' umbilical cords, they found that each one had an average of 287 contaminants, 180 of which were known carcinogens.

It's impossible to avoid exposure to these environmental pollutants. They can enter your body through your lungs, through the food you eat, and even through your skin.

Once they’ve infiltrated one cell or group of cells, toxins can then spread through your bloodstream.

Your body has a built-in mechanism for eliminating toxins. But in many cases, your body can’t keep up with the amount it’s exposed to. And with some toxins, your body simply hangs on to them, even mistaking them for other nutrients.

They build up and are stored in your body until they become a dangerous “toxic load.” For example, DDT, a dangerous pesticide now banned in the U.S., can stay in your body for over 30 years!

Once that “load” reaches a certain point, it can cripple your body, making it impossible for your body to perform the way it should.

Chances are slim that your doctor will tell you toxins may be a root cause of your health problems. He or she probably knows very little about how toxins affect your body. I didn't learn much about this in medical school.

But you'll know better after looking through this list. Just consider these 4 “toxic loads”:

TOXIC Threat #1: Chemical Toxins Can Destroy Your Cells

Toxic chemicals are everywhere and attack your health in multiple ways . . .

Pesticides in foods have been linked to breast cancer. Chemically-laden paints and solvents can damage your central nervous system, your liver, even your heart. Insecticides in the air, ground and water can damage your cells and penetrate your nervous system.

But that’s not all . . . Chemicals in hair dyes, deodorants and other personal care products can break down your cell walls and interfere with your hormones. Paints and solvents can damage your central nervous system by penetrating the fatty myelin nerve sheaths. And corrosives from air-conditioning units can cause asthma and bronchitis.

I’ve seen many cases where people have chemical sensitivity. This means they develop serious autoimmune disorders from chemicals picked up through the air, in foods, or in cosmetics.

How do these chemicals cause these kinds of problems?

• Toxic chemicals can damage your cells. For example, asbestos can make your cells look like a porcupine under the microscope.

• They can interfere with complex biochemical processes that keep your body going. An example of this is the way the common toxin bisphenol A (BPA), found in many plastics, interferes with proper hormonal functioning.

• Chemicals can substitute for important nutrients. Like how chlorine can substitute for iodine, thus interfering with proper thyroid gland functioning.

• They can adversely affect your body’s cleansing filters, like your liver, kidneys, lungs and lymph nodes.
While complex chemicals can cause damage, simple metals also do harm . . .

TOXIC Threat #2: Heavy Metals Can Undermine Your Health

Shockingly, metal toxicity from mercury, nickel, lead, cadmium, copper, aluminum and arsenic may be linked to numerous health problems such as arthritis, ulcers, allergies, fatigue, immune suppression and headaches.
How much toxic heavy metal could we have lurking around in our bodies?

Claire Patterson, Ph.D., the highly-esteemed geologist at Cal Tech in Pasadena, CA says the average human now has a body burden of lead that’s about 1000 times greater than people who lived 500 years ago.

Mercury is the main component in common “silver” dental fillings. According to Edward Arana, DDS, Founding President of the American Academy of Biological Dentistry, “Dental amalgam fillings can release mercury, tin, copper, silver and sometimes zinc into the body.”
Nickel, which can be traced to root canals, cosmetics, cigarette smoke and even margarine, can block calcium channels in the heart. This lowers magnesium levels and leads to heart arrhythmias.

Our primary exposure to cadmium comes through tobacco or through our food supply. Cadmium not only increases the toxicity of other toxic metals, it also increases the toxicity of many immune-suppressing chemicals. Cadmium is considered the most potent immune modulator among heavy metals and is capable of causing several autoimmune disorders.

Metals do their damage in many ways:

• Metals can “fight for site” like when toxic ionic mercury takes the place of necessary zinc or iron in your body;

• They can cause genetic damage such as nickel adversely affecting your RNA and causing improper cell duplication and mutations;

• Heavy metals like mercury unleash free radicals. Mercury binds up and destroys antioxidants, allowing free radicals to move freely throughout your body; And

• Toxic metals can cause allergies. Metals bind with the protein in your body’s tissue to make you susceptible to autoimmune disease.

Heavy metals can wear your body down. But some toxins float in on the air you breathe . . .

TOXIC Threat #3: Toxins In The Air We Breathe

Living in Marin County, California, north of San Francisco, I usually enjoy clear blue skies. But my years of research tell me that there’s an invisible danger, even in the air here.

For example, our air—both indoors and outdoors—is laden with dangerous ozone, carbon monoxide, pesticides, aerosols, hydrogen fluoride, sulfur oxides and more.

Air pollution can cause lung irritation . . . burning eyes . . . throat and nose sores . . . asthma and chronic bronchitis . . . and even increased susceptibility to cancer.

According to the World Health Organization, worldwide 2 million deaths are linked to air pollution each year.

Indoor air can be worse than the air outdoors. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air contains on average 2-5 times more contaminants than outdoor air.

How does the air indoors become so toxic?

• Formaldehyde from insulation, plywood, carpet and fabric outgasses into the air;

• Aerosol spray products such as cleansers, paints and deodorants linger around;

• Microbes and mold spor
es found in air filters, air ducts and vacuum cleaner exhaust spread and multiply;

• Cooking gas and carbon monoxide from furnaces and water heaters seep out with poor maintenance and bad ventilation.

All of these contribute to indoor pollution.

Shockingly, many common cleaning products and their vapors can also be deadly. A 15-year study in Oregon showed that women who stayed at home during the day had a 54% higher cancer death rate than women who worked outside the home. The study suggests that chemicals in the household might be a causative factor.

So you’re not safe – indoors or out. But get this, you’re even in danger when you go to the doctor’s office . . .

TOXIC Threat #4: Medications Can Actually Make You Sick

Don’t be fooled into believing drugs are a cure-all for illness. They can often override and interfere with your body’s own natural healing.

Drugs that actually identify and attack a disease-causing agent are few and far between. Antibiotics kill bacterial cells. But in doing so, they inevitably kill necessary and useful bacteria, as well as other cells in your body.

While antibiotics can be useful and even lifesaving in managing an acute bacterial infection, they have drawbacks:

• Their long-term use can suppress your body’s defense system;

• They are ineffective against viruses; and

• They kill the good, protective probiotic bacteria that we depend on for good health.

But antibiotics aren’t the only problem . . .

The most popular drugs used today are what I call “symptom-suppressing drugs.” They’re called this because they don’t get to the root cause, but rather alleviate the symptoms. They, too, act as toxins causing side effects and even allergic reactions.

And just like the other toxins, they interfere with your body’s natural, healthy functioning. As integrative medicine expert, Dr. Hyla Cass explains in her book, Supplement Your Prescription; What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutrition, many of these medications have been shown to actually rob your body of nutrients by interfering with nutrient absorption.

I am in no way suggesting you abandon all drugs or medications. My point is that in my practice, I’ve seen many cases where the side effects of drugs do much more damage than any good.

You Can Reduce Your Toxic Load

Toxins take many frightening forms and can trip your health up when you’re not looking. But as scary as they are, you shouldn’t get paranoid . . .

Our bodies have built-in mechanisms for getting rid of toxins. Our bodies are made to move toxins out of our bodies safely and steadily.

The challenge we face today, when it comes to toxins, is the overwhelming amount of toxins we’re exposed to. However, we can take steps to reduce our toxic load.

Thanks to a growing awareness of the toxic threats around us, we have a growing number of green, healthy options – like non-toxic cleaners. We can support companies that make a commitment to clean manufacturing.

We have the tools to minimize the work our body has to do to keep us free of toxins. And when we lighten this toxic load in our bodies, cell by cell our body can get back to performing at its optimum level.