More Evidence Why Toxins Are Best to Avoid

I recently became
an expert contributor to a new website, NaturalPath.
My latest article, Living In a Chemical
Soup World- Why We Should Care & What We Can Do, (1) summarized the most current findings regarding
the prevalence and health consequences of living in a world of toxins.

Below are
two more articles I came across this week that demonstrate why we should
continue to do our best to decrease our risk of exposure. I also provide one
more article that shows that these toxins just keep coming!

New Technique Demonstrates How
Environmental Toxins Damage Our DNA

The National
Institute for Environmental Health Sciences used a new technique to show that
oxidative stress caused from environmental exposures led to a variety of
diseases (2-4):

Using a new imaging technique,
National Institutes of Health researchers have found that the biological
machinery that builds DNA can insert molecules into the DNA strand that are
damaged as a result of environmental exposures. These damaged molecules trigger
cell death that produces some human diseases, according to the researchers. The
work, appearing online Nov. 17 in the journal Nature, provides a possible
explanation for how one type of DNA damage may lead to cancer, diabetes,
hypertension, cardiovascular and lung disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. (2)

BPA Free Doesn’t Mean Toxin-Free

According to Green Med Info,
preliminary evidence is showing the substitutes for the toxin found in
plastics, BPA, may still be dangerous for reproductive health (5-6). This study
was done in an “organotypic culture” of testis and demonstrated that BPA, BPS,
and BPF all reduced testosterone secretion:

A new study reveals just how profoundly misled we
are about Bisphenol A and its analogs: they are at least 100x more toxic
than we previously imagined.

An alarming new study establishes that the commonly
used chemical bisphenol A used in tens of thousands of consumer products,
and its lesser known but increasingly prevalent analogs, bisphenol S and F, are
several orders of magnitude more disruptive to the endocrine systems of the
developing male human fetus than previous toxicological risk assessments were
capable of determining.

The new study was published in the journal Fertility
and Sterility and titled, “A new chapter in the bisphenol A story:
bisphenol S and bisphenol F are not safe alternatives to this compound.”

As we have documented extensively in the past, the
authors of the new study raise concerns that as awareness of bisphenol A’s
clearly demonstrated toxicity grows and it loses favor within the marketplace, manufacturers
are increasingly substituting it with chemically similar bisphenol compounds
whose toxicities are less well characterized. As a result, consumers who
conscientiously buy ostensibly ‘BPA-free’ products are being mislead into
thinking they are bisphenol free and therefore safe.

The new study employed an innovative ‘organotypic
culture’ system that took tissue samples from mouse, rat and human fetal
testis, in order to create an experimental model that would accurately
reproduce some of the dynamics observable within in vivo (living
organism-based) systems that are not ascertainable within conventional in vitro
(cell-based) models. They termed this experimental environment the fetal testis
assay (FeTA) system. (6)

They Keep Coming!

Finally, another study demonstrated that new metabolites
from flame retardants were found in urine samples from 21 U.S. mother-toddler
pairs. Alarmingly, higher amounts were found in children. (7)

What You Can Do

This article
demonstrates that toxic exposure can damage our DNA and put us at risk for diseases.
Read Part II of my article from NaturalPath
(8) for some tips on how to optimize your wellness in this chemical world.

Sources:

1.NaturalPath.
http://thenatpath.com/body/detox/living-in-a-chemical-soup-world-why-we-should-care-what-we-can-do-part-i/

2.National
Institute of Health. NIH scientists determine how environment contributes to
several human diseases. November 25, 2014.
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/nov2014/niehs-25.htm

3.How
does environment-damaged DNA lead to disease? Medical News Today. November 26,
2014. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/286088.php

4.NIH
scientists determine how environment contributes to several human diseases.
Integrative Practitioner. November 25, 2014.

5.Ji,
S. Research: Bisphenol A (BPA) Causes 100x More Harm Than Previously Imagined.
Green Med Info. December 6, 2014. http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/research-bisphenol-bpa-causes-100x-more-harm-previously-imagined

6.A
new chapter in the bisphenol A story: bisphenol S and bisphenol F are not safe
alternatives to this compound. Fertility and Sterility. November 2014. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2014.11.005

7.Metabolites
of Organophosphate Flame Retardants and 2-Ethylhexyl Tetrabromobenzoate in
Urine from Paired Mothers and Toddlers. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2014, 48 (17),
pp 10432-10438. DOI: 10.1021/es5025299

8.NaturalPath.
https://naturalpath.net/body/detox/living-in-a-chemical-soup-world-why-we-should-care-what-we-can-do-part-ii/