Poisons and Toxins and Metals oh my! Our bodies are amazing machines and we have many different pathways to stay healthy, upright and virus free. However, there are many ways that our normal defense mechanisms and detoxification pathways can be hobbled, handcuffed and muzzled. Items that are detrimental to our health often harm us over time and can sometimes take years to cause identifiable issues our bodies. Before you try a “detox” or a “cleanse” you should focus on not ingesting or using these toxic items in the first place. Give your body time to start working for itself and make sure you understand this will be a long term process that in essence, will never be over. Much of this information you may already know, but some of this post might be a surprise to you as much of it was to me. Fire in the hole! This may blow your mind.
Healthy people generally look healthier than their unhealthy peers. There are some differences in people with specific genetic variations and health history, but for the most part you control how you look on the outside by ensuring you are as healthy as possible on the inside. Slathering on the most recent moisturizer recommended by the Kardashian’s is not going to help sagging and wrinkling skin due to early osteoporosis, which can cause bone loss in your face along with other areas. Most of us want to look good as well as feel good which is why the global cosmetic market is expected to reach 805.61 billion by 2023. I am not immune to this desire either. I am a woman, not a saint. During my emergency c-section in 2012 I may have asked the doctors “Can you do a bit of liposuction while you are down there?” I blame the drugs.
Our bodies have a need for some heavy metals in order to function efficiently like zinc, copper, iron, manganese and selenium although higher doses can be toxic. The heavy metals we need to try and avoid include mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium and chromium. However other lighter metals are linked to dangerous bio accumulation and damage like aluminum, barium and titanium. In normal circumstances our bodies have many filters to ensure that toxic accumulations of any one of these can be removed through our liver, kidneys, intestines and lungs. However, if there is any issue with your genetic ability to detoxify, or you are dealing with an illness, taking certain medications or as we already know from the last post, if you are exposed to glyphosate, your body may accumulate metals in your organs, tissue, fat and bone instead of getting rid of them.
Your body is very good at protecting itself and will often store toxins in fat as a way of protecting your vital organs. Your body responds to the toxins in many ways and the exact reason and mechanism of why and how some toxins are stored in fat are still being researched. So much of what we know about health, wellness and our own organs are still being discovered. We are continually having to re-evaluate what we know about our bodies and medicine as a whole. For example, it turns out that our appendix does serve an important function after all. It has been learned that both our appendix and our tonsils serve as a backup storehouse for good bacteria. Hell, scientists can’t even agree on whether Pluto is a planet or not……so it should not surprise you when things we have long held to be true, turn out to be nothing but the last best guess. What we do know is that when your body cannot handle the amount and types of toxins, poison’s and chemicals it can be extremely detrimental to your health. This is why it is so important to steer clear of these unhealthy substances as much as possible once we learn about them.
Aluminum
Aluminum is so prevalent in our environment and it is virtually impossible to avoid. It is found in many items we eat or use daily and our increasing exposure to it has been a cause for concern among many scientists and researchers. Some studies even suggest that excess aluminum may be a cause of Alzheimer’s disease, as it has been found in the brains of those with symptoms the disease. Aluminum can be found in varying amounts in drinking water, antiperspirants, cookware, baking powder, makeup, certain medications (tums, buffered aspirin) and vaccines. There has been some discussion on whether or not aluminum deodorants and antiperspirants could be causing the increasing breast cancer rates. Some data shows that significant numbers of breast cancers start in the area where the application of aluminum based deodorants and antiperspirants are applied. Whatever the research shows about this particular issue, excess aluminum is toxic to our bodies and we should be trying to avoid it to keep our bodies healthy.
Mercury
Mercury is a very toxic metal and not unlike lead, this metal is known for its negative health effects and is less likely to be used/abused as much as 50-100 years ago. The most common sources of mercury exposure are fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, fish and seafood, vaccines, some foreign herbal supplements and dental fillings. Mercury is also released in our environment via coal use and mining as well as gold mining. Mercury is lipophilic which means it concentrates in fatty tissues. Losing weight without knowing you have excessive mercury stores could cause damage by releasing the toxic metal back into your system. And yes, I did publish this post while mercury is in retrograde.
Your brain is mostly made of fat which make it an easy target for mercury buildup and damage. Some of you may know the phrase “Mad as a hatter,” and the famous Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter character. What you may not know is the stereotype is due to mercury poisoning symptoms as the metal was commonly used in the creation of hats in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of the symptoms of mercury poisoning are nervousness or anxiety, irritability or mood changes, numbness, memory problems, depression, physical tremors, nausea and vomiting, lack of motor skills, changes in vision, hearing, or speech, difficulty breathing and difficulty walking or standing straight. These all sound like super fun symptoms to me. How I avoid this toxic metal is by not getting cavities, not eating sushi and I hide in my house and burn candles all the time. No, not really! Except for the part about sushi because I don’t like fish. I do however buy incandescent light bulbs online instead of buying the compact fluorescent or LED’s. Just make sure if you do have a cavity to request resin or porcelain instead of dental amalgam’s which can contain more than 50% mercury.
Fluoride
Put on your foil hats, because this one is not going to sit well with a lot of people. Wait, scratch that. The foil you have is most likely aluminum which we recently learned is not so good for you. Go to the mirror and look at your teeth. I am serious go RIGHT NOW! Do you see any mottling aka brown or white spots on your teeth? If you do, you have something called dental flourosis meaning fluoride poisoning. What you see in your teeth is also present in your bones and is a visual indication of damage. I could write a whole post on how bad fluoride is and how to avoid it, but I have a life and don’t want to take 2 months to write this post. You can read many of the links that I post and go down that rabbit hole on your own. If you are not irate after reading through some of it then you are probably “on the dope” or you are already dead.
Most people think that the fluoride that is added to our water supply and toothpaste is mined by happy magical dwarves in Colorado from the source of a trickling mountain spring. That is a load of crock, dwarves don’t exist since they prefer to be called little people. You might also be horrified to learn that what you may actually be ingesting is something called hydrofluorosilicic acid which is a toxic industrial bi-product of the phosphate fertilizer industry and in some cases aluminum processing plants. As such it also contains other nasty poisons like arsenic and can leach other harmful metals from pipes like lead and aluminum. If you really want to read something that will make you angry you can read The Fluoride Deception which basically details how the US government along with large companies conspired to avoid litigation from the damage caused by their industrial fluoride waste by re-branding the poison as good for your teeth and adding it to our water supply.
Fluoride is found not just in drinking water and toothpaste but in pesticides, rat poison, antibiotics, non-stick pans, mechanically de-boned meat, frozen foods, processed foods and beverages, green and black tea and in fluoridated salts. Some symptoms/diseases linked with fluoride poisoning beside fluorosis are arthritis, kidney disease, thyroid disease, cardiovascular disease, bone fractures, diabetes and cancer. And all of this is from long term small doses of the substance. Even if you avoid all the above items you are still being exposed to fluoride every time you take a shower. Please don’t message me and tell me you don’t shower….I don’t want to know.
There are many incidents where fluoride accidents have occurred and sickened people, animals and the environment with large doses, one most recently in Utah in February. If you read the story about the incident in Utah they indicate fluoride was accidentally released in large quantities and the water tested after this release was high in arsenic, lead and aluminum in addition to other metals. You don’t need to be a member of MENSA to understand that the metal contamination goes hand in hand here with the fluoride use. As you can read in some of these articles, the fluoride chemical routinely eats through concrete and pipes which can lead to additional contamination of the water supply. Anyone want to contact Erin Brockovich and get her help on this?
You know these chemicals PFOA/PFOs/PFAs etc. as they are often what makes your non-stick pan, well…not sticky. They are also found in tap water, and strangely in microwave popcorn bags. PFO stand for Perfluorooctanoic which sounds like a great name for a dinosaur or type of rock, but definitely not something you should consume. The P dino is a man made chemical that is made with the help of our old friend from before, fluoride. I feel like I keep repeating myself and I am getting a bit dizzy.
PFOS, PFOA and PFAS and any other acronym starting with a P are found in teflon coated items as well as fire fighting foams, stain resistant carpets, leather, pesticides and other textiles. While the US has attempted to remove these chemicals due to their dangerous health effects, the companies have replaced them with other chemicals with questionable health affects as well. These chemicals are also pervasive in our environment and they do not easily break down and can be found in soil groundwater, air and have even been detected in 98% of blood samples that were tested in a recent study. Scratch the above comment about acronyms as PSAT’s and the PGA don’t have the dinosaur rock in them…I don’t think.
Pesticides
I think we all know that we should wash our fruits and vegetables prior to eating them due to pesticide residue and other contaminants. This is another subject I could make excessively long, but I will keep it as short as possible since I think most everyone is aware of most of their dangers. Neonicotinoid pesticides are getting a lot of media attention as they have been linked to the massive bee die-offs that have been seen in North America and other countries over the last several years. I really feel like I am repeating myself here as several pesticides also use fluoride as a main ingredient. Fluoride contamination has killed livestock, fluoride is currently used to kill bugs, fluoride is used to kill rodents, fluoride is used to kill…….? It is illegal to dump hydrofluorisilicic acid into lakes, rivers or streams, it is illegal for it to be vented into the atmosphere, but it is ok for us to eat, drink, breathe and use?
There is an interesting theory about Mad Cow Disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) which postulates that it is/was actually caused by toxic uptake of manganese in the brains of cows after exposure to a pesticide. An organophosphate pesticide, Phosmet, was sprayed/poured on the backs and spines of cows in the mid to late 80’s through the 90’s to combat the warble fly infestation in the UK. One organic farmer refused this insecticide mandate and his cattle were the only ones spared in the Mad Cow or BSE epidemic. Interestingly no one has come up with a reason as to why the epidemic hit at that time and why the brain proteins deform like they do in cases of BSE. During the height of the epidemic the UK was mandating a higher dose of this pesticide than all other countries around the world. The farmer who won his case against the government mandate, Mark Purdy, made it his life’s work to research the true cause of Mad Cow Disease. You can read the book that was published by his brother after his death based on his extensive travel and research titled “Animal Pharm.” It is a very compelling read and an interesting take on a subject you don’t hear much about anymore. You can also read shorter excerpts and other takes on his research here and here.
You may have organophosphate chemicals in your home as they are commonly used as pet flea treatments and chemicals to treat head lice in children and adults. These types of pesticides are highly neurotoxic and are closely linked with nerve gases like Sarin and VX. “Here you go fluffy, fleas are so much worse than brain damage aren’t they smoochiboos.” Oh, and if you do read some of the information about manganese toxicity online, the symptoms including tremors, loss of balance, walking problems, drooling, fixed gaze and slurred speech (except cows don’t talk) and are almost if not identical to Mad Cow Disease, BSE and the human version called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
BPA, B, C, D, S or whatever other version they come up with next
BPA and all its red headed step children are often used to strengthen plastics, coat aluminum cans and other metals to prevent corrosion and can even be found on the paper receipt you get at the grocery store (weird right). Research has shown that BPA et al. are endocrine disruptors and cause hormonal issues and can be linked to health issues ranging from obesity to infertility. With the backlash over BPA companies have been replacing it with chemicals like BPS, but they are learning that they are not any safer than BPA and in some cases worse. So when that plastic bottle or can says BPA free that doesn’t mean it is any healthier for you as it still most likely contains a toxic inbred relative of that maligned substance. My suggestion is to limit exposure to all the BP’s by only purchasing items that are fresh and if you need shelf stable items purchase those that are housed in glass or other non-toxic containers.
Aspartame, Sucralose and other artificial sweeteners
If salt is just angry sugar, many artificial sweeteners are straight up vengeful. Just hearing how they created some of these sweeteners in the lab and their approval for use is scary. Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal) was created by accident when a scientist was trying to create a drug for ulcers and accidentally got some on his fingers, licked them and noticed the sweet taste. First of all I question a scientist who is so sloppy to get an unknown substance on him and then proceed to ingest it “accidentally” or not. Sucralose (Splenda etc.) was created, again accidentally, by someone who was told to “test” the compound and he misheard it as “taste.” I suppose that accidents are a part of science but seriously????
Aspartame was approved for use back in the 1960’s but by 1980 it was banned due a myriad of reported side effects that led to an independent study done on it that showed its toxicity along with the company that created it having questionable testing practices. Through some political maneuverings in the early 80’s by Donald Rumsfeld and Ronald Reagan….yes really, the substance was re-approved. Aspartame has been linked with headaches, seizures along with Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and brain tumors among other. By 1998 80% of the complaints regarding food additives to the FDA were regarding aspartame.
Sucralose has been linked to liver, and kidney damage and kills off beneficial intestinal bacteria. This damage to gut bacteria has been linked to weight gain in humans and animal studies and is the exact opposite of what people think they are getting by ingesting this sugar substitute. So basically with sucralose you are getting fat by going diet. While there are alternatives to these sugar alternatives like xylitol, erythritol they also have some side effects including intestinal discomfort and bloating if you ingest too much. I would suggest stevia or monk fruit extract if you just have to use a sweetener in your food or beverages.
Reduce your exposure
While we might not be able to avoid all of these toxins all of the time you can take steps to reduce your exposure by switching out toxic products with healthier alternatives. I have purchased Xtrema pans, and Corning Vision pots for healthier and tastier food. I stopped using antiperspirants with aluminum and switched to non-toxic deodorants like North Coast Organics. I switched to fluoride free toothpaste and started filtering my shower water. I replaced all of my plastic food storage with glass jars and containers. And last but not least I started purchasing organic meat, cheese and produce free of toxic synthetic pesticides, antibiotics and hormones. You don’t have to make these changes all at once, as that can be difficult if not extremely expensive. However, by making small changes to what you purchase day by day you may notice the healthy side effects and maybe even become best friends with your body again.
Fine! I will start a blog. 