Dealing with Toxins
By Alice R. Laule, M.D.
Part of staying healthy involves not
what we put into to our bodies, but what we avoid putting in our bodies. We do live in a fairly
toxic world, toxic not only to our environment and the natural world, but to
our own bodies. One reason we have the infrared saunas is because of the number
of patients I see for whom the root cause of their health issues is an
accumulation of toxic exposures in their body to the point that they have
multiple organ systems failing. Often the patient will know the cause, and
frequently it is from a lifetime of use of pesticides or herbicides without
proper protection. There is testing I can do to determine how much their body
is grappling with toxins. If it is chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides,
about the only thing I can do is put them in the sauna for several dozen
treatments. While it is wonderful now to have that treatment capacity available
for my toxin-ridden patients, how much better it would be to avoid toxin
exposure in the first place. For that we need to educate ourselves, because the
toxins are everywhere!
When I am talking with parents of my
autistic patients, many of whom are very sensitive to toxins because their detoxification
ability is compromised, I refer them to a book called The Safe Shoppers Bible by Steinman and Epstein. This is a 1995 book,
but still very useful. My plan for this newsletter is to page through that book,
and give you some facts which were shocking to me about the toxicity of common,
ordinary products we use.
About
half of this book is concerned with household products, ranging from cleaners
and furniture polish, paint and varnishes, to auto products, pesticides, and
even craft supplies. The toxins and
harmful contents of these products might surprise some of you. A well known
brand of furniture polish contains formaldehyde, and a couple others contain
known carcinogens. Anyone who has used an aerosol furniture polish and then
developed a chronic cough or an asthma attack will probably realize that the
aerosols, when inhaled, contain enough fine particles to be quite an irritant.
Fortunately, there are combinations of olive oil or cedar oil and vinegar that
make fine, non irritating and nontoxic furniture polish.
Air fresheners are troublesome.
Breathing healthy air that does not stink is nice, but too many of us are
trading pleasantly scented air for healthy air. I was amazed at the details on
some of the commonly available air fresheners, some of which are not only
flammable, but also contain mucus membrane irritants, and known cancer causing
agents. Some of my patients are very sensitive to odors, and will have asthma
attacks or worse when they get around these air fresheners. I personally have
had to leave the room where an air freshener was plugged in, because I was
becoming nauseated. House plants that absorb odors, baking soda, cleanliness, and a good quality HEPA or
ionizing air purifier will accomplish a lot more toward making the air actually
healthy to breath.
General household cleaners,
especially bathroom cleaners, get more
stout and do more of the work for you all the time, if you listen to the
advertising. The most common problems with these agents are the fumes, which
are highly irritating to the lung passages, and potentially caustic to skin and
lungs. One of the worst ones rated is flammable, has irritants,
carcinogens, and neurotoxins in it. Of course, we know to keep these away from
our children, but adults should also be cautious. These products should be used with gloves, open windows, and in some
cases a respirator. As common as these products are, they are not safe.
Fortunately there are brands recommended and listed in this reference source
that do not have all these problems. One can also make one’s own general
cleaner. A patient gave me this recipe:
1
cup distilled or filtered water
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup rubbing alcohol
2 drops dishwashing soap.
This
can be mixed and used in a spray bottle To make the solution disinfectant without the addition of rubbing
alcohol (and its fumes) one could add two teaspoons of Borax. For abrasive action, baking soda is
wonderful and nontoxic, though of course it won’t work in a spray bottle. It
can be stirred into a paste with a little bit of water, and works great for
removal of mildew and stains.
Pesticides are another problem. I
know when I was growing up, no one thought about pesticides being harmful to
the human body. Many of them work by paralyzing the nervous system of the
insect by blocking the acetylcholine receptors. Well, folks, our nervous system
works with acetylcholine too. Inhalation and absorption through the skin can
cause us weakness and problems as well, though the symptoms may seem more ill
defined because of the smaller dose per body weight that we get. I recall the
sad case of an old drunk in the Emergency Room who had run out of alcohol,
and decided to grab a bottle of
Malathion® and drink it down. He was very, very ill,
partly paralyzed, with dilated pupils, salivating unstoppably, eyes watering,
almost unconscious, really very nearly dead. Don’t make the mistake of thinking
pesticides only attack the bugs. And that is to say nothing of the chronic
toxicity to the liver and other organs from long term, accumulative toxicity
with both pesticides and herbicides.
The
chapters on cosmetics are interesting in this book. It is phenomenal how many
of them contain carcinogens and are known to cause contact dermatitis . There
is also an increased risk of acne. Some
hairsprays, bath gels, and shampoos are also risky. Hair dyes, as you might
guess, are a problem, particularly with an increased risk of cancer, although
several studies have shown that the darker the hair dye the worse the risk of
cancer. The use of toxins to make
ourselves beautiful has a long historical basis. In Roman times, mercury and
lead were used as beauty aids. Of course we are pretty certain that President
Reagan used a lead-based preparation to keep his hair darkened, and there is
speculation whether that contributed to his Alzheimer’s Disease.
Not every cosmetic ingredient is
toxic to everyone, but there are certain people who should be more careful than
others. This is the case with parabens. These are estrogen-like substances that
can contribute to the worsening of fibroid tumors of the uterus, and hormone
sensitive tumors such as breast, ovary or prostate cancer. Many cosmetics, and
some that are otherwise entirely healthy, contain parabens.
For a long time I have been
concerned about toothpaste, and basically refuse to use most commercial
toothpaste. One of my patients just today had a fluoride induced dermatitis all
around her mouth, and spreading up the nasolabial folds to her nose. Upon
questioning her, she had just stopped using a salt and baking soda tooth powder
and started using a commercial toothpaste with fluoride. One of our Friends
sent the information on the following pages
to us, gleaned from an internet forum. He thought I would find it
interesting, and he was right.
Don’t live in fear about toxins. I
think fear is more toxic than any toxin we can ingest or absorb. But on the
other hand, make smart choices for yourselves, so you can ...
Stay
healthy, Alice Laule, M.D.