Written by Patrick Massey, MD, PhD. This article shows how to minimize your exposure to toxic agents like BPA.
Dr. Massey just completed a course in environmental medicine through the University of Arizona, Program in Integrative Medicine. This course reinforced the reality that we are exposed to many, serious, health-impacting toxins on a daily basis.
Most of the serious toxins come from industry and farming…either industrial compounds that are used in our lives, pesticides and herbicides or toxic waste and heavy metals that are spewed into the air, water and soil.
Some countries are being quite proactive however, compared to other industrialized nations, our politicians and federal agencies (FDA especially) are influenced by corporate profits rather then people’s health.
Fortunately, there is more research in this area and, because of the internet, it cannot be kept as a secret.
In the following articles, he has highlighted a few specific toxins, what they do and how to avoid or minimize exposure.
One interesting and scary area of environmental medicine is called epigenetics…the toxic exposures and their effects actually become sealed in our DNA and get passed into the next generation and continuing generations. Fortunately, it may be reversible.
Bisphenol A
Can a chemical, bisphenol A (BPA), lining the cans of many of our canned foods increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes? According to two, large medical studies, the answer is yes. One of the downsides of living in a technological world is that we are exposed to more man-made compounds than in the past. Unfortunately, a number of these man-made compounds may have a negative effect on health.
BPA is a man-made compound that is believed to disrupt a number of hormone systems. Over 2.2 million tons of BPA are introduced into our environment every year. It is commonly found as a lining in canned soft drinks and foods, plastic containers, and epoxy resins. We are exposed to BPA primarily through diet, water and by skin exposure (holding sales receipts). Research indicates that over ninety percent of the US population is regularly exposed to BPA.
Although more research is needed (taking decades), BPA has been associated with more than a few serious medical conditions. Most of the research has been in animals but the results may be applicable to humans. BPA may increase the risk of several cancers, decrease memory, promote hypothyroidism, infertility, affect the growing fetus, cause erectile dysfunction and contribute to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. BPA has an even greater effect on young children.
One study in 2008, comprised of about 1,500 people and published in the Journal of the American Association, strongly correlated BPA levels in the urine with an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and elevated liver enzymes. A more recent medical study (2010), with almost 3,000 people, confirmed the findings of the earlier study. Individuals with higher levels of BPA in their urine had strong associations with heart disease and diabetes. Heart disease and diabetes are in the top ten causes of death.
BPA is used in canned food to protect the food from interacting with the metal can. It is very effective. However, there is little argument that BPA can influence certain disease processes. The question is “how much BPA is safe” and that answer varies depending on who you ask.
Canada has banned BPA as a toxic compound, unfit for human consumption. Japan voluntarily discontinued the use of BPA and their children are virtually BPA free. Most of Europe has banned BPA from baby bottles, pacifiers, etc. In contrast, action by Congress/FDA has been anemic compared to the rest of the world. However, eleven states have banned BPA from baby bottles. Unfortunately, Illinois is not one of them.
Thousands of new products are introduced in the environment annually. Most have not been tested for toxicity. The FDA does not require testing of industrial compounds. Toxicity tests are only done if there appears to be a medical emergency. To complicate this issue further, about 20% of all industrial compounds are considered secrete and even if toxic, are not revealed to the general public.
However, BPA is a known commodity. We can limit exposure and promote safer alternatives (like in Canada and Japan). Avoid plastics labeled with the numbers 7 or 3. I also recommend eating fresh or frozen foods, look for “BPA free” on cans (Trader Joe’s leads the way), drink sodas, water and alcoholic beverages from glass bottles and limit handling of receipts.
Flame Retardants
Thousands of synthetic chemicals currently used in a variety of industrial and agricultural applications are leading factors in the widespread contamination of the environment. These pesticides, plasticizers, antimicrobials, and flame retardants are very beneficial and have improved our quality of life but the medical cost may exceed the benefits.
Although the FDA states that low levels are safe, before coming to market, no reasonable human safety studies were done and no post marketing evaluations have occurred. Perhaps as stand alone chemicals, the risk is small but small exposures of hundreds of chemicals can have a devastating effect on human health…so devastating in fact that it is now a global concern. These chemicals are often called endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) because they can disrupt hormonal balance and result in developmental and reproductive abnormalities.
Especially problematic are flame retardants because they are everywhere, especially in our homes and can accumulate over time. Some first-generation flame retardants have been banned in the US for more than a half century, but the byproducts have continued to accumulate. Many have been isolated from human adipose tissue and can be found all along the food chain. It is estimated that all Americans have some level of flame retardants in their bodies. Indeed, toxic levels have been consistently demonstrated in human breast milk. Europe, in 2008 banned flame retardants as a class of compounds. Here in the US, many are still alive and kicking. The FDA continues to review the data.
Flame retardants are highly pro-inflammatory. Chronic exposure to them is linked with a number of serious human illnesses, including heart disease, hypothyroidism and cancer. Flame retardants are commonly found in furniture, carpets, kitchen appliances, foam products, new cars and electronics such as televisions. The most prevalent are the organochlorines, the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and the polybrominated di-phenyl ethers (PBDE).
Avoidance may be impossible but there are ways to help the body detoxify itself…and that answer is below.
Protect and Detoxify
In today’s world, you could go live in a cave in the Andes and still be exposed to some degree of toxins. They are everywhere. Heck, the US alone pumps over 1 million tons of mercury into the atmosphere every year. There is no escape but you can decrease overall exposure and increase detoxification of you body.
DECREASE EXPOSURE:
- Eat organic…it is better.
- Use, at least, carbon water filter….also bottled water is only held to the same standard as tap water.
- Exercise every day…but do not jog down the expressway.
- Limit exposure to plastic bags and receipts.
- Do not heat or reheat in plastic storage containers…put food in a bowel or dish.
- Trade in carpeting for wood floors.
- Really limit canned foods…unless can label states “BPA free.
INCREASE DETOXIFICATION
- Eat organic fruits and veggies.
- Exercise…lungs most efficient organ for detox.
- Vitamin C helps to detox…especially intravenous vitamin C.
- Green tea…every day.
- Anti-inflammatory diet.
- Select anti-inflammatory herbs and suppelements.
Posted May 17, 2012.
