Environmental Medicine

From the moment of conception to the end of life, our bodies play host to a myriad of industrial chemicals that cross into our bloodstream through our skin, gut, or lungs. They are consumer product ingredients, or pollutants in air, water and food. They are fire retardants, grease-proof coatings, plasticizers, and solvents. They are our personal body burden of pollution.

Since 2000, a group of scientists in Washington DC, the Environmental Working Group, has spearheaded a series of groundbreaking investigations on the pollution in people, from newborns and grandparents to mothers and teens. They've found pollutants in everyone. And they've found hundreds altogether, in combinations that have never been tested for safety. The personal pollution revealed by these studies exposes disturbing gaps in the scientific understanding of our exposures and in our system of public health protection. Transcending all boundaries of race, faith, income, and geography, this is the pollution that is in all of us and in our families; it speaks powerfully to our need to understand the risks and protect those most vulnerable among us, including children who are exposed even before the moment of birth.

The research has found that 457 of 538 chemicals tested were found in the blood, urine, cord blood of infants, and breast milk from a sample of 94 people. (For the complete results of the study go to www.ewg.org)
Are these chemicals and toxic metals related to disease?

The Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) is a diverse network of over 2600 healthcare providers and academic researchers in 40 countries and 48 states, working collectively to advance knowledge and effective action to address growing concerns about the links between human health and environmental factors. They have developed a database I use in my practice to help patients understand the links between their exposures and their health problems. http://database.healthandenvironment.org/intro.cfm

How are environmental exposures diagnosed?
In my practice, I take a thorough environmental exposure history (looking at both residential exposures, occupational exposures and medical/dental exposures), and use urine and blood assays to identify the presence of heavy metals, solvents, pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals that are stored in the body to help provide evidence of toxic exposures.

How are environmental exposures treated?

Toxic metals can be eliminated from the body using chelating agents (EDTA or DMSA) that have been studied in medical trials and are approved by the FDA for use in heavy metal toxicity.

Pesticides, herbicides and solvents are removed from the body using a medical sauna protocol developed by the Dr. William Rea MD at the Environmental Health Center in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Rea has published documented studies looking at the ability of low-temperature sauna as an effective tool to decrease body stores of pestices, herbicides, solvents, PCBs, dioxins and several other compounds that are stored in the fat and organ tissue.

Nutritional support during these detoxification protocols is extremely important. The liver and kidneys utilize antioxidants and minerals in eliminating these toxins from the body and supplementation with these nutrients is necessary in allowing detoxification to take place.

Principles of Naturopathic Medicine [Lisa- I would like to put this elsewhere in the website- we'll talk about that on Thursday]

1. The healing power of nature -> Facilitate each individual's own healing processes
2. First do no harm -> Use therapies that support the body rather than damage it
3. Find the cause -> Don't just relieve symptoms
4. Treat the whole person -> Fully appreciate the web-like nature of mind, body, spirit and biochemical function
5. Preventive medicine -> Optimize and individualize lifestyle to avoid disease
6. Wellness promotion -> Facilitate high-level wellness by optimizing physiological function
7. Doctor as teacher -> Fully engage each person in his or her healing process