THE SIX TOXIC BURDENS CARRIED BY MODERN PEOPLE AND THE EFFECTS ON BODY AND MIND
By Ronald Peters, MD, MPH, 8-1-21TOXIC BURDEN # 1 CHEMICALS
TOXIC BURDEN # 2 HEAVY METALS
TOXIC BURDEN # 3 MICROBES
TOXIC BURDEN # 4 MOLD AND MOLD MYCOTOXINS
TOXIC BURDEN # 5 ELECTROMAGNETIC FREQUENCIES (EMF) AND MICROWAVES
TOXIC BURDEN # 6 STRESS
Every adult and most children have toxins in their bodies, or, are affected by them, so the following questions arise:
How much do I carry?- Can my body detoxify adequately?
- What are the effects on body and mind?
- How can I reduce, or, prevent exposure?
- How can I detoxify my body?
- Drink out of a plastic water bottle.
- Walk on a new carpet.
- Drive your car on the freeway.
- Sprinkle powdered parmesan cheese on your pizza.
- Cook with aluminum cookware.
- Use your cellphone.
- Use your computer.
- Drive your new car.
- Live in a house or work in a building with an unrecognized water leak.
- Listen to the news on TV.
- Worry about anything.
TOXIC BURDEN # 1 – CHEMICALS
We humans have been polluting the land, air, and water of this beautiful planet we live on with increasing intensity since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th Century. And now the magnitude of industrial pollution is threatening life on earth, creating loss of insect and animal species, global warning, climate change as well as contributing to the epidemic of chronic disease in humans. The following data is staggering, so hold onto your seat:
According to the reference website WorldOMeter, which relies heavily on data provided by the United Nations Environment Program and the American Environmental Protection Agency
- 682 lbs. of toxic chemicals are released every second into our air, land, and water by industrial facilities around the world.
- This amounts to approximately 10 million tons (over 21 billion pounds) of toxic chemicals released into our environment by industries each year.
- Of these, over 2 million tons (over 4.5 billion pounds) per year are recognized carcinogens. This amounts to about 65 Kg, or 143 lbs., each second.
carbon monoxide from smoke or engine exhaust,- natural gas,
- solvent fumes, and
- chemical vapors
- lower our metabolism,
- raise our cholesterol,
- contribute to fatigue and weight gain.
- create chronic inflammation,
- mutate our DNA
- set the stage for heart disease and cancer.
- weaken our immune systems
- poor concentration,
- headaches,
- depression,
- irritability,
- dizziness,
- anxiety,
- tremors,
- rapid heart rate,
- skin and eye irritation,
- poor memory, to mention a few.
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Anxiety Disorder
- Apraxia
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Attention deficit (ADD)
- Attention deficit with hyperactivity (ADHD)
- Autism
- Autoimmune disorders
- Bipolar disorder
- Cancer
- Cerebral palsy
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Crohn’s disease
- Depression
- Developmental disorder
- Down Syndrome
- Epilepsy
- Failure to thrive
- Fibromyalgia
- Genetic diseases
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Learning disability
- Mitochondria disorders
- Multiple sclerosis
- Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Occupational exposures
- Parkinson’s disease
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Schizophrenia
- Seizure disorders
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Tic disorders
- Tourette syndrome
- Ulcerative colitis
TOXIC BURDEN # 2 – HEAVY METALS (LEAD, MERCURY CADMIUM & ALUMINUM)
The second group of common toxins are heavy metals, which include mercury, lead, cadmium, and aluminum. Unlike common toxic chemicals, such as phthalates and pesticides, heavy metals are naturally occurring elements that exist mostly in the outer crust of the earth. Heavy metals are widely used in many industries, agriculture, medicine, the home, and other technologies and therefore they have polluted the land, air and water of earth, and mankind as well. People living in Western industrial countries today are at least a thousand times more polluted with toxic metals than anyone who lived when Christ walked the earth 2000 years ago.Mercury
EPA officials estimated that about 50 tons of elemental mercury are emitted each year from U.S. coal-burning powerplants, with lesser amounts coming from oil- and gas-burning units.
In China the problem is worse with estimates suggesting that as much as 302.87 tons of mercury were released into atmosphere in 1995.
Mercury vapor is odorless and once released into the atmosphere can travel thousands of miles and becomes part of a global pool of atmospheric mercury, eventually falling into the water and land and is carried to the ocean where it gets into fish, which we eat.
According to a World Health Organization report 2.3 micrograms could be taken in by eating seafood. Large fish like shark, swordfish and tuna contain the highest levels.
The Toxicity Center at the University of Tennessee rates poisons based on their lethal toxicity to humans. According to their research, mercury rates second only to plutonium.
If one half gram of mercury were put in a 10-acre lake, 70 feet deep, the lake would be closed to swimming, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Yet a dentist who is using the standard silver amalgam to fill a cavity in a tooth can place that same amount in your mouth. Silver amalgam dental fillings contain 48-55% mercury, 33-35% silver and various amounts of copper, tin, zinc and other metals. They are only called silver because of their color.
The American Dental Association has adamantly claimed for a long time that the mercury stays in the filling and is not released into the body. Chemists and toxicologists, on the other hand, point out that not only does mercury escape the filling, but chewing enhances its release.
Research done at the University of Calgary showed that chewing increased the mercury content in the mouth six-fold. Also, the World Health Organization has published research which shows that between 3-17 micrograms of mercury is released into the body every day by simply chewing on amalgam fillings.
Of this amount 90% is absorbed into the body, 74% of which is retained by the lungs.
In ten minutes, 30% of the mercury absorbed in the lungs is transferred to the blood where it can circulate to other organs in the body.
The mercury accumulates in many body organs, including the brain. The body has no mechanism for eliminating the mercury, so tissue levels rise year after year.
Human autopsy studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between the amount of mercury found in the brain and the number of amalgam fillings in the teeth.
SOURCES OF MERCURY – SUMMARY
- Silver amalgam dental fillings,
- thermometers,
- batteries,
- skin-tightening creams,
- some antiseptic ointments and creams.
- fish,
- vapors from spills and incinerators and
- burning of mercury containing fuels.
SYMPTOMS ATTRIBUTED TO INCREASED BODY BURDEN OF MERCURY:
- emotional irritability,
- tremors,
- memory disturbances,
- changes is vision or hearing,
- skin rashes,
- increased blood pressure, and
- a host of neurobehavioral changes such as anxiety and depression
- chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome,
- multiple sclerosis (one study showed MS patients had 7 times more mercury in cerebrospinal fluid than controls
- leukemia,
- kidney dysfunction,
- Alzheimer’s disease,
- allergies
- intestinal overgrowth of Candida albicans.
Lead
According to the National Academy of Sciences, approximately 600,000 tons of lead are added to the atmosphere each year.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimates that 1.9% of the United States population has blood levels that exceed acceptable limits. In addition, four percent of children ranging in ages from six months to five years, or over three-quarters of a million children exceed safe blood lead levels.
Blood lead levels are misleading because blood is a transport system which carries oxygen to all the tissues. Once in the body, lead travels in the blood to soft tissues such as the liver, kidneys, lungs, brain, spleen, muscles, and heart where it can stay indefinitely depending on the body detoxification pathways and the availability of glutathione.
Lead
- stays in the blood for one to two months, (unless there is constant intake)
- soft tissues and organs 2 to 3 months
- bone – 25-30 years in bone (ATSDR 2007).
Environmental sources of lead include
- air pollution,
- soil,
- lakes,
- rivers,
- ground water and
- drinking water.
- municipal waste incinerators and landfills.
Lead also comes from
- burning fossil fuels
- certain mining and manufacturing processes.
- ammunitions,
- batteries,
- metal products like solder and pipes,
- roofing materials,
- old paint,
- ceramics
- Cigarette smoke, either from smoking are secondhand smoke
- cosmetics,
- pesticides and
- other industrial sources.
- 61 percent of lipsticks contained lead, with levels ranging up to 0.65 parts per million.
- Lead-contaminated brands included L’Oreal, Cover Girl and even a $24 tube of Dior
- Living Nature Organic
- VEG-UP.
- Logona
- Hurraw Tinted Lip Balm
- Soultree Organic.
- Ecco-Bella
- 100% Pure
- Benecos .
- Lavera
- Alima Pure
The effects of lead on children, even with low levels:
- Behavior and learning problems
- ADHD and hyperactivity
- Lower IQ
- Stunted growth
- Anemia
- Cause premature birth and low birthweight,
- Impair infant brain, kidneys, and central nervous system
- Increase the likelihood of learning or behavioral problems,
- Increase the risk of miscarriage.
- Cardiovascular effects,
- High blood pressure
- Decreased kidney function; and
- Reproductive problems (in both men and women).
- Chronic fatigue
Cadmium
Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that is beginning to rival lead as a health threat to millions of people. Cadmium, like mercury, is toxic to every organ in the body of adults and children whether ingested or inhaled. It tends to accumulate in the kidney, liver, and bones.
Cadmium is found in the air as an industrial contaminant. It is also found in water, especially soft water that leaches cadmium from metal water pipes.
Probably the biggest source of cadmium is cigarette smoking.
- It is sprayed on tobacco plants as a fungicide.
- One cigarette contains on the average 1.4 micrograms of cadmium, which is absorbed by the lungs.
- Passive cigarette smoke also delivers cadmium to those in the immediate environment.
- air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels
- and the incineration of municipal waste.
- art supplies,
- bone meal,
- fungicides,
- highway dust,
- mining operations,
- nickel-cadmium batteries,
- oxide dusts,
- paints,
- phosphate fertilizers,
- power plants,
- sewage sludge,
- “softened” water,
- smelting plants, and
- welding fumes.
- coffee,
- fruits,
- grains
- vegetables that are grown in cadmium-laden soil.
- It has been found in meats,
- refined foods, and
- anemia,
- osteomalacia (softening of the bones),
- high blood pressure, and
- many other metabolic disturbances.
Aluminum
Aluminum is one of the most abundant metals in the earth, comprising between 8.4 to 14 percent of the earth’s crust. Unfortunately, it is also abundantly found in the diet of many people. The average person will ingest 30 to 50 milligrams (milligrams, not micrograms) daily. Aluminum is found in the- air as aluminum dust in some industrial workplaces,
- acid rain,
- plants grown in aluminum rich soil,
- aluminum foil,
- aluminum cookware
- appliances, and
- some building material.
- cheese products,
- baking powder,
- pizza,
- hair sprays,
- antiperspirants, and
- cosmetics including lipstick,
- toothpaste and a host of over-the-counter medications.
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- senile dementia
- staggering gait
- inability to pronounce words properly.
TOXIC BURDEN # 3 – MICROBES
According to the book, Life on Man, written by Theodor Rosebury, there are more microbes (bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.) in and on the human body that cells in the human body.
We live in a jungle of microbes on our skin, nose and sinuses, mouth and mostly in the digestive tract, in the microbiome, which contains about 1,200 different species.
This internal ecology is essential for our mental and physical health. And our powerful internal army of specialized immune cells maintains order in this complex ecology as well as protecting us from invasion.
Epstein-barr virus, or EBV, is a common virus found in more than 90% of people worldwide. There are about 200 types of Mycoplasma bacteria, most of which are harmless, but occasionally infections occur from Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Mycoplasma genitalium. Chlamydia is another common microbe worldwide, as well as brucella, borrelia, bartonella, babesia found Lyme’s disease.
Maintaining a strong immune system is essential, especially in the toxic modern world. All of the toxic burdens, especially chronic stress suppress the immune system, making us vulnerable to infection. We are taught by the medical world to rely on anti-microbial medications, but strong immunity is essential to preventing infection in the first place. From the plague of the middle ages to modern malaria, HIV and more, there are always exposed people who do not get infected based on the protective power of the immune system, which, by the way, is strongly influenced by the mind.
TOXIC BURDEN # 4 -MOLD AND MOLD MYCOTOXINS
It is estimated that 50% of the American population has been exposed at some time in their life to a water damaged home of work environment and a significant percentage do not recall seeing the water damage.
Most common are reports of exposure involve water-damaged homes, schools, office buildings, court houses, hospitals, and hotels. It’s estimated that as many as 25% of buildings in the US have had some sort of water damage. Mold is also found on foods, especially fruits, vegetables, bread and cheese. Most often food molds do not cause disease, but in vulnerable people with intestinal yeast overgrowth and weak immunity, mold from foods can contribute to the toxic burden of mold and mycotoxins.
Mycotoxins are a secondary metabolite of mold spores; in other words, they are what mold spores produce to weaken and destroy your health. Mycotoxins are very strong and powerful and destructive to our organs and systems.
Mycotoxins can cause diverse and powerful toxic effects. They are:
- Carcinogenic cause cancer
- Hepatoxic toxic to the liver
- Immunotoxic toxic to the immune system
- Dermatoxic toxic to skin
- Teratogenic cause fetal abnormalities
- Neurotoxic toxic to the brain and nervous system
- Estrogenic cause elevated levels of estrogen
- Hemorrhagic cause internal bleeding and bruising
- Nephrotoxic toxic to kidneys
- Mutagenic cause genetic abnormalities
- Can affect any organ in the body thus producing a wide variety of symptoms.
- More than 50% of symptoms are neurological, cognitive, or psychiatric, including anxiety, panic attack, insomnia, “brain fog”, lack of motivation, memory loss and poor decision making.
- Produces neuroinflammation which can progress to neurodegeneration (e.g., Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS)
- Major cause of mast cell activation with elevated whole blood histamine.
MYCOTOXINS ARE LINKED TO MANY OTHER ILLNESSES:
- Alzheimer’s disease:
- Asthma:frequently asthma is a result of exposure to molds and mycotoxins, especially in children but also in adults.
- Fungal sinusitis: it has been demonstrated in studies that molds cause sinusitis and are much more common than was believed.
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS): studies have shown that exposure to molds and mycotoxins is a risk factor in MS.
- Obesity: the effects of mycotoxins on the gut bacteria (gut microbiome) can and frequently results in obesity.
- Digestive system – diarrhea, vomiting, intestinal hemorrhage, liver effects, caustic effects on mucous membranes
- Respiratory system – respiratory distress, bleeding from lungs
- Nervous system – tremors, incoordination, depression, headache, tremors, and seizures
- Reproductive system – infertility and changes in reproductive cycles
- Immune system – immune suppression and increased infections
- inflammation
- allergies
- asthma
- oxidative stress
- immune dysfunction in both human and animal studies.
- allergic rhinitis and
- new onset asthma.
- Fatigue and weakness
- Headache, light sensitivity
- Poor memory, difficult word finding
- Difficulty concentration
- Morning stiffness, joint pain
- Unusual skin sensations, tingling and numbness
- Shortness of breath, sinus congestion or chronic cough
- Appetite swings, body temperature regulation,
- Increased urinary frequency or increased thirst
- Red eyes, blurred vision, sweats, mood swings, sharp pains
- Abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating
- Tearing, disorientation, metallic taste in mouth
- Static shocks
- Vertigo, feeling lightheaded
TOXIC BURDEN # 5 – ELECTROMAGNETIC FREQUENCIES (EMF) AND MICROWAVES
Magnetic fields are created when electric current flows: the greater the current, the stronger the magnetic field. Electricity is a flow of electrons in a wire and as the electricity flows down the wire a magnetic field is produced around the wire, which is called an electromagnetic field or EMF
Electromagnetic fields are present everywhere in our environment.
- electric charges in the atmosphere associated with thunderstorms.
- The earth’s magnetic field causes a compass needle to point North-South and this natural EMF is used by birds in their migratory flights.
- Medical X-rays
- electricity coming from the electrical wiring in your home or office has associated low frequency electromagnetic fields.
- higher frequency radio waves are used to transmit information – whether via TV antennas, radio stations or mobile phone base stations.
5G & EMF RADIATION ARE DAMAGING TO YOUR HEALTH
We all love our cellphones and computers, but they can produce irreversible damage to your health and the health of your family and friends.
Professor Martin Pall, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences at Washington State University, a leading researcher in the health effects of EMF and wi-fi microwave radiation states the issue quite simply,
“The 5G Rollout Is Completely Insane.”
Wuhan, China, was the first city in world to roll out a 5G tower and antenna network.
Research suggests that 5G weakens the immune system and is creating a new disease, called Microwave Sickness, which is characterized by
- headaches,
- anxiety,
- sleep disturbances,
- fatigue, and
- difficulty in concentrating and
- changes in the cardiovascular and central nervous
- Attack our nervous systems including our brains leading to widespread neurological/neuropsychiatric effects and possibly many other effects. This nervous system attack is of great concern.
- Attack our endocrine (that is hormonal) systems. In this context, the main things that make us functionally different from single celled creatures are our nervous system and our endocrine systems – even a simple planaria worm needs both of these. Thus, the consequences of the disruption of these two regulatory systems is immense, such that it is a travesty to ignore these findings.
- Produce oxidative stress and free radical damage, which have central roles in essentially all chronic diseases.
- Attack the DNA of our cells, producing single strand and double strand breaks in cellular DNA and oxidized bases in our cellular DNA. These in turn produce cancer and also mutations in germ line cells which produce mutations in future generations.
- Produce elevated levels of apoptosis (programmed cell death), events especially important in causing both neurodegenerative diseases and infertility.
- Lower male and female fertility, lower sex hormones, lower libido and increased levels of spontaneous abortion and, as already stated, attack the DNA in sperm cells.
- Produce excessive intracellular calcium [Ca2+] and excessive calcium signaling.
- Attack the cells of our bodies to cause cancer. Such attacks are thought to act via 15 different mechanisms during cancer causation.
- life threatening cardiac effects.
- very early onset dementias, including Alzheimer’s, digital and other types of dementias
- EMF exposures in utero and shortly after birth may cause ADHD and autism
- oxidative stress,
- DNA breaks,
- melatonin depletion,
- infertility and
SYMPTOMS OF EMF EXPOSURE
Cancer and unusual growths may be one symptom of very high EMF exposure.
Other symptoms may include:
- sleep disturbances, including insomnia
- headache
- depression and depressive symptoms
- tiredness and fatigue
- dysesthesia (a painful, often itchy sensation)
- lack of concentration
- changes in memory
- dizziness
- behavior change
- irritability
- loss of appetite and weight loss
- restlessness and anxiety
- nausea
- skin burning and tingling
- changes in an electroencephalogram (which measures electrical activity in the brain)
- Pressure sense head/ears*
- Sharp pains head/ears*
- Sensations of electric shock*
- Tinnitus
- Visual / hearing disturbance
- Anomia / thought block
- Tremor / vibration* / seizure
- Synesthesia*
- Cardiac dysrhythmia / palpitations
- BP anomaly / Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome
- Musculoskeletal pains
- Joint dysfunction
- Thirst / dehydration
- Urinary / bowel urgency
- Increased chemical sensitivity*
- Increased food sensitivity
- General sensory up-regulation*
- Circadian rhythm reversal*
- ages 14 to 17 increased by more than 60%,
- ages 12 to 13 (47%)
- ages 18 to 21 (46%), and
- rates roughly doubled among those ages 20 to 21.
EXPOSURE LIMITS: THE UNDERESTIMATION OF ABSORBED CELL PHONE RADIATION, ESPECIALLY IN CHILDREN
a child’s head’s absorption can be over two times greater, and
absorption of the skull’s bone marrow can be ten times greater than adults.
Therefore, a new certification process is needed that incorporates different modes of use, head sizes, and tissue properties.
Anatomically based models should be employed in revising safety standards for these ubiquitous modern devices and standards should be set by accountable, independent groups.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51722653_Exposure_Limits_The_underestimation_of_absorbed_cell_phone_radiation_especially_in_children
THE IMPACT OF CELL PHONE RADIATION ON THE BRAIN
Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute found decreased memory performance in adolescents from cumulative exposure to cell phone radiation in a 2018 study which replicated a 2015 study (Foerster 2018).
A Yale Medicine study found prenatally exposed mice had altered brains, poor memory and were hyperactive (Aldad2011).
University of California School of Public Health research found children exposed to cell phones before and after birth were more likely to have behavior problems than unexposed children (Divan 2008, Divan 2012).
High prenatal cell phone use by mother linked to hyperactivity/inattention problems in child-
83,884 mother-child pairs (Birks 2017)
For information and guidance and how to reduce cell phone and computer EMF microwave damage, please refer to
http://fki.9c5.myftpupload.com/knowledges/5g-wi-fi-and-emf-damaging-effects-on-the-body/
TOXIC BURDEN # 6 – STRESS
the biggest toxic burden of all Your Stress System – A Modern Paradox
The “fight or flight” stress system has helped humans survive on earth for tens of thousands of years. By activating this powerful mindbody system we have run from danger, or, fought to protect ourselves, since the beginning of human life on earth.
But now, this same stress system is killing us through stress related diseases such as heart attack, cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes.
How do you explain this paradox?
For 95% of life on earth our dangers have been real and physical. The stress physiology prepared our ancestors to run from wild animals or attack them in the hunt. It helped them defend against invaders who wanted to steal the village food supply. Our stress system is well designed to protect us against dangers by running or fighting.
In modern times, however, the dangers are no longer physical. We no longer run from our fears because they arise in our minds daily in the form of worry and anxiety. We no longer fight our enemies, because the enemy has moved inside us in the form or anger, frustration, resentment and depression.
“Fight or flight” has become “fear or anger” and this powerful system is responding to imaginary dangers for which there is no appropriate action.
Acute Stress – Adrenaline
Consider for a moment what the acute stress hormone adrenaline does to your body:
- Increase blood pressure and heart rate
- Increase breathing
- Constrict blood flow in your arms and legs
- Slow down your digestion
- Tense muscles throughout your body
- Releases sugar from the liver into the blood stream
- Increases blood clotting factors
- Activates the immune system (only 20 to 30 minutes)
- Inhibits sexual function
- And more…
Consider the well documented effects of chronic cortisol elevations on your mind and body:
- Increased appetite and food cravings
- Cortisol stimulates fat storage mainly around the abdomen
- Increased body fat – obesity
- Decreased muscle mass
- Insulin resistance and eventually diabetes
- Heart disease
- Increased blood pressure – high blood pressure
- Decreased bone density – osteoporosis
- Reduced synthesis of neurotransmitters
- Increased anxiety
- Increased depression
- Reduced concentration
- Mood swings (anger and irritability)
- Reduced levels of estrogen and testosterone – decreased sex drive
- Impaired immune response – frequent colds, flus, infections and cancer
- Memory and learning impairment
- Physical atrophy of brain cells – Alzheimer’s disease
- Increased symptoms of PMS
- Increased menopausal side effects