Avoiding Environmental Causes of Disease
by Elaine Moore
August 28, 2000

Ours is a chemical world. Besides the additives and preservatives designed to keep our food fresh, we're inundated with dioxin used to bleach paper products and DEHP which renders plastic flexible while acting as an endocrine disruptor. By fooling our body into thinking it's an estrogen compound, DEHP and DINP play havoc with our immune systems and our hormones.

Having worked in medicine for thirty years, I can clearly see the results of the post World War II chemical revolution. The number of individuals affected with autoimmune disease has skyrocketed. For practically every pharmaceutical advance, there's a new disease or syndrome associated with the side effects. I've watched as hundreds of different drugs have infiltrated the market, caused gastrointestinal bleeding and other symptoms including death, and later vanished.

I grew up in a neighborhood that was regularly bombed with pesticides. Although DDT has been pulled from the market, it doesn't degrade well. Same with PBC's. Even individuals born well after 1970 have traces of these chemicals in their blood passed down from their mother.

Many toxic pesticides and herbicides are still in wide use. They can be found in your canned and frozen produce. So it's wise to buy fresh fruit and vegetables and wash them thoroughly before using them. To be safe, it's best to stick with organic foods.

Dairy products today are logged down with iodine, which is great if you're in an iodine deficient area. Otherwise, all this excess iodine acts as an autoimmune disease trigger. Same with fluoride. There are some great studies explaining exactly how fluoride was introduced into our water supplies and what it really does to our bones. With honest studies, today, fluoride, which really is a poison, would have never found a home in our toothpaste.

Have you ever heard of drug-induced lupus? It's essentially the same as the systemic autoimmune disorder, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Only it's triggered by certain medications. And the symptoms resolve when the drug is continued. But the immunological markers persist. Drugs known to induce lupus include minocycline, a common antibiotic used for acne and chlorthalidone, a common diuretic. The list of known and suspected compounds includes more than 100 widely used prescription medicines.
Along with mercury, gold and a few other metals.

Mercury and formaldehyde, by the way, are added to vaccines. The amounts of these compounds given in multiple live vaccines to 5 pound babies pose a tremendous concentration relative to such a small blood volume. Mercury, besides being an autoimmune trigger, is a neurotoxin. Those in the know suggest spreading out vaccines over time, rather than giving multiple live vaccines (average of 39 given before starting school, with the majority given in the first two months) and only including necessary vaccines. Giving hepatitis B (contracted through contaminated blood, needles and sex) vaccines to newborns makes no sense.

And let's consider the heavy metal lead. Sure, lead does affect mental development in children. And the big campaign to remove it from paint and gasoline has paid off. But it hasn't helped most of us. Now we have methyl gasoline additives contaminating our groundwater. And, after the fact, researchers have discovered that their concentrations keep rising since they don't degrade.

In more than 90% of instances, new chemicals aren't designed to benefit the general public. They're designed to line the pockets of those who manufacture and sell them. Research studies are supported by those who manufacture the drugs, and government studies are monitored by individuals who have financial ties.

Only recently has the National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS) realized there's a problem with the ingredients in plastics which makes them flexible. They ordered a ban on the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubing for medical devices. Why now when this information has been out for nearly 10 years? Why is because of the potential ramifications. Do an internet search on DEHP and see what all has been found or shop for products that say they're safe for your baby's bottles or your water bottles for that matter.

My advice is to be leery of any new medicine, food product, paint or chemical which you eat, breathe, apply to your skin or use to add comfort to your surroundings. Read MSDS sheets and find toxicology studies. Read the Physicians' Desk Reference, and understand that these rare side effects aren't that rare when the drug is introduced to the population at large.

Know that your children need vaccines, but only certain ones which are spaced out at broad intervals. Be wary of the new floorboard and carpeting and check that they're not treated with formaldehyde. Don't think insecticides are the answer for the few ants that you see. Use paints that are as free of toxins as possible. Avoid packaged and prepared foods. Don't breathe exhaust and don't smoke or allow yourself to be exposed to cigarette smoke. Live as simply as possible by counting ingredients, comparing what you consume along with your well washed apple to that of your pre-packaged TV dinner.

It's not necessary to be fanatical about this. Just get into the habit of studying ingredients and asking yourself why they're necessary. Or study the etiology or causes of the various autoimmune diseases and cancers. You'll recognize many familiar names.