Thriving in a Toxic World
Several months ago one of the labs I work with, Genova, added a subtest to one of their comprehensive nutritional tests. The new test was for MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether), a gasoline additive. So far four of the five people I’ve tested for MTBE are positive. Gasoline leaks from underground storage tanks and from gas pumps into the water system. Some people get MTBE by inhaling too much when they pump gas.
Recommendation: When filling your car’s gas tank, turn your head away from the gas fumes.
The first time MTBE caught my attention was with a 13-year-old boy with severe anxiety. I was sure that the lab work would show what was wrong with his brain neurotransmitters. I was shocked. His neurotransmitters were normal, but he had a lot of MTBE in his body. The MTBE caused a severe depletion of glutathione, our body’s number one detoxifier. The combination of high MTBE and low glutathione put his body into a highly inflammatory state. The boy’s father, iPad in hand in my office, was on the Internet quickly. He spent the next few days trying to find out what was in the water in Carlsbad. That government report arrived and mentioned the presence of MTBE at the bottom of the report, but did not specify the amount, although the amounts of everything else were documented. Because inflammation was the central cause of the boy’s anxiety, I recommended the earthing technology (sheets), and he began to improve quickly.
I’ve been testing people for heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, antimony, and aluminum) for a very long time, so toxicity is not new to me. Most people have 2 heavy metals in their body. Some people have tested positive for 10 heavy metals. Everyone asks me, “How did I get that heavy metal?” If people have mercury in their body, silver dental fillings are the number one cause. Certain fish like tuna and swordfish also cause mercury toxicity. Mercury is a deadly metal, which requires that people handle it very carefully, but we are led to believe that a certain amount in the body is fine. For a long time the California Dental Association has investigated and punished any dentist who even mentioned that mercury might be toxic. Recommendation: get tested for heavy metals, and then see an environmental dentist to have silver fillings replaced with nonmetal fillings.
When people ask how they got some toxin in their body, the answer is, “If you breathe, eat, or drink water, you are toxic.” This article will probably scare you. My research on the topic did not bring me peace of mind. But, as you read this article with documented levels of various toxins, know that I’m not going to leave you dangling out on a limb. There will be solutions.
The Challenge from Our Toxic World
In a given family, exposed to the same toxins, one person might become quite ill while others are unaffected. Even in the same family, people have different genetics, and our genetics has a great deal to do with how our bodies are able to handle toxins.
As toxicity continues to build up in the world, it continues to build up in our bodies, and for many of us, the toxic load in our body overwhelms us and leads to illness.
The growing environmental toxicity has led to rising levels of allergies and asthma, fatigue, headache, childhood brain cancers, ADD, autism, and multiple chemical sensitivity. It is worth noting that the baby boomers have higher rates of cancer than previous generations, in spite of decades of cancer research and powerful anticancer drugs. Some of these conditions are clearly related to environmental toxicity, while others, like cancer, may be more complex. This article is not intended to discourage people from getting treatment for cancer or anything else.
Our bodies are equipped to handle certain levels of toxicity. Our liver, kidneys, and digestive tract carry on the task of removing toxins. The liver is the storehouse of a variety of compounds our bodies make to detoxify. There are several detoxification pathways as well as specific internal detoxifying molecules.
A Global Problem
The one illness most intimately tied with environmental toxicity is multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). These are people whose toxic load is high and their internal detoxification system has been stretched beyond their ability to cope. Many of their symptoms are similar to chronic fatigue syndrome: severe exhaustion, allergies, depression, skin eruptions, chronic infections, impaired memory and concentration, and devastating brain fog.
When people with MCS are exposed to airborne toxins (like gasoline fumes, the outgassing of new carpets, or even just walking past the detergent section of a grocery store, they very quickly get headaches, feel light-headed, and their sinuses start to run. MCS is not limited to the United States. In Australia, Kangaroo Island is committed to being as toxin-free as possible. Many people with MCS have moved there. People cannot carry any toxic compounds onto the island: no toxic cleaning solvents, hair sprays, etc.
Because we absorb environmental toxins through the air, water, and food, we need to take all three into account. First, there is the global issue. We continue to pollute the world. We are dealing with ostrich politics that has not spoken of toxicity as a problem that we all face and that we all must help repair together.
Environmental toxins are stored in fat. When people diet, as they lose fat, toxins leave the fat cells. That often results in a period of malaise, fatigue and headache while dieting because the toxins move from fat cells into the bloodstream. Don’t stop trying to reach your ideal weight. Just be aware that periods of increased toxicity are often part of the process.
Where to Start?
On an individual level, there are four main things we can do:
1) Begin to purify our air, water, and food.
2) Maintain a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and stress reduction. A healthy body will not succumb to toxicity nearly as quickly as a weakened body.
3) Take nutritional supplements that can rebuild your natural detoxification system.
4) Find ways to get toxins out of your body. Chelation therapy is the main way to remove heavy metals.
Before we get into the details of environmental toxicity, let me share a couple of things that you can implement today. 1) The air in our homes and offices is 20 times more toxic than the air outdoors. A good air purifier will help, but spending more time outdoors is important. That cuts down our inhaled toxicity. 2) Keep your windows open, when possible, to allow more fresh air in your home. 3) Stop eating farmed salmon. It contains 16 times the amount of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) than wild salmon. The FDA is on record as saying that we can eat one portion of farmed salmon per month.
Different Kinds of Toxins
Let’s start with water. In order to make this information most relevant, I’ve focused on San Diego pollution when possible. Here are the stats on San Diego area water supply, which is rated as “fair”:
“Exceeded national safe level for perchlorate (rocket fuel). Significant levels of trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. Significant levels of ethylene dibromide. Significant levels of lead. Significant levels of total coliform bacteria. Significant levels of radioactive contaminants, including gross alpha radiation, gross beta radiation, uranium, and “low levels” of MTBE.”
In February 2011, fluoride was quietly added back into the water system. “Would you brush your teeth with arsenic?,” asks Dr. Robert Carton, a former scientist at the Environmental Protection Agency. “Fluoride is somewhat less toxic than arsenic and more toxic than lead, and you wouldn’t want either of them in your mouth.” Fluoride is a poison.
Recommendations: 1) Don’t drink the tap water. Buy bottled spring water, as a starter, and 2) Don’t use toothpaste with fluoride. Read the labels!
In simpler terms, water can be toxic with: disinfectants, lead and other heavy metals, fluoride, microscopic organisms, industrial solvents, herbicides and pesticides, organic chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.
There are hundreds of different kinds of water purification systems. You can verify a product’s claims, by visiting www.nsf.org. By perusing this site, you can get the details about most water purification systems. These are the major factors involved in a purchase: 1) filtration filters (such as carbon, charcoal, KDF, ceramic), 2) reverse osmosis, 3) water solvents, 4) distillation systems, and 5) ultraviolet disinfection products.
Environmental toxicity will be with us for a very long time. The toxic burden in us accumulates over time, but if you implement some changes today suggested in this article, you will immediately take a few steps in the right direction.
To be continued....
David Gersten, M.D. practices Nutritional Medicine and Integrative Psychiatry out of his Encinitas office and can be reached at 760-633-3063. Please feel free to access information about holistic health, amino acids, and nutritional therapy at www.aminoacidpower.com and mind-body techniques at www.imagerynet.com.