{"id":531,"date":"2022-08-25T13:00:33","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T13:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carolinatotalwellness.com\/blog\/?p=531"},"modified":"2022-08-25T13:31:28","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T13:31:28","slug":"toxins-mercury-phthalates-and-lead-oh-my","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carolinatotalwellness.com\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/08\/25\/toxins-mercury-phthalates-and-lead-oh-my\/","title":{"rendered":"TOXINS… Mercury, phthalates, and lead, oh my!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Frances T Meredith, MD <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We are swimming in toxins every day from the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the products we use on our bodies, and in our homes and yards. We have all heard the story of Flint Michigan. But lead exposure is just the very tip of the iceberg of our daily toxin exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toxins now are well established to impair the ability of our mitochondria, the batteries in every cell, to create energy. That has downstream effects in every organ system. Many studies clearly establish that toxins underlie many chronic diseases including neurogenerative disease (think Parkinson\u2019s, Alzheimer\u2019s, ALS), autoimmunity, hormone disruption (think thyroid and endometriosis) and > 50% cases of gout. Did you know toxins often lurk beneath depression, anxiety, and ADHD?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are simple things we can all do to both decrease our exposure and assist our body in moving out toxins. The first step is a good look at where the toxins are coming from. Stop the inflow! Environmental toxins include chemicals, metals, mold, particulate matter in the air, ozone, radiation, and EMF. And don\u2019t forget those ever-present psychic toxins that have escalated in the past few years: toxic relationships, social media, and news. Toxins also can come from within, in the byproducts created by intestinal bacteria, our own hormone processing, and our own natural detox pathways. Then we often \u201cchoose our poisons\u201d, drinking that evening wine to wind down, vape, diets that are too acidic, or choosing non pure forms of hemp, and often using them for the wrong reasons.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d like to take a bit of time to dig into environmental toxins. First, metals. We all know about lead exposure, but did you know that our city water has arsenic? Kale is often filled with thallium? Do you have mercury fillings? If so, are they stable or are they leaking low level mercury into your body every day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, a bit more focus on chemicals. Many chemicals are known to be \u201cgender benders\u201d, disrupting our hormone pathways, plugging into the estrogen receptors and not letting go, decreasing fertility in women, sperm counts in men. The big offenders on the \u201cgender bender\u201d list are phthalates, bisphenols, parabens, triclosan in antibacterial soap, and PCBs. Below is a list of chemicals to which we are frequently exposed, creating buildup over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n