Toxins Are Killing Our Brains,....and more

For decades, chlorpyrifos, marketed by Dow Chemical beginning in 1965, was the most widely
used insect killer in American homes. Then, in 1995, Dow was fined $732,000 by the EPA for
concealing more than 200 reports of poisoning related to chlorpyrifos. It paid the fine and, in
2000, withdrew chlorpyrifos from household products. Today, chlorpyrifos is classified as “very
highly toxic” to birds and freshwater fish, and “moderately toxic” to mammals, but it is still used
widely in agriculture on food and non-food crops, in greenhouses and plant nurseries, on wood
products and golf courses.
   
From an article published on The Atlantic, over a year ago, titled "The Toxins That Threaten Our
Brains", by James Hamblin, who does the population a good turn by helping identify 12 common
toxins and, as Hamblin puts it "....... (these) dozen chemicals are responsible for widespread
behavioral and cognitive problems. But the scope of the chemical dangers in our environment is
likely even greater. Why children and the poor are most susceptible to neurotoxic exposure that
may be costing the U.S. billions of dollars and immeasurable peace of mind."
   
You are going to have to go here to read the entire article, but the keys points are:   

The major toxins identified are - Manganese; Flouride; Chlorpyrifos; DDT/DDE;
Tetrachloroethylene (PERC); Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE);  Aresnic; Lead; Mercury;
Toluene; Ethanol; and, Polycholorinated Biphenyls (PCB). 
 
The problem with toxic substances is that their effects can be insidious. Take the example of lead—a chemical that lingered in gasoline, house paints, and children's toys for decades before scientists realized the true extent of the damage.
 
Several years ago, a four-year-old boy in Oregon began complaining of stomach pain and vomiting. Doctors reassured his parents that it was likely a viral illness, but his symptoms worsened, and he became completely unable to eat. He also had a badly swollen cheek. The doctors determined that the boy had bitten himself, so severely that it must have been during a seizure. Blood tests showed that he was anemic, and subsequent tests found that he had extremely high levels of lead (123 micrograms per deciliter of blood).
 
The doctors began treating the boy with medication to help clear the lead. They also set out to find out where the lead was coming from. An investigation of the boy’s home, which was built in the 1990s, found no lead paint. Despite treatment, though, the boy’s lead tests remained abnormally high. So the doctors did an x-ray.
 
Inside the boy’s stomach was a one-inch metal medallion, which appeared bright white on the x-ray image. His parents recognized it as a toy necklace they had purchased from a vending machine approximately three weeks earlier. The state environmental quality lab later found that the medallion contained 38.8 percent lead. The manufacturer later did a voluntary recall of 1.4 million of the metal toy necklaces.
 
In 1921, lead was starting to be added to Gasoline to increase it's octane rating and therefore power.   In the 1960's strudies began to show that exposure to leaded gasoline and paint as well as other substances were poisoning people.   Finally in 1975, the EPA required a gradual phasing of lead out of gasoline.   But it didn't end there,......the Center of Disease Control (CDC) has incrementally decreased the threshold on how much lead was toxic from 60 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood to .5 micrograms per deciliter
 
Magnanese used to coat the insides of soda pop cans for a common source  of this toxin.    Symptoms of magnanese poisoning can be similar to Lou Gehrig's disease and multiple sclerosis.
 
Flouride, found in toothpaste and actualy given to us by dentists to swish throughout our mouths, can be benficial in low doses.   Higher doses of fluoride exposure has negative effects on brain growth.
 
Mercury is another common toxin in many forms and can cause damage to the kidneys, lungs as well as the brain.    Many different items from flourescent lights, to dental amagam fillings to certain cosmetics contain mercury in one form or another.
 
MyAchingKnees comment:  Knowledge of, and risk mitigation to toxin exposure are part of my plan for individual optimal health which I call the chair of health with the four legs being:  1 - reduce high glycemic, processed foods and eat as a low glycemic diet as you can; 2 - take quality nutritional supplents to ensure your body recieves all the nutrients for a strong immune system to protect against degenrative diseases; 3 - avoid toxins to minimize the onset of immune system degradation; 4 - live a physically life.

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