500 Word Project – Day 295

7:25 p.m.             22OCT14

A Better Lifestyle – Part Two of Four

Toxins – one of my favorite topics to speak and write about. Having a degree in chemistry and researching the cause and effect reactions at the cellular level in the human body, it is interesting to see what happens when a new chemical is introduced into the equation. Trust me, you do not want to introduce any toxins into your body.

Dr. Terry Wahls is the female doctor that I spoke about yesterday in Part One of Four. Today I will delve into Part Two of Four – Toxins and their impact on your health. We think of DNA damage from toxins that result in cancers. However, there are many chemical reactions that do not actually change your DNA – there is no mutation. However, toxic chemicals can modify your DNA and cause serious health problems.

These modifications of your DNA result in turning various genes on or off when they are not supposed to be on or off at that time. This field of study is called epigenetics. When a gene is turned off when it should be on (or on when it should be off) you can have higher risks of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, mental health problems, neurological problems, heart disease and autoimmune system problems. Dr. Terry Wahls had developed multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is an autoimmune disease.  If you would like to review that video – (Click here)

Toxins in our life have increased exponentially since the 1940’s (post WW-II). Today there are over 80,000 chemicals registered the EPA that impact your health negatively. There are several recent studies that show fetal cord blood of new born infants and the breast milk of mothers contain up to 200 high toxic chemicals – herbicides, pesticides, dioxins, plastics, solvents, and heavy metals (mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium).

Toxins confuse your body’s blood system chemistry. They cause disruptions in what would be a normal healthy environment inside your body. They disrupt hormone signaling affecting the production, activation, release, transport, metabolism or elimination of your body’s natural hormones.

What is even more interesting is that they can be passed down from one generation to another (up to four generations have been tracked with genetic defects due to toxin poisoning in laboratory animals). These trans-generational genetic predispositions can cause prostate disease, kidney disease, immune system abnormalities and increased cholesterol (to name a few). They also increase the risk of infertility, reproductive health problems and cancers.

Where do you get these toxins? The air you breathe, the things you touch, the foods you eat, and the water you drink – they permeate your environment. The first think you need to do is to be aware of them. Many are printed on the labels of food products and personal care products that you buy every day. Tap water in some cities have been found to contain over 140 contaminants – the usual as identified above, plus many pharmaceutical drugs (remember throwing your unused drugs into the toilet?).  City water systems do not test for pharmaceutical drugs.

Some of the most common prescription drugs found in tap water are: atenolol, atrazine, carbamazepine, estrone, gemfibrozil, meprobamate, naproxen, phenytoin, sulfamethoxazole, TCEP and trimethoprim. Prescription drugs used when they are not prescribed properly have been shown to cause cancer, immune deficiency, autoimmune disease, hormonal imbalances, chemical imbalances, metabolic changes, sleep disturbances, thyroid problems, asthma, eczema, depression and chronic fatigue.

I talk in public a lot about food toxins. Food toxins are present in your food and/or on the surface of your food. Please rinse all fruits and vegetables to remove any surface contaminants – a little care goes a long way. Food contain preservatives, artificial flavorings, artificial colors, animal hormones, pesticides and herbicides. Preparation of foods can create toxins by high temperatures. Packaging of foods can impart toxins into the foods.

How do you avoid them? Read the label. If they contain (short list) BHA, BHT, rBGH. rBST, BPA, GMO, sodium nitrates and nitrites, sodium aluminum sulfates and potassium aluminum sulfates.  Many products do not list that they have been genetically modified (think corn).  There are many, many more. If the food contains them, don’t buy it. I was unaware of toxins in butter until one day I was reading a label of a butter product and it stated that it did not contain rBGH. All of a sudden it dawned on me that the animal producing the milk that produced the butter could have been on animal hormones (rBST and rBGH). These animal hormones increase milk production, but they also increase your risk of cancer (breast, prostate and colon).

I buy organic, but many times you can’t find organic. Potatoes are probably the most toxic of the vegetables you will find. Strawberries contain a plethora of toxins also. I found a store that has the organic products that I consume on a regular basis. When in doubt, check in out in Google and see what the majority of the studies say about that fruit or vegetable (or meat, butter, cheese, etc.).

Foods contain a lot of toxins, but not as many as personal health care products. Not only do they contain heavy amounts of toxins, the delivery system to get those toxic chemicals into your body are vastly accelerated with nanotechnology. SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), all parabens, propylene glycol, phthalates, butyl and ethyl acetate, benzoates, DEA (diethanolamine), formaldehyde, fragrance (generic label for something the manufacturer doesn’t want to describe – sometimes called ‘parfum’), lead acetate, PEG (polyethylene glycol compounds) and triclosan.

Europe has banned many of these toxic chemicals, but the United States still allows them to be sold to the public. Personal hygiene products that are sold in the US contain many of these compounds, yet the exact same product is sold in Europe without them. Many of these chemicals have been shown to increase risks of cancer, obesity heart disease, Alzheimer’s, autism and infertility. You can remove toxins from your body by detoxification processes (subject for another blog).

Toxins have a special place in my speeches for weight loss. Toxins are fat soluble – they love to find a fat molecule, curl up and make a home. Your body does not give up fat easily – part of its protection mechanism. Toxins in your fat cells cause Leptin (a hormone your body produces when you have eaten enough food – it tells your brain that you are satisfied and should stop eating) to be released into your bloodstream.

The long-term, constant bombardment of Leptin causes receptors in your brain to be overpowered and unable to respond properly – they are burned out. One would think that the constant attack on your brain’s receptors telling it to shut down your eating would be good, but it is exactly the opposite. The result is similar to insulin resistance in Type II diabetes. The lights are one, but no one is responding. Your brain decides not to burn your fat regardless of your diet or exercise. If you have been on a diet with lots of exercise and not losing any weight (or fat), you might have Leptin resistance.

Leptin resistance can be overcome with removal of the toxins from your body. Over time your body normalizes and your fat burning processes will lead to weight loss. However, if your brain is inundated on a constant daily basis with toxins, you may have a much more serious problem.

Toxins can directly attack your brain by causing the release of cytokines. Cytokines are basically intercellular signaling molecules. They attack and damage the Leptin receptors in your brain (actually your hypothalamus). They overload the Leptin receptors so much that physical damage in done. Your hypothalamus makes a hormone called MSH (Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone).

MSH is an extremely important hormone for your health. It is a regulatory hormone that controls the storage of fatty acids, your nerve function, your pituitary function, the production of other hormones, melatonin and endorphins, and the protective processes in your body (mucus membranes, skin and lungs). It also modulates your immune system.

A deficiency in MSH causes constant chronic fatigue, pain and non-restful sleep. It makes you extremely thirsty and increases urination. The normal production of MSH is very small and is difficult to isolate treatment in this region of your hypothalamus. Doctors typically never measure MSH levels. It is not typically thought of as a health problem. But, it is real. Doctors can chase symptoms for months and never isolate MSH deficiency as the cause of your health problems. Medications can treat the symptoms, but you cannot treat the cause. Once permanent damage has been done to your Leptin receptors, you can look forward to a life of a never-ending spiral of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Toxins are everywhere and you have to be vigilant to not choose to eat foods containing them, or use products that incorporate them into their products. I can’t tell you how many hand sanitizers I look at that have toxins listed on the label. I switched to coconut oil as my preferred skin care product. I use it as an underarm deodorant and skin moisturizer. I use it to pull between my teeth (think of mouth wash) to remove toxins before they get into my body. I am cautious about the foods I choose to eat and any product that comes in contact with my skin (soap – both hand a laundry, fabric softeners – I don’t use anymore, sunscreens, etc.).

This is the second of four aspects of your new lifestyle that can create a fantastic new you in the future. Select the right foods with balanced nutrition and ensure that they foods (and other health care products) do not contain toxic chemicals. Tomorrow, hopefully I will discuss the third of four factors in improve your longevity and health.

1645 words         8:13 p.m.