Toxicity

What Is Toxicity?

What does it mean to be “toxic?” It’s when chemicals have built up in the body to a point that the body can no longer metabolize or break them down quickly, resulting in cellular damage and, eventually, damage and malfunction to tissues, glands and organs.

This damage comes primarily through oxidation (rust), which causes cell membranes to become weak and porous. Cellular material then leaks out, and extra cellular fluid leaks in, causing the cells to rupture and die. Toxicity also damages cells secondarily by changing them into free radicals, which are very destructive cellular intermediates that can cause a chain reaction of oxidative damage — similar to the starting of a forest fire by the spark of one match.

What Causes Toxicity?

The primary cause of toxicity is eating, drinking, and breathing toxins and chemicals on a regular basis, whether you are aware of it or not. We live in a toxic world; chemicals and toxins are everywhere. Once they are in your system, you need a program for getting these toxins and chemicals “detoxed” out of the body so they never reach harmful levels. These are the exotoxins.

Maldigestion/malabsorption is a prime example of how you can be toxic without knowing it. In this condition, which does not necessarily cause pain, the intestinal lining becomes inflamed from poor digestion and assimilation, parasites, pathogenic bacteria, virus, fungi-like candida, food allergies, sensitivities, chemicals and drugs. This leads to endotoxins to build up.

Toxicity can be illustrated by a fish tank. Regularly fed fish regularly excrete waste products, which pollute water with bacteria and chemicals; without a water filter, the fish would eventually die from the endotoxin build up. They will die from the exotoxins if you put chlorinated tap water in the fish tank. Chlorine is a toxic chemical from outside.

Leaky Gut Syndrome is a Major Source of Toxicity

Leaky gut is exactly what it sounds like. The intestinal tract is like a fine screen or mesh, which only lets nutrients of a certain size through. The nutrients then pass into the hepatic portal blood vessels, which can bring nutrients to the liver, your chemical detoxification plant.

In a leaky gut condition, the intestinal tract becomes inflamed and the selective permeability (letting only digested food particle through) breaks down. This allows the passage of not only normal digested nutrient building blocks (amino acids, fatty acids and simple sugars from carbohydrates), but also the passage of larger food particles, like larger chain proteins, fats and carbohydrates, and toxins that were never meant to pass through. This can be likened to a window screen. If the screen is functioning properly with no holes in it, air will pass through, but the flies, mosquitoes and other bugs will not. In leaky gut, the intestinal barrier becomes inflamed. Instead of only letting the digested broken down food particles through, the larger food particles and toxins enter, causing the immune system to become weakened and over stimulated. This is like the screen that now has tears, making larger holes that allow all types of insects to get through.

This presents a few problems.

Larger chain proteins can trigger not only intestinal irritation and inflammation, but also all kinds of allergies, immune and autoimmune problems, and inflammatory joint conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

Leaky gut can also result in toxicity, since toxins leak through the “screen” of your intestinal wall (because of the larger holes produced by the inflammation). These toxins ultimately end up in the liver, your chemical detox plant. Unfortunately, your liver is then overburdened, and the toxins end up circulating throughout the body, causing havoc wherever they go. If the toxins deposit in the brain, you might have foggy thoughts, possible memory loss and/or confusion, and even the start of neurological disease like multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. If the toxins deposit in the joints, you will have arthritic-type pains. If the toxins deposit in organs that produce white blood cells (WBCs), your immune system will be weakened, making you more susceptible to illness, including cancer.

What causes Leaky Gut?

1. Stress causes lack of blood flow into the organs, including the bowel, which can result in leaky gut.
2. Food allergy/sensitivity is probably the largest daily cause of leaky gut in America. Big allergens are dairy, animal products and wheat- anything you eat cooked day in and day out becomes an allergen.
3. Parasites can be found in all of us, especially intestinal parasites. They come mainly from beef, chicken, fish and pork, but they are everywhere.
4. Poor diet, usually manifested in eating food that is highly processed or preserved, or high in fat or sugar or animal content.
5. Toxic heavy metals like metallic lead, mercury or cadmium—cause irritation to the intestinal lining.
6. Drugs have many side effects 7-500 that can result in poor assimilation. Drugs kill the normal flora of bacterial growth in the bowel, allowing pathogenic bacteria to grow back in a greater proportion. Candida, or yeast, also overgrows the bowel, causing leaky gut. Other drug side effects are corrosion to the gastrointestinal tract, causing the inflammation and leaky gut.
7. Eating or Drinking Toxic Food containing Chemicals and/or Toxins When we eat or drink food containing chemicals or toxins this directly causes intestinal lining irritation and inflammation which leads to a leaky gut. This is primarily animal products, dairy. More toxins as you eat up the food chain at least 16X more.
8. Eating acid pH forming food causes stress on the digestive tract and on your total health. This cooked animal /dairy products and refined sugars and flours
9. Eating dead or deficient food causes very poor digestion because once you cook the food, the enzyme content of the food is destroyed This not only causes leaky gut but also greatly reduces one’s total health.

Toxic air

Recent research has isolated over 33 chemicals in common house dust promotes breast cancer formation.

Mercury occurs naturally in coal and is released when the fossil fuel is burned to produce electricity. Mercury can build up in a highly toxic form as it moves up the food chain. Those exposed, especially children, can suffer neurological and developmental damage. The toxic emissions from these power plants are a major reason why most allfish is no longer safe to eat.

It is no secret that polluted outdoor air can be dangerous to your health, BUT did you know that indoor air pollution actually poses a FAR greater health risk to you and your family? In fact, it is 100% clear to me that indoor air pollution has become one of the potentially most serious health dangers you can be exposed to!

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and multiple other sources, indoor air is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air on average, and in some U.S. regions it can be up 100 times more polluted, PLUS on average in the U.S. you will spend an astonishing 90% of your life indoors.

Here are more important about indoor air pollution:

• A pollutant released indoors is 1000 times more likely to reach people’s lungs than a pollutant released outdoors.
• While one to three times is the average (and that is bad enough!), many homes have airborne pollutant levels 25 to 100 times that of the air outside the home.
• Americans spend 90% of their time indoors.
• Airborne pollutants from cleaning and personal care products you use in your home are three times as likely to cause cancer as pollutants from outside.
• 1500 hazardous substances can be found in the typical North American home.
• About 50% of ALL illnesses are caused by or aggravated by indoor pollution.

Those especially vulnerable to the health risks of indoor pollutants include infants, the elderly, those with heart and lung diseases, people with asthma, and anyone who has developed extreme sensitivity to chemicals.

Making matters worse — these are often the people who often spend the most time indoors.

Toxic Water

• More than 700 chemicals have been found in our drinking water, and 129 of these chemicals have been cited by the EPA as posing serious health risks. Yet the EPA only requires water to be tested for about 80 of these chemicals.
• Some of the toxins in tap water include cancer-causing substances like arsenic, benzene, chlorine, fluoride, lead, THM’s (trihalomethanes), MTBE (fuel additive), nitrates and nitrites (from fertilizers), radon, nuclear waste, and perchlorate (component of rocket fuel).
• ARSENIC – occurs naturally in ground water, from industrial run off, pesticide residue. A strong poison at high doses. At low doses is linked to cancer, diabetes, and a variety of other diseases.
• CHLORINE – additive to disinfect the water. It is a known carcinogen and produces poisonous byproducts.
• FLUORIDE – a controversial additive that also is a carcinogen. It also makes bones brittle and blocks the functioning of the life-sustaining enzyme systems.
• LEAD – source is from old plumbing pipes. It causes damage to the brain, the nervous system and the kidneys.
• NITRATES, NITRITES – from farm and city fertilizers, livestock waste. In the body these are transformed into carcinogenic nitrosamines.
• MTBE – a fuel additive designed to reduce air pollution. Causes dysfunction of the stomach, liver and nervous system. Cancer risk is very probable.
• THMs – trihalomethanes that form when chlorine reacts with organic material (anything from feces to decayed leaves). Known link to bladder cancer, increased miscarriage risk.
• PERCHLORATE – a component of solid rocket fuel, munitions, and fireworks. It interferes with the normal functioning of the thyroid gland.
• PATHOGENS – sewage discharges and farm runoff can introduce E.coli bacteria, cryptosporidium and other harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites. This causes gastrointestinal symptoms and weakened immune systems.

Toxicity is a primary cause of cancer because toxicity is the primary cause of a weakened immune system. Cancer cells form in your body daily, but your WBCs normally destroy them. But when toxicity weakens your immune system, your WBCs can’t do their job, giving cancer cells the opportunity to grow. They eventually form a little colony called a tumor, which WBCs have more trouble destroying. So do not let your defenses down.

Toxic Food

What stresses the liver the most?

1. Chemicals and toxins from air, water and food.
2. Eating cooked, toxic, hormone and antibiotic treated animal protein. Which includes meat, chicken, eggs, fish and dairy products. As you eat up the food chain, animal products are 16X more concentrated than non-organic plant products and 100-1000X more concentrated than organ plant products-this greatly stresses the liver.

An estimated 70,000 chemicals are in commercial use in the United States. The national American government registers an average of 2,000 newly synthesized chemicals each year.

Cosmetics have at least 5,000 chemicals; more than 3,200 are added to food. As many as 1,010 chemicals are used in the production of 11,700 consumer products, and about 500 chemicals are used as active ingredients in pesticides, according to Environmental Protection Agency data cited by the Environmental Working Group

The Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals is the most comprehensive assessment to date of the exposure of the U.S. population to chemicals in our environment. CDC has measured 212 chemicals in people’s blood or urine—75 of which have never before been measured in the U.S. population. The new chemicals include acrylamide, arsenic, environmental phenols, including bisphenol A and triclosan, and perchlorate.

What toxins need to come out of you?

1. Medications/Drugs 7-500 side effects
2. Chemicals:
   • Polybrominated diphenyl ethers are fire retardants used in certain manufactured products. These accumulate in the environment and in human fat tissue.
   • Perfluorinated chemicals One of these chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA),which is used to create heat-resistant non-stick coatings in cookware. Most participants had measurable levels of this environmental contaminant
   • Phthalates From Toys to Body Lotion: the Everywhere Chemical-PVC products such as vinyl flooring, vinyl shower curtains, and children’s toys ,many personal care products, such as perfumes, nail polish, and lotions, automobile interiors
3. Additives/preservatives As bromide is a halide, it competes for the same receptors that are used in the thyroid gland to capture iodine, thus inhibiting thyroid hormone production resulting in a low thyroid state (Hypothyroidism). Other sources of bromide: Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) is added to citrus drinks to help suspend the flavoring in the liquid. Potassium Bromate is a dough conditioner found in commercial bakery products and some flours.
4. Plastics Bisphenol A (BPA), a component of epoxy resins and polycarbonates, may have potential reproductive toxicity.
5. PesticidesParkinson’s Disease & PesticidesAn article from the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) says that pesticides contribute to the development of some cases of Parkinson’s.

   Their results showed that “individuals who were exposed to pesticides in the home or garden were 70% more likely to develop Parkinson’s than those who were not exposed,

   Methyl Bromide is a pesticide used mainly on strawberries. Bromide is a common endocrine disruptor, especially thyroid.

6. Heavy metals
   • Mercury occurs naturally in coal and is released when the fossil fuel is burned to produce electricity. Mercury can build up in a highly toxic form as it moves up the food chain. Those exposed, especially children, can suffer neurological and developmental damage. The toxic emissions from these power plants are a major reason why most all fish is no longer safe to eat. Other sources-Amalgams, vaccinations
   • Aluminum-Neurotoxin- Parkinson, Alzheimer’s – source aluminum cookware, deodorant, antacids, baking powder
   • Cadmium– kidney damage, hbp, source- Teflon, seafood, cigarette smoke
7. XenobioticsXenobiotics or xenobiotic compounds are manmade chemicals that are present in the environment and pollute the environment when present in high concentrations. The word “xeno” means foreign.Xenobiotics are foreign substances, originating from outside the body, that have a hormone-like action when introduced within the body, and thus have a profound impact on hormone balance. Nearly all xenobiotics are derived from a petroleum source. In today’s petrochemical world, it is a certainty that xenobiotics are all around us and that our bodies are absorbing them as well. Xenobiotics include drugs, pesticides, and carcinogens. Detoxification of such substances occurs mainly in the liver.

Why are xenobiotics are very hard to degrade?

• Highly toxic
• Toxic byproducts often produced

In animals, cytochrome P450 bioactivates xenobiotics in liver, causes toxicity.

Toxic elements in small amounts stimulate the immune system which eventually produce either allergy, autoimmune disease, recurrent immune dysfunctions and/or cancer.