Are you protected from Toxic exposure?

Remember the Flint water crisis in Michigan? How about our Newark water crisis? Whether we want to admit it or not, people today are passively exposed to toxicants regardless of their lifestyle choices; so we need to pay attention to these “passive determinants of health” in our overall health condition. Phthalates and their metabolites found in a variety of items, including foods, drinks, routine household products, the air, and the general environment, are ingested passively by people and these have the potential to cause various illnesses and chronic diseases.

Somewhat independent of people’s choices, the things which in the past have been normally considered healthy, or at least neutral, are now becoming significant sources of toxins for people.

In the modern world, everyone is exposed to a mixture of chemical compounds daily, from household toxicants to ambient air pollution. Even food-based toxicant exposures may contribute to poor health. Metallic compounds in seafood, pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables, and hormones found in many dairy products are examples. This accumulation of toxicants and potential chronic exposure may lead to an overloaded detoxification pathway, increased systemic inflammation, and clinical patterns such as immune dysfunction or endocrine disruption.

So, why is important to mind our toxins? Our bodies can only handle so many toxins before we get sick. At first, the liver works hard to sift out toxins, and if you are exposed to more toxins than your liver can handle at once, your body stores the toxins in your body fat.

To continue with our Functional Medicine series, let’s take a look at some of the most common toxins (naturally occurring) and toxicants (man-made) and how to avoid them. We’ll also explore how in our Functional Medicine practice, we test to see if toxins are causing bodily harm, as well as what dis-eases these toxins and toxicants are related to.

Given the option, most people would prefer to be healthy and avoid illness if possible, and Functional Medicine can help those people achieve their health and wellness goals. For those patients who may already be sick, Functional Medicine offers a unique way of getting to the cause of the underlying condition or disease and addresses the true nature of the disease not the symptoms.

To put this subject in perspective, I’d like to share with you a story of one of our patients. He went to his cardiologist complaining about major chest pains that felt like a heart attack. After a year of testing using EKG’s, stress tests, echocardiograms, etc. the doctors could find nothing out of the ordinary. Being in super good shape and with a healthy lifestyle, he knew something was wrong and the heart attack symptoms just weren’t going away. That’s when he walked into FLHC and asked if there was a Functional Medicine approach that might be able to figure out what was wrong with him. We ran some blood tests, and his testing came back with high lead levels off the charts! Within (3) months using chelation therapy and not drinking the water at his home in Newark, he now has his life back without heart problems. You see, this is just one example of why it’s important to approach our health from an all encompassing perspective, to uncover the root or core causes of illness and disease. In this way, we can facilitate natural ways of bringing the body system and vital substances back into balance, reducing and eliminating illness and disease without medications.  

Think of your body as a bucket. Now imagine the toxins that surround us in daily life are the liquid that slowly fills that bucket. With each toxic exposure, drop-by-drop your bucket becomes more full. A drop here and there isn’t such a big deal, as our immune systems were designed to handle a degree of toxicity. However, chronic exposure to an onslaught of chemical, physical and emotional stressors fills up your bucket each day, and at some point the bucket begins to overflow. It may take a few decades before your bucket spills over, but once it does cellular inflammation is triggered, symptoms arise, and disease manifests.

MEASURING EXPOSURE: IDENTIFICATION, MEASUREMENT, & TREATMENT

It goes without saying that smoking, drugs and alcohol are some of the worst toxins people expose their bodies to on a conscious basis; but we have addressed these toxins in newsletters many times before, and we know that these toxic substances are bad news from the start. But there are generally (5) types of toxic entities; chemical, biological, physical, radiation and behavioral toxicity. Disease-causing microorganisms and parasites are toxic in a broad sense but are generally called pathogens rather than toxicants. Today, I’d like to focus on the common metals and toxic chemicals that are believed to cause many of the chronic diseases we are experiencing today:

  • Arsenic (learn more about Arsenic HERE)

    • Damages the DNA

    • Poisons the beta cells in the pancreas

    • A suggested 15% to 20% of diabetes cases are due to arsenic

  • Lead (learn more about Lead HERE)

  • Mercury (read more HERE)

  • Cadmium (learn more about Cadmium HERE)

  • PCB’s (learn more about PCB’s HERE)

  • Other factors:

    • Pediatrics: organophosphate pesticide levels as low as possible

DIABETES

In our last “Make America Healthy Again” series, we learned about our American diabetes crisis in detail. If you missed it, read more about Diabetes HERE. About 90% of the diabetes epidemic is due entirely to environmental toxins [and toxicants].

  • Sugar consumption alone does not correlate with the diabetes epidemic; exposure to man-made and natural chemicals appears to correlate.

  • Environmental toxins and toxicants implicated in diabetes include phthalates (industrial chemicals), PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls), and arsenic.

TOXINS, TOXICANTS, AND AUTOIMMUNITY

The research is very clear—huge, huge, strong correlations between toxin load and most of your autoimmune diseases are unquestionably connected. As a reminder, autoimmune diseases are conditions in which the human immune system attacks healthy human tissues within the body, learn more HERE. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an example:

  • Research estimates that about 20% of RA cases are due to PCB’s.

  • Possible mechanism:

    • The toxicant binds to normal body tissues.

    • Those normal body tissues now become abnormal.

    • Then the immune system starts going after them.

THYROID & ASSOCIATION WITH TOXICANTS

Thirty toxicants have been identified as thyroid disruptors, and these same toxicants affect other non-thyroid, immunity-related diseases such as type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, Sjögren’s syndrome, biliary cirrhosis, pernicious anemia, and multiple sclerosis.

  • Mercury:

    • Most well demonstrated toxicant to affect the thyroid pituitary axis.

    • Stored in thyroid follicular tissue.

    • Initiates autoimmune thyroid disease

  • Perchlorate:

    • Component in rocket fuel.

    • Water contaminant.

    • Blocks uptake of iodine into thyroid tissue by blocking the symporter.

MEASURING TOXIN AND TOXICANT LEVELS:

What’s well accepted for toxicity testing is that blood and urine are great measures of current exposure, except these are not particularly good measures of body toxin loads.

To begin with, we must identify the source of the exposure, test for the toxicant, stop the exposure, and increase elimination from the body.

Below are some tests and their benefits:

  • Toenail samples to measure arsenic levels

  • Measuring blood and urine levels

  • Hair samples:

    • Effective measurement if patient can get rid of toxins and toxicants through hair.

    • Due to genetics, some patients will not rid body of toxins and toxicants through hair.

  • PCB’s:

    • Fat biopsy – best way.

    • Blood sample.

    • Urine test – most frequently administered, but not a great measure.

  • Provoked urine test:

    • Use of chelating agents: bind to the heavy metals in tissues.


TREATMENT CONSIDERATIONS

We recommend many different treatments depending on the type of toxic exposure a person is dealing with. Below are some of the basics:

  • Identify the toxic exposure source and stop exposure.

  • Support the body’s own natural methods for biotransformation:

    • Eat more fiber.

    • Promote glutathione production in the body.

  • Vitamin C may increase excretion of toxins and toxicants.

PCB ELIMINATION:

When attempting to identify a source of toxicity elevation, we look into exposure pathways. For example, a primary source of PCB exposure is farmed fish.

  • PCB’s are difficult to eliminate.

  • The half-life of PCB’s in humans ranges from 3 to 25 years.

  • Certain prescription drugs can help remove PCB’s from the gut more effectively.

INFRARED SAUNA:

  • When to use medical sauna:

    • Patients who have been exposed to solvents, phthalates, BPA, cadmium (pours out in sweat), mercury (in sweat and increased elimination in urine after sauna), organochlorine pesticides, and PCB’s.

  • Results:

    • Infrared sauna compared to standard radiant heat sauna:

      • Equivalent results in their ability to eliminate toxicants. Infrared heat is more easily tolerated.

    • Sauna compared to an exercise bike:

      • Heat-stimulated opening of the sweat glands using the sauna was more effective in eliminating toxicants.

CHELATION:

  • Chelation (pronounced “key-lay-shun”) is a highly effective treatment for clearing heavy metals, excess calcium, and artery-damaging chemicals from the bloodstream.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Addressing toxicity and alleviating body burden may not only improve treatment outcomes for patients with chronic conditions, it may also allow the body to operate more efficiently and improve overall resilience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing toxic exposure and its impact on immunity and health has an even more heightened significance.

Our diet can either be healthful and protective, or have detrimental effects on our well-being. Limiting or eliminating certain foods to reduce the total intake of toxicants, while consuming more fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients, will support the liver and promote efficient elimination.

The human body is capable of flushing out toxins stored in our systems. We only suffer when our intake exceeds our body’s capacity to get rid of them.

If you’re worried about toxins in your body, some general tips include:

  • If you work with heavy metals, always wear a mask or other safety equipment.

  • Eat a varied diet that isn’t too high in fish, bone broth or rice.

  • Filter your water

  • Don’t smoke regular and/or e-cigarettes

  • Children should eat a variety of fruits and vegetables (think leafy greens, fresh berries and creamy avocado) minimizing root vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots that are packed with nutrition, but may also contain higher levels of heavy metals

  • Buy and/or grow organic foods

  • Check local fish advisories to make sure the fish you eat is safe, and choose seafood low in mercury and keep your consumption to one or two meals per week.

  • If you live in a home built before 1978, hire an expert to test it for lead paint and, if found, do a complete lead abatement.

  • Check labels on products for heavy metals.

Eating a varied diet that isn't too high in fish, bone broth, or rice; filtering your water; and buying or growing organic food when you can, should help you steer clear of most heavy metals.

If you are concerned or curious about your levels of Heavy Metals:

A Urine Toxic Metal (UTM) test can be taken to find out your levels of (20) different heavy metals. The tests are easy, taken over a (6) hour time frame, no fasting involved, and are often covered by insurance. Results are back within about one week.

Should a report show that there is a heavy metal imbalance, we consider several different modes of treatment here at Ferguson Life Health Centers that can be performed right here in our office or at home (i.e., IV chelation, Oral chelation, Infrared Sauna, and Hyperbaric oxygen treatments). These, in coordination with possible diet changes, help in normalizing toxic levels in the body.

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I hope this information helps you understand Toxins and how to minimize them in your life. If you are concerned about the affect of toxins in yourself, your child or a family member, please call our office and set up an appointment.

It is my goal to help you focus on prevention BEFORE you become sick!!!!

From a Functional Medicine perspective, we help you uncover the root or core causes of illness and disease, as well as monitor your health over time.  In this way, we can facilitate natural ways of bringing the body system and vital substances back into balance and thereby reducing and eliminating illness and disease without medications.  The practice of Functional Medicine revolves around natural healing and long term wellness facilitated by living a healthy lifestyle.  When everything is well nourished and functioning well, we come to that place of wellness and bliss.

Dr Derek Ferguson