HOW MANY CHRONIC DISEASES ARE CONNECTED TO TOXIN EXPOSURE? This question must be asked and the answer should be the focus of research. This summary explores Parkinson’s Disease which is a very good example of a chronic disease which can result from long-term exposure to environmental toxins.
Summary from a Mark Hyman MD podcast with two prominent neurologists.
Before Parkinson’s Disease is ever diagnosed, these prodromal signs may manifest:
-constipation
-loss of sense of smell
-gut dysfunction
-acting out dreams (REM sleep behavior disorder or RBD)
-anxiety
Wow! What does constipation have to do with the brain? Turns out the buildup of mis-folded proteins that are associated with Parkinson’s show up not only in the brain but in the gut and the skin! This is a whole body disease that was first observed in London during the Industrial Revolution when the air pollution caused by coal-burning was extreme. It has been associated with farmers who are heavily exposed to pesticides/herbicides for decades now. And people who live within one mile of a golf course have a 126% increased risk for developing Parkinson’s from the chemicals that are sprayed there. Also, the heavy metal toxins, aluminum and mercury, are found in high concentration in the brains of not only Parkinson’s but Alzheimer’s patients as well.
Small wonder we are seeing an epidemic of Parkinson’s disease! Low-level, chronic exposure to toxins has almost never been recognized by medical professionals as a cause of chronic disease. And the number of toxins we are exposed to has steadily increased over the last one-hundred or so years.
So there are two kinds of Parkinson’s—one that is gut first (toxins are ingested) and the other which is brain first (toxins are inhaled). The common denominator seems to be mitochondrial damage mainly to nerve cells from toxins whether they are air-born or from food and drink, and whether they affect the brain through the olfactory nerve or the gut through the vagus nerve.
The bottom line– prevention is the most important strategy we can use. Some suggestions: Avoid constipation and address gut dysfunction (schedule a nutrition consult), avoid exposure to aluminum (from cans, cookware, vaccines) and mercury (from fish and amalgam dental fillings), carbon filter your water (consider a reverse osmosis unit), use indoor air-purifiers, buy organic as much as possible (visit ewg.org) and wash your produce, and take good quality nutritional supplements (ask us for help with this).
