Chemical insults and their effect on health

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Chemical insults and their effect on health

• Dr. Rhonda Steinke, ND
• Health Through Nature, LLC
• 830-265-4921

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Environmental Medicine

• Dealing with states of chronic illness/unwellness
  secondary to a build-up of chronic low-dose
  exposures to everyday environmental toxins.
• Main Principle Total Load
• Total Body Burden

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Xenobiotics

• A xenobiotic is a chemical found in an organism
  but which is not normally produced or expected to
  be present in it.
• Xenobiotics are meant to be processed and
  eliminated
• Solvents
• Heavy Metals
• Pesticides
• Pharmaceuticals

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Hormone Disrupting Compounds

• Takes minimal amounts to affect system
• Mimic hormones
• estrogen
• Disrupt endocrine system
• Pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, ovaries, thymus,
  adrenals, gonads
• Intricate feedback systems
• Associated with diseases
• neurological disorders, cancer, thyroid
  dysfunction (weight gain/loss), diabetes,
  endometriosis, PCOS, adrenal dysfunction

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How they disrupt

• 1. Bind and activate receptors
• 2. Bind receptor
• 3. Speed up or slow down metabolism of hormones
• 4. Modify the number of receptors present
• 5. Modify production of hormones
• When placing this on your website, you might want
  to define further what modify means.

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Body reaction

• Liver
• Breaks down estrogens
• Two pathways
• Involved in breaking down 80-90 of hormones in
  body
• Gallbladder
• Metabolites of hormones excreted into bile
• Large intestine
• Microflora participates
• Optimal function

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Terrible toxins

• Alkylphenols
• Bisphenyl-A
• Brominated Flame retardants
• Organochlorides
• DDT (dioxins)
• Polychlorinated bisphenyls (PCBs)
• Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs)
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
• Parabens
• Pthalates

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Alkyl phenolic compounds

• Found in
• Detergents, plasticisers and stabilizers in
  plastics, spermicidal lubricant (nonoxynol-9),
  pesticides
• Exposure from
• Air pollution, drinking water, cosmetics,
  pesticides, foods
• Hormone disruption
• Increased growth of breast cancer cells by 1,000
  to 10,000x the amount of estrogens
• Levels as little as 0.05 micro grams per liter
  effected the egg production of minnows

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Bisphenol A

• Found in
• Plastic water bottles, food and drink packaging,
  canned foods, baby bottle tops, water pipes,
  dental sealants
• Hormone disruption
• Anti-androgenic effect
• Identical effects as estrogen on rat uterus and
  vagina
• Exposed girls reach puberty at lower ages
• In utero developing brain with fertility and
  sexual behavior

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Brominated flame retardants

• Found in
• Computers, TVs, Office chairs, other household
  textiles
• Hormone disruption
• Increases growth of cancer cells
• Immune suppression, altered sexual development,
  cancer, delayed brain development, lower IQ,
  hyperactivity
• Stored in fat

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Organochlorides

• Found in
• Plastics, bleaching, disinfection, dry cleaning,
  fire prevention, refrigeration, pesticides
• Hormone disruption
• Mammary tumors in animals
• Damage spermatozoa at concentrations as low as
  those found in the female genital tract
  secretions 1
• Higher levels in cancerous tumors vs.
  non-cancerous tumors
• Store in fat tissue
• Obesity is increased risk factor for cancer

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Parabens

• Methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl
• Found in
• Cosmetics, toothpastes
• Hormone disruption
• Expresses estrogen receptors
• www.cosmeticdatabase.com

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Pthalates

• Found in
• Plastics (cling film, food containers), baby milk
  formula, cheese, margarine, vinyl flooring, baby
  toys
• Exposure from toys, household goods, healthcare,
  food, water
• Hormone disruption
• Testicular toxin
• Deplete testicular zinc
• Damages male reproductive system in rates
• High level exposure linked to miscarriage and
  pregnancy complications

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Recycled estrogens

• Human consumes
• Human excretes
• Sewage re-activates
• Rivers and groundwater contaminated
• Fish consume

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Low-level exposure to toxic
chemicals has not been shown to pose a major
cancer riskClark Heath, M.D., chief
epidemiologist at the American Cancer Societys
headquarters in Atlanta
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Who gets low exposure anyway?

• Who is only exposed to low exposures of
  chemicals?
• Over 85,000 chemicals presently in use in the US
• Less than 10 have been partially evaluated for
  safety
• Adipose tissue from U.S. residents have revealed
  700 chemical contaminants that have yet to be
  chemically identified

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Am I exposed?

• 9 persons
• Including several internationally active
  environmental activists
• Tested for 210 different chemicals

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In Total, the Nine Subjects Carried

• 76 chemicals linked to cancer in humans or
• animals (average of 53),
• 94 chemicals that are toxic to the brain and
• nervous system (average of 62),
• 86 chemicals that interfere with the hormone
• system (average of 58),
• 79 chemicals associated with birth defects or
• abnormal development (average of 55),
• 77 chemicals toxic to the reproductive system
• (average of 55), and
• 77 chemicals toxic to the immune system (average
  of 53).

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Womens health

• Link to chemicals

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Menopause

• Chemical exposures may induce early or premature
  menopause and increase risks of morbidity and
  morality in postmenopausal women 1
• Lowers menopause age by depleting oocytes
• Chemical plant explosion study showed their was a
  statistically significant trend toward earlier
  menopause 2

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Breast Cancer

• Breast tumors contain higher levels of toxic
  chemicals than surrounding cancer-free breast
  tissue
• Women with the most DDE in blood had 4x the
  breast cancer risk 1
• Upper outer quadrant is most common place for
  breast cancer

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Endometriosis

• Painfully affects 10-20 of women of childbearing
  age 1
• Higher concentrations of dioxin in women with
  endometriosis 2
• Exposure to constant small amount of TTD kept
  endometrial tissue growing in monkeys 3
• 2,3,7,8-TCDD and 4PeCDF significantly enhanced
  growth of endometrial tissue in mice
• Significant increase in anti-estrogenic PCB
  levels in diagnosed women with endometriosis 5

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Where is the research?

• Breast cancer awareness month
• Support helpful organizations
• Environmental working group
• Breast Cancer Action

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protecting myself and my family from chemial
burden

• Clean home/work environment
• Clean air
• Clean water
• Clean food
• Emunctories

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Clean home/work environment

• Avoid particle board
• Seal it
• Get rid of carpet
• Anything with flame retardants
• Be conscious of cosmetics
• Read labels
• Soaps, shampoo, hair spray, cosmetics, cleaners
• Keep your shoes at the door
• No pesticides

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Clean Air

• Air filter
• Will make tremendous difference in health
• Blue Air, IQ Air, Austin Air
• Plants that clean the air
• Clean air gets more oxygen to tissues

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Clean water

• Drinking water filter
• Carbon
• Reverse osmosis water
• Shower/Bath filter

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nutrition

• Protein?
• Less protein and high fiber 1
• High protein 2
• Organic
• Food chain theory
• Pasture meats
• Wild caught fish
• Dirty dozen

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Emunctories

• Skin
• Sweating
• Bowels
• Daily elimination
• Kidney/bladder
• Proper water intake
• Liver
• Breaks down and binds xenobiotics for elimination
  
• Uterus
• Menstruation

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Resources

• Helpful websites mentioned throughout
  presentation or used to help create presentation
• Breast Cancer Action www.bcaction.org
• Cosmetic Database www.cosmeticdatabase.com
• Cosmetic ingredients to avoid www.sukinaturals.com
  
• Environmental Working group www.ewg.org
• Hormone modifying chemicals http//website.lineone
  .net
• Mercury exposure in vaccinations
  www.909shot.com/calc.htm
• Mercury exposure in tuna www.ewg.org/tunacalculato
  r
• Pesticides www.beyonepesticides.org
• Organizations
• American Academy of Environmental Medicine
  www.aaemonline.org
• American Association of Naturopathic Physicians
  www.naturopathic.org
• Texas Association of Naturopathic Physicians
  www.txanp.org

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Resources Continued

• Clinics
• Environmental Health Center-Dallas www.ehcd.com
• Dr. Doris J. Rapp, www.drrapp.com
• Products and services
• Water bottle sources
• Sigg www.mysigg.com
• Kleen Kanteen www.keankanteen.com
• Glass Baby Bottles www.naturalbabyhome.com
• Evenflo
• Home
• Healthy Home solutions www.ecoclean-az.com
• Water filters
• hwww.waterfiltercomparisons.com/Water_Filter_Compa
  rison_Matrix.cfm
• www.consumersearch.com/www/kitchen/water-filters/

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Please be conscious

• THE END
• Dr. Rhonda Steinke
• Talk given to GreenGirls.net at Café Mundi in
  Austin, Texas on March 15, 2008