Identifying the 5 Common Toxins: Understanding What’s Lurking Around You
It’s easy to go through the day and not think about toxins! For the most part, we don’t see, smell or feel them. Or, if we do, we don’t often think about the impact they’re having on us. There are over 140,000 known toxins that have been developed and potentially many more that are unregistered. On any given day, each of us is exposed to anywhere from 100-400 toxins…more if we work in construction, live near a highway, or work directly with chemicals (manicurists, hairdressers, glassblowers, and many other careers fall into this category), work or live near an industrial plant, golf course or farm.
If you’re just starting to explore the toxins you’re exposed to, it can feel overwhelming. But remember…Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you don’t need to transform your life in a day, either! This is a process, and we’re going to ease into it. You can go as fast or as slow as you please! And it’s not a contest or race…unless, of course, you’re racing towards optimal health.
The Health Effects of Toxin Exposure: Recognizing Immediate and Prolonged Risks
Since the toxins we’re exposed to every day are wide-ranging, we’re going to dive into the top 5 toxins that you likely come into contact with on a daily basis. We’ll review what those toxins are, what they do to us, and, most importantly, what we can do about it! So, let’s dive in.
- Phthalates: Phthalates are a category of chemicals that are often found in personal care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, medications, beauty products, lotions, makeup, and deodorant, to name a few. They can have a wide range of names, so it can be difficult to track what you’re actually using. (More on that later!)
The worst effect of phthalates is that as a category, they are endocrine disruptors. This means that they mimic how our hormones look and perform, and act like hormones. They also need to be processed and excreted like hormones. In daily life, endocrine disruption “looks” like polycystic ovarian syndrome, insulin resistance, thyroid dysfunction, fibroids, breast or uterine cancer, and/or weight gain that is difficult to take off.
- PFAS: This is another large category of chemicals that can be difficult to determine by reading the names since there are hundreds of names that can mean PFAS. Like phthalates, PFAS is found in a wide variety of products we use every day, such as non-stick cookware, water-resistant fabrics such as rainwear, dental floss, shampoo, eye makeup, stain-resistant coatings on carpets and other fabrics, and living near/working in factories that produce any of these products. Approximately 20% of our exposures to PFAS come through drinking water. According to the CDC, the most common risks of PFAS exposure include increased cholesterol, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/elevations of liver enzymes, increased risk of kidney or testicular cancers, immune suppression, and complications of pregnancy.
- Air and Water Pollution: According to a 1989 (!) study out of Massachusetts, one in every 6 deaths is implicated in issues with air or water quality. We are exposed to PFAS through our water supply, along with a wide variety of potential contaminants including, but not limited to, medications in the water supply, herbicides like glyphosate, pesticides, insecticides, phthalates, heavy metals, parasites, mycotoxins and other chemicals. Our air is similarly contaminated and potentially exposes us to benzene (a known carcinogen), pollens, volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”), lead (in homes built before 1978 and not gut renovated), and more. The combination of poor air and water quality is implicated in a wide range of issues, including those associated with PFAS exposure, but also asthma, allergies, weight gain, cancers, and reproductive issues.
- Heavy Metals: According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a subset of the CDC, Arsenic, Lead, and Mercury are the top 3 “substances that are most commonly found at facilities on the National Priorities List (NPL) and which are determined to pose the most significant potential threat to human health due to their known or suspected toxicity and potential for human exposure at these NPL sites.” We are often exposed to arsenic through soil, groundwater, sediment, fish/shellfish, and rice. Lead exposure occurs from living in homes built before 1978, doing construction on those homes, living in homes with lead pipes, being born before 1978, and being exposed to lead in gasoline, one of the largest sources of lead is by consuming ayurvedic medicines that are produced in other countries and contaminated with lead…either by accident or intentionally, as the lead was a standard additive to many ayurvedic formulas. Mercury sources include ingestion of high mercury-containing fish such as Ahi tuna, swordfish, mahi mahi, Chilean sea bass, coal combustion, waste incineration, and mining. It’s also important to remember that forests sequester mercury, and when they burn, they get released back into the atmosphere and environments where we are exposed. Physical effects of heavy metal exposure and poisoning range from neurological damage/neuropathy, hearing loss, osteoporosis/osteopenia, weight gain, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
- Mycotoxins: 50% of all buildings in the United States have had water damage, and when buildings are water damaged and not dried out properly, mycotoxins grow. Fifty percent! So, it’s practically impossible to live one’s life without exposure to mycotoxins. Mycotoxins consequences range from skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis, and rashes to cancers, autoimmune diseases, and degenerative diseases.
Protecting Yourself from Toxins: Practical Steps for Reducing Exposure
Exposure to all toxins can cause stubborn weight gain that is difficult to lose!
While it can feel like we are powerless, we have access to many actions to remove our exposure!
- Download either the www.ewg.org or thinkdirty app. These two apps review products and can give you options to level up. Every time you are running out of a product, visit one of these apps to find a better choice. You don’t have to be perfect, but try to make a cleaner choice every time you buy a replacement product. When purchasing a product through EWG’s website, aim for products that are green, with a 1 or 2 rating.
- Ditch your nonstick cookware and substitute stainless steel or cast iron.
- To the best of your financial ability, filter your air and water.
- Limit intake of high mercury-containing fish, work with a biologic dentist (https://iabdm.org/location/) to safely remove your mercury fillings, don’t do construction yourself on a home built before 1978, and ensure your contractors are taking steps to avoid exposing you if you live in the home during construction.
- If you have water damage, remediate it quickly to avoid development of mold.
- Consider working with a senior functional medicine provider who can evaluate you for what is in your body and help you safely decrease your exposures and remove what is in your body, potentially making you sick!
Links:
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/index.html
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412021002415
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/SPL/
https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/Mercury_FactSheet.html
Bio:
Wendie Trubow, MD, MBA, IFM certified practitioner, is passionate about helping women optimize their health and lives as a functional medicine gynecologist. Through her struggles with mold and metal toxicity, Celiac disease, and other health issues, Trubow has developed a deep sense of compassion and expertise for what her patients are facing.
She is the co-author of Dirty Girl: Ditch the Toxins, Look Great, and Feel Freaking Amazing and has been regularly featured in MindBodyGreen and Huffington Post.
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She is an accomplished speaker and previously had her own television show. She is on the faculty at A4M and a speaker for their conferences, along with other national societies. She and her partner will be releasing their next book in 2024.
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