10 Toxic Truths

1. Toxins are everywhere and we are all affected.                                                               Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) are found
   
   in everyone and  everywhere on our planet- in our food, soil, air water and homes.  Humans and wildlife around the world carry POPs in their bodies at or near levels that can cause injury. Toxic chemicals are found in all human tissue including cord blood and breastmilk.  Indoor environments are often more contaminated than outdoors.
2. The Full extent is unknown.  Toxins are often invisible, deadly and latent.  Over 140 000 toxic chemicals are used commercially, over 3000 in high volume with 1500 new chemicals released each year.
3. Tiny doses can cause big effects.  Toxicologists traditionally assumed that the dose makes the poison with a monotonic dose response curve.  This is the basis for regulation of public safety limits.  However dose can be non-monotonic.
4. Chemical cocktails are synergistic.  Exposure to a mixture of chemicals is far more harmful than exposure to individual chemicals.  Toxins are tested for safety individually if they are tested at all.
5. Windows of development are critical.  Effects of EDCs are often irreversible with effects not evident till later in life.
6. Kids are more at risk.  Compared to adults they have higher food, fluid and air intake per kg, higher absorption and metabolic rate, immature immune and detox systems, more exposure to the ground & more hand to mouth behaviour
7. Biomagnification up the food chain. POPs such as DDT & PCB persist for years in the environment.  They biomagnify up through the food chain.
8. Bioaccumulation over a lifespan. Fat soluble toxins are not usually excreted and accumulate in fatty tissue over an individual life span.
9. Effects are epigenetic and transgenerational. Maternal exposure affects the unborn child and future grandchildren (and possibly great grand children)
10. Injustice and accidents happen.  BP oil spill (2012), Exxon Valde (1989), Bhopal (1984), Fukishima (2011), Love canal (1978)

You may say evidence for a detox is scanty but what else can you do where the evidence is so concrete on how quickly we are toxifying ourselves and our world.

This is from a lecture presented by Professor Marc Cohen at 2014 International Congress on Natural Medicine.