Toxins All Around Us
Dr. Winni Loesch
News reports of imported toys manufactured with lead-based paint have folks up in arms and worried. Parents are rightly concerned about lead's toxic effects and they are cautious about buying toys this holiday season.
However, it shouldn't take an event like this for people to be sensitive to the fact that we live in a world where we are, everyday, exposed to natural and man-made toxins.
For example, there are other sources of lead exposure besides the well known lead paint chips and dust. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder. Those homes that have copper pipes may still have lead in the solder for the pipes, and so lead may be released into the drinking water. Even newer homes with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures can leach some lead into the water.
In fact, there is growing concern that many of our chronic illnesses may be caused, to greater or lesser degrees, by these toxins. Sometimes the effects are immediate and acute and yet many effects are due to chronic exposure and slow accumulation of specific toxins as well as the interplay of these toxic effects on our bodies.
Prudence dictates that we all learn more about this issue so that we can take steps individually and collectively to: decrease the pollutants we make and release into our environment, avoid or limit our exposure to known toxins and enhance our ability to detoxify our internal (body), local and global communities.
Toxic substances enter the body through our lungs as we breathe polluted air or by eating or drinking substances contaminated with a variety of toxins. Certainly it is possible for some things to come through the skin, although this is a less common source of toxic exposure.
Avoiding breathing is not really an option for any of us. So limiting our exposure to polluted air is something that requires all of us to decrease our contribution to the pollutants in the air. Fine particle pollution comes from the combustion of fossil fuels How does lead cause us problems?
It reacts with certain proteins (enzymes) that are involved in key physiologic processes. Accumulation of low levels of lead over time can result in serious damage to the nervous system (brain), kidneys and red blood cells. Fortunately, we can test for lead levels in blood or urine samples and provide treatment to remove it if necessary.
Lately, several patients have presented with multiple and sometimes vague symptoms that don't readily fit into one of the more common diagnoses for which patients are usually seen. One person's symptoms triggered my recall of something I'd recently read regarding mercury toxicity. Special testing provided evidence of high levels of mercury in that person's body.
Thorough questioning of this patient suggested that the most likely source of their mercury exposure was chronic consumption of fish species (over a period of years) that are more likely to contain high levels of mercury. Larger fish tend to accumulate the highest amount of mercury; tuna, shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish and all farm-raised fish are suspect.
Environmental toxins
Researching the health effects of mercury and lead toxicity brought up the wider spectrum of environmental toxins to which we are exposed, and their impact on our bodies like coal, oil, diesel fuel, gasoline and wood. Larger particles include dust, pollen, mold spores etc. It is well known that the actual number of particles in the air can kill, regardless of what the particle is made of. In 1952, London experienced a very dense smog that killed 4000 people in one week.
Several studies in different parts of the country came to the same conclusion that an increase of 100 micrograms (mcg) per cubic meter in particles with a size of 10 microns is always associated with an 8 to 17 percent increase in mortality rate. Even though we think of people with respiratory diseases, such as asthma, as being most susceptible to these air pollution effects, research has shown that there are significant cardiovascular effects from particle pollution. Studies have clarified that this size particle pollution can trigger constriction of blood vessels and even more so when there is simultaneous exposure to ozone or if particles have a high carbon content. An increase in heart attacks and strokes can occur as soon as one to two hours after susceptible population is exposed to particle pollution.
There is so much interest and importance related to the subject of environmental toxicity. Several future columns could be devoted to this. How about giving some feedback in support of this or other topics of interest, since our goal is providing helpful, healthful information to you, our reader community!