Toxic Phases of Life (Part 1)

It's a toxic toxic world. All our lives, we have been assaulted with tons of toxins from the womb to the grave. Today, I would to to write about toxins impact in our lives. The different phases of our lives which we have been exposed to loads of toxins for decades, which includes heavy metals and chemicals.

Let's start off with phase one. Fetal development. There are a lots of people especially women, who are not aware that their pre-born babies, could easily be exposed to some of the most dangerous toxins produced and available in modern society. As I've mentioned earlier in 'pesticides' post, we knew that it was a myth, that the placenta connecting a mother and a fetus acted as a foolproof filter, protecting the fetus from toxins absorbed by the mother's body during pregnancy. 

Long list of chemical substances have been shown to have adverse impact of up to ten times as toxic to fetuses and newborns as adults. Here are some of the chemical challenges every fetus must now contend with during its nine month attempt to evolve into a normal being with naturally occurring health. 

Air Pollution - If you mother lived in an industrialized city, you were assaulted to various types of air pollutants and pesticides. The simple act of mother of an expected mother breathing polluted air, might cause chromosome abnormalities in the fetus. 

Household chemicals -  A long list of chemicals include pesticides, bleach, aerosols, air refreshers, window cleaners, carpet cleaners and dry cleaning fluids. A primary chemical culprit in most of these products seemed to be formaldehyde. 

Everyday Conveniences - Babies in the womb are swimming in synthetic chemical soup. While you were in the womb, you can expect about one in three chance that you would absorb PCBs from your mother. PCBs are toxins found in electrical transformers, adhesives and hydraulic fluids. PCBs have been detected in 30 percent of human breast milk, so the odds of babies absorbing one in three chance having been exposed to additional PCB residue if you were breast fed. A study conducted in the USA in 2004, chose a big group of random babies, analyzed their umbilical cord blood and found an average of two hundred synthetic chemicals, including chemicals from food packaging and flame retardents from household furnitures and appliances. 

Food Contamination - If a pregnant woman consume mercury laden food such as canned tuna or swordfish, the pregnancy will be exposed to methylmercury. Mercury, along with PCBs and pesticides, has been shown to disrupt the endocrine system, which manages hormones in the body. An entire class of potential chemical contaminants to the fetus are the thousands of chemical additives in processed foods and fast foods. Chemical exposure during the fetal stage can set in motion tissue changes that years later, as an adult, erupt into cancer.


Expected mothers, after reading the above, are you willing to change your lifestyles to ensure your babies are born healthy? Now, I will discuss about the second phase of toxic expose in our lives. Childhood. Once out of the womb, you are confronted by a gauntlet of chemical challenges. 

Some kids start life with a genetic defect that affects metabolic functions and renders their bodies less efficient at excreting toxins. This predisposition can compromise their immune system. The cocktail of vaccines containing the mercury-based preservative thimerosal, can further overwhelm the already susceptible child's immune system. 

Food additives -  Because many of an infant's body organs are not fully developed at birth, infant growth can be retarded by contact with foreign chemicals. Organ cells in the infant are highly susceptible to chemical food additives, particularly the nitrites that sometimes appear in the baby foods. Food additives in the form of  artificial colorings, flavorings and preservatives which laced all processed foods, increase your childhood chances of becoming hyperactive and developing attention deficit disorder. Even more than soft drinks, most fruit juices (processed), are composed of synthetic chemicals that can trigger disruptive behaviors.

Breast Milk - Any baby born today or in the past decade who consumed its mother's breast milk also probably absorbed traces of perchlorate. A breast-fed one month old infant will absorb enough perchlorate to exceed all safe levels, perhaps even lifetime safe level, and perchlorate is known to adversely affect the thyroid and other glands of your body.

Infant formula - I've earlier written a couple of posts about infant milk formula. For many, the first food you received after birth was infant formula, an artificial imitation of milk. Many researches have pointed out that infant milk formula is a primary cause of allergies in infants. Mother's milk by contrast, naturally contains colostrum, a substance that helps the infant develop protection against viral infection, influenza, and a host of other diseases and ailments. Infant formula DO not have such protections.

Tap Water - If you drink fluoridated water as a child, depending on your consumption, your chances of contracting allergic reactions to the fluoride may increase with age, resulting in headaches, muscle weakness and stomach upsets. Read my earlier post on fluoride for more details.

Childhood vaccinations - Once you are born, it is mandatory to receive series of vaccinations before you could enter public school system. In most countries, it is mandatory enforced by laws for vaccinations. Many of these vaccinations were administered to you as an infant. Besides the disease-fighting agents, what else lurks in these vaccines that your body absorbs? Common vaccine additives include methylmercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, MSG, sulfites and ethylene glycol. Most are used as preservatives and adjuvants. The overall amount of mercury that you receive as a child from vaccinations may represent your entire lifetime's safe amount of mercury exposure. Read my earlier post on vaccinations for more information.

Household Dust - Lead paints were banned in many countries, but I'm not too sure for Malaysia. Lead lowers IQ, impairs memory, reduce attention spans and causes learning disabilities. Molecules lead leach from paints and attach themselves to dust particles that collect on furniture, rugs and carpets, where crawling children inhale and absorb the particles. Pesticide and insecticide residues and chemicals that outgas from new carpeting also mix with dust, surviving in carpets and rugs for years until absorbed into animals or humans.

Play Areas - Pressure treated wood used on outdoor decks, picnic tables and playground equipment contain high levels of arsenic. A twelve foot section of pressure-treated lumbar contains about an ounce of arsenic, enough to poison to death 250 people. This wood is also treated with preservatives and toxins to prevent bug infestations. As children play on the surfaces of treated wood, the toxic chemicals can stick to their hands and then be ingested when they put their hands in their mouths.

Food Packaging - Stain repellants that coat hundreds of products and are especially prevalent in food packaging leach a Teflon chemical known as PFOA into food, water and the surrounding of air. Teflon molecules never breaks down in the environment and can persists in the human body for an entire lifetime! Among girls born today for close to a decade ago, at least 1 out of 8 is expected to get breast cancer in their lifetime. Children today live in a very different environment from years ago. Toxicity testing has not even begun to keep pace with disease.