Pesticides and Endometriosis

November 5, 2013

FishJumpingoutofBowlToxicWhy some women and not others get endometriosis — the growth of uterine tissue outside the uterus that can cause pain and infertility — is not known, but researchers have come up with one possible contributing factor: pesticide poisoning.

Scientists studied 248 women with surgically confirmed endometriosis and 538 healthy controls. They measured blood levels of two pesticides, mirex and beta HCH, which persist in some fish and dairy products even though their use in the United States has been banned for decades. The study appears online in Environmental Health Perspectives.

The researchers found that women with the highest exposure to mirex had a 50 percent increased risk for endometriosis, and those exposed to high levels of beta HCH a 30 to 70 percent increased risk.

Read more here.

This study points to the importance of thinking about the long-term impact that pesticides and other environmental pollutants have on our health.  This particular pesticide, Mirex, has been banned for twenty plus years, yet it is increasing the risk of endometriosis and associated infertility today. The effects of these chemicals linger and get stored in the food supply, the soil, our cells.

The good news is that the more information is released like this, and the more aware we are,  the more we, as scientists, healthcare professionals, farmers, and consumers, will focus (hopefully) on less toxic means of managing pests in our environment.

In health,

Dr. Gina


How to Avoid the 12 Known Chemicals that Cause Hormone Imbalance

November 2, 2013

pesticideThe Environmental Working Group has published an excellent article detailing the 12 most common chemicals in our environment that cause hormone disruption leading to everything from cancer to infertility to shrunken testicles…and actions you can take today to help protect yourself and your family from harm.

The first step is to remove the source of the chemicals if you can. Read here to learn more.

The second step is to support the body’s natural detoxification processes daily, and seasonally, through medically supervised detoxification programs that are customized to your specific situation, your lab test results and your metabolism.

No one can afford to ignore this issue. Chemicals in our environment can cause irreversible harm to our health, if we allow it.

In health,

Dr. Gina


Pesticide Exposure and Parkinson’s

May 29, 2013

A new study child_picking_strawberriesreveals that prolonged exposure to pesticides, bug and weed killers, and solvents  raise the risk for developing Parkinson’s disease.

Italian investigators who reviewed more than 100 prior studies found exposure to such agents boosted Parkinson’s disease risk by anywhere from 33 percent to 80 percent, they reported in the May 28 issue of the journal Neurology.

“Due to this association, there was also a link between farming or country living and developing Parkinson’s in some of the studies,” study leader Dr. Emanuele Cereda, of the IRCCS University Hospital San Matteo Foundation in Pavia, said in a journal news release.

Some studies specifically explored how home or work environment affected disease risk. Where individuals got their water also was the subject of some investigations.

Environmental toxins absolutely contribute to this disease and there are ways to test the blood and urine which we regularly do for our patients at HealthBridge to identify possible exposure and associated damage to neural tissue years before a disease like this has the opportunity to manifest.  We implement customized purification programs to assist in lowering the toxic burden and risk of disease.

In health,

Dr. Gina


The Most Pesticide-Heavy Fruits and Vegetables

April 29, 2013

Seattle Farmers MarketThe non-profit Environmental Working Group recently released their 2013 Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists.  Apples and celery were at the top of the list of the most contaminated fruits and vegetables, while asparagus and avocados were at the top of the list of the least contaminated fruits and vegetables. Click here for more.

Pesticide residues are an important contributor to the increased incidence of chronic illnesses worldwide, including obesity, estrogen sensitive cancers, neurological disorders, depression and anxiety.

In an effort to protect the body from harm (especially children whose detoxification mechanisms are not fully developed, and older adults whose detoxification systems are less efficient), do your best to stick with organic when consuming the Dirty Dozen.

In health,

Dr. Gina

 


Exposure to Traffic Pollution Linked to Birth Defects

April 11, 2013

GirlswithPlanetFrom the The New York Times (nytimes.com) – Air Pollution Tied to Birth Defects – By Nicholas Bakalar – (Monday, April 08, 2013)

Exposure in the first two months of pregnancy to air pollution from traffic sharply increases the risk for birth defects, a new study has found. Researchers used data from two large studies carried out in eight counties in the San Joaquin Valley in California. One has tracked birth defects since 1997, and the other has recorded concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter at 20 locations in the valley since the 1970s. The results are posted online in The American Journal of Epidemiology. Setting aside defects attributable to other known causes, there were 849 cases of birth defects.

The researchers adjusted for smoking, maternal age and other variables, and compared these cases with 853 healthy control subjects.They found that a mother living in areas with the highest levels of carbon monoxide or nitrogen oxide concentrations (the top 25 percent) was almost twice as likely to give birth to a child with neural tube defects — severe and often fatal defects of the brain and spinal cord— as one living in areas with the lowest concentrations.

I hope that all of us do the best that we can, to pay attention to the impact of environmental pollutants on health, and take action to reduce the toxic load on our planet and our children.

Dr. Gina


Hormone Health in the Childbearing Years-Article By Dr. Gina Published in LA Parent

January 28, 2013

Check out the latest article by Dr. Gina, on hormone health in the childbearing years, published in LA Parent magazine.

Click here to access the La Parent article.

 


Mercury and Alzheimers

November 15, 2010

A telling news report was just released by Business Wire (reprinted below) about the close tie between mercury exposure and damage to the brain, leading to Alzheimer’s in at risk individuals. Interestingly, Maria Shriver recently was quoted as saying that this disease will bankrupt our country.  There is no question that free radicals, in the form of environmental toxins, heavy metals, food additives, and likely GMO byproducts, congregate in the DNA of cells and cause genetic damage. The brain is highly sensitive to free radical damage, hence the relationship between toxins and most health challenges that involve brain function including Autism, ADHD, Depression, Anxiety and Alzheimer’s.

Glutathione, healthy brain diet, purification, and resveratrol are among the favorite approaches for preventing and reversing free radical harm to the brain.

For those considering IV chelation, please work with a physician who is well balanced in his/her perspective regarding the safe use of IV chelation for significant heavy metal body burden, as sometimes this can cause an increased exposure of the heavy metal, such as mercury, leading to irreversible neurological damage in vulnerable individuals. For the most part chelation therapy is safe, and an excellent choice, when prescribed and monitored by a qualified physician. Oral chelation is an alternative option, that produces positive results, and is gentler on the body. It is worth starting with oral chelation to see how you respond before undergoing IV chelation.

In health,

Dr. G

 

Mercury Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease | Business Wire 11/15/10 6:20 AM

November 15, 2010 06:13 AM Pacific Time

Mercury Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease

“The Disease Destined to Bankrupt this Nation”

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mercury likely plays a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to a review of relevant scientific literature published this month in The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Joachim Mutter of Germany, Dr. Richard Deth of the United States, and other esteemed researchers collaborated on the groundbreaking article Does Inorganic Mercury Play a Role in Alzheimer’s Disease? A Systematic Review and an Integrated Molecular Mechanism, which clarifies the need for continuing research to understand the cause of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The authors of the review use numerous peer-reviewed studies to suggest that a genetic predisposition and exposure to a neurotoxin such as mercury have to co-exist for Alzheimer’s disease to manifest itself. Dr. Richard Deth, co-author and professor of neuro-pharmacology at Northeastern University in Boston, explains: “Since the brain is more vulnerable to oxidative stress than any other organ, it is not surprising that mercury, which promotes oxidative stress, is an important risk factor for brain disorders.” Dr. Deth’s motto: “Mercury is bad for the brain.”

The research of the former chair of the University of Kentucky’s Chemistry Department, Dr. Boyd Haley, is congruent with Drs. Deth and Mutter’s findings. Dr. Haley, who has done research on the relationship between mercury and Alzheimer’s disease for more than twenty years, states: “Earlier research on the biochemical abnormalities of the Alzheimer’s Diseased (AD) brain showed that mercury, and only mercury, at very low levels induced the same biochemical abnormalities when added to normal human brain homogenates or in the brains of rats exposed to mercury vapor.”

Insofar as the genetic component, Haley contends: “The structure of the genetic risk protein for Alzheimer’s disease, called APO-E4, shows it has lost the ability to bind and remove mercury from the cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid that bathes the brain, when compared to the other forms of APO-E protein.”

Mercury has been the subject of controversy in various public health issues over the years, including its use in vaccines and dental amalgam fillings.

Norway, Sweden, and Denmark officially banned the use of mercury in dental fillings based on the Precautionary Principal, a protective doctrine requiring proof of safety — a doctrine rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Prior to these bans, the World Health Organization reported in 1991 that mercury fillings, routinely described as silver fillings to the public, are by far the greatest contribution to mercury in the human body.

This December, the FDA is expected to review scientific literature pertaining to the harmful effects of placing mercury fillings into the body. Scientists and experts in the field will present testimony regarding the relationship between mercury toxicity and neurological diseases, with a special focus on vulnerable populations including children and the unborn. Dr. Haley will be among the scientists presenting.

“will bankrupt every family in this country.”

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101115005878/en/Mercury-Linked-Alzheimer’s-Disease Page 1 of 2

Mercury Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease | Business Wire 11/15/10 6:20 AM

Contacts

On behalf of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (www.IAOMT.org) Freya Koss, Publicist 610-649-2606

frekoss@aol.com

or David Kennedy, DDS 619-222-8177 davidkennedy-dds@cox.net

Lamenting that Alzheimer’s has reached epidemic proportions, California’s first lady Maria Shriver, in a recent interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, vehemently expressed the need to find the cause of AD, expressing concern that AD “will bankrupt every family in this country.” The Alzheimer’s Association estimates 172 billion dollars in annual costs to maintain AD patients, which makes it imperative for the cause of AD to be found.

Mutter and Deth’s research sheds strong light on the possible root of the sixth leading cause of death in America.

Dr. Matt Young, President of International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT), an academy of dental, medical, and research professionals dedicated to safety in health care, which has held a continued focus on mercury’s effects, said, “Mercury must seriously be considered as a causal agent of Alzheimer’s. It is imperative that the National Institute of Health fund realistic research regarding the mercury Alzheimer’s connection, which heretofore has for the most part been ignored.”

Note: Mutter-Deth published article available by request. Interviews with quoted scientists can be arranged.

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101115005878/en/Mercury-Linked-Alzheimer%E2%80%99s-Disease

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101115005878/en/Mercury-Linked-Alzheimer’s-Disease

 

 


Weight Loss and Toxic Exposure

September 16, 2010

A new study (1) published  in the International Journal of Obesity found that those individuals who lost a significant amount of weight had an average of 50% higher levels of six of the most toxic organic environmental pollutants in their blood, as compared to those who gained weight! This is based on data collected from among 1,099 adult participants age ≥40 in the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Toxins are stored in fat cells and once fat cells purge their contents, those toxins will begin to circulate in your blood stream.  There is an association between the increased level of toxins in our environment beginning with the industrial age, and the increased incidence of obesity in our country. This new research provides further evidence that undergoing a 21 Day Purification Program can be a wise step to take on your weight loss journey. This program is clinically researched and includes custom formulas that are proven to bind to environmental toxins and remove them from your body so that they do not cause DNA damage and disease.

If you are interested in learning more about the role toxins play in the body and how detoxification methods help, click here.

To your health,

Dr. G

(1)The authors declared they had no conflicts of interest. Lee D-H, et al “Inverse associations between long-term weight change and serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants” Intl J Obesity 2010; DOI: 10.1038/IJO.2010.188.


The Hazards Lurking at Home

June 12, 2010

There is no question that toxins are the culprit for many unnecessary health challenges we face today, and employing a purification program, at least twice per year is essential to supporting your health and well-being. Taking daily steps to support your body’s innate detoxification mechanisms is equally important, as they are bogged down with the high volume of toxins our society produces each day. Our bodies have not evolved to the point of being able to keep up with the level of toxins we are exposed to each day.

In health,
Dr. G

The Hazards Lurking at Home Via Time Magazine, April 12, 2010. With so many scary-sounding, potentially toxic compounds turning up in our household products, it’s hard to know which agents are really worth worrying about. Here is a guide to some of the most commonly found toxins Read more. … Read More

via Luna’Spring


Heavy Metals Increase Risk of Depression and Panic Disorder

June 10, 2010

Even at low levels generally considered to pose little or no risk, exposure to environmental lead might increase – by as much as 2.3 times – the risk of depression and panic disorder but not of generalized anxiety disorder. That was the suggestion of a Canadian study appearing in the December, 2009 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. Gender and ethnicity were also factors and the researchers stressed that lead exposure cannot be determined to be a cause of these psychological problems.

One of the main, and often overlooked, sources of heavy metals, including lead, is our water supply-both drinking water and shower water.   I recommend investing in a quality water filtration and ionization system to all of our patients.  The link between heavy metal exposure and mental illness suggested in this study and proven in many others (including practical, real life studies completed with patients at LTP Medical) is one of the reasons why we always test patients with mental health challenges for exposure to environmental toxins including heavy metals and treat them using the LTP Medical Custom Purification Program to remove the toxins from their systems.  This is one of the simplest and most effective ways to see immediate benefit in patients suffering needlessly with these challenges. Other treatments include custom amino acid therapy, fatty acid therapy, orthomolecular therapy, hormone therapy and food allergy testing and treatment.

In health,

Dr. G