Dr. Gina's Blog

A hopeful new report entitled “Taking Toxics out of Maryland’s Health Care Sector: transition to Green Pest Management Practices to Protect Health and the Environment” was recently published by the Maryland Pesticide Network and Beyond Pesticides, in collaboration with Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment.

The report discusses the results of a statewide survey that revealed a general reliance on toxic pesticides at Maryland Hospitals and elder care facilities.  There were 25 pesticides identified by the survey that are used at these facilities. And of these, 11 are linked to cancer, 12 are associated with neurological effects, 10 are associated reproductive harm, 5 cause birth or developmental defects, 10 cause liver and kidney damage, and 6 are suspected endocrine disruptors.

Pesticides are extremely toxic to the body and it does not make sense that they are being used in healthcare facilities. Even though they are classified as “safe” by the federal government, there is a compounding effect.  This means that if you were only exposed to a “safe” dose of a single pesticide, and you were otherwise a healthy individual, then you may not see immediate effects. However, these toxins accumulate in fat cells and, over time, lead to cellular damage.  Also, you are never only exposed to one toxin at a time.  Your body is exposed to many different toxins at one time, and the added exposure to a known toxic pesticide will lead to a combined damaging effect on the body, regardless of its classification as being “generally recognized as safe.”

The Human Detoxification System is equipped to remove toxins from your body on a minute by minute bases. And it is a brilliant system.  However, it is not designed to handle the sheer volume of toxins that we are exposed to in our society today- through our food, water, air and the mental and emotional stresses of our time.  So eventually, your body’s ability to remove toxins slows down, and the toxins get stored near your cellular DNA, causing damage.

To learn more about toxins, and their impact on the body click here. Eight years ago I published a medical textbook on the effects of toxins on the human body and the use of herbal and nutritional medicines to support the Human Detoxification System, and protect the body from harm. My intention with writing the book was to bring scientific evidence to the timeless health tradition of cleansing the body and to inspire physicians and medical students to employ this simple health program to prevent and treat many diseases of the human body, mind and spirit.

Equally important to taking steps to detoxify your body, you must also remove sources of toxins from the environment as much as is possible.  To learn about natural alternatives to toxic pesticides click here and here for some straightforward advice.

In health,

– Dr. G