Brenda and I have been talking for years about the toxic soup that we all live in. It’s in our food, in the water, in the air and in our own bodies. It’s impossible to completely avoid toxins, and that’s a problem, especially in light of the scientific evidence that shows environmental toxins are destroying our health.

Many recent studies have looked at air pollution and its many harmful effects. It has been known for some time that exposure to air pollution is associated with health conditions like asthma, cardiovascular disease and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In fact, polluted air can even create serious ventricular arrhythmias.¹ Also, the incidence of heart attacks in rush hour traffic in the United Kingdom are thought to be due to the polluted air. In support of this is a quote from the August 2005 Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) referring to particle laden dirty air, “Ultrafine particles < 0.1 µm (UFPs) dominate particle number concentrations and surface area, and are therefore capable of carrying large concentrations of adsorbed or condensed toxic air pollutants. It is likely that redox-active components in UFPs from fossil fuel combustion reach cardiovascular target sites. High UFP exposures may lead to systemic inflammation through oxidative stress responses to reactive oxygen species and thereby promote the progression of atherosclerosis, and precipitate acute cardiovascular responses ranging from increased blood pressure to myocardial infarction.”²

The studies on this topic keep rolling in. The latest issue of EHP published a study on the link between prenatal exposure to air pollutants and subsequent behavioral problems in children.³ Children with the highest levels of pollution exposure had more attention problems, anxiety and depression at age 5 to 7 than those children with the least exposure. It is also known that exposure to organophosphate pesticides found on foods is linked to ADHD symptoms, by the way. And we wonder why ADHD is on the rise.

Other new studies continue to support just how air pollution affects health. One study in animals found that chronic inhalation of polluted air triggered inflammation that spread throughout the body.⁴ To quote one of the researchers, “Our main hypothesis is that particulate matter stimulates inflammation in the lung, and products of that inflammation spill over into the body’s circulation, traveling to fat tissue to promote inflammation and causing vascular dysfunction.”

This comes as no surprise to me. Inflammation is involved in most every disease, and certainly plays a role in all chronic diseases. Inflammation can be triggered by a number of factors—toxins, stress, illness, digestive imbalance—and it can travel throughout the body causing disease.

Another recent study, again published in EHP, found that short term exposure to air pollution damaged areas of the brain associated with memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease in mice.⁴ Guess what the study found? The brains affected by air pollution showed signs of inflammation associated with premature aging and Alzheimer’s disease.

Finally, the New England Journal of Medicine showed that reductions in air pollution accounted for as much as 15% of the overall increase in life expectancy in the areas that were studied!⁶

It’s difficult to know just how to avoid all this pollution, but there are things we can do to reduce toxicity. First, use high efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA filters) throughout your house (or at least your bedroom), and in your car cabin. According to Carla Kalogeridis at the Filter Manufacturers Council, only 40 percent of North American vehicles have cabin air filters despite the ongoing concern of consumers regarding cabin air quality.⁷ Others say as many as 80% or more now have cabin filters. I couldn’t find a clear answer from the www.epa.gov site, but did find where they recommended a portable cabin filter.⁸ In any case if you have a cabin filter they generally need to be replaced annually or every 15,000 miles. The filters can be easily bought from the dealers or online⁹ with instructions on how to change them at home.

If you can avoid daily bumper-to-bumper traffic jams, that’s a good start, and if you can’t it would be very wise to change your cabin air filter. If your vehicle doesn’t have one there are portables available.⁸ Eating a healthy diet high in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and lean proteins will help your body get many nutrients and fiber it needs. Reduce inflammation with omega-3 oils, and quell gut inflammation with probiotics. And support the body’s seven channels of elimination: colon, liver, lungs, lymph, kidneys, skin and blood with nutrients that promote the healthy function of these channels, plus periodic colon hydrotherapy, and infrared sauna. Lastly, find stress-reducing activities including exercise and meditation to round out a healthy lifestyle. All of the above strategies will help to keep your detoxification pathways open.

1. M.S. Link and D.W. Dockery, “Air pollution and the triggering of cardiac arrhythmias.” Curr Opin Cardiol. 2010 Jan;25(1):16-22.
2. R.J. Delfino, et al., “Potential role of ultrafine particles in associations between airborne particle mass and cardiovascular health.” Environ Health Perspect. 2005 Aug;113(8):934-46.
3. F.P. Perera, et al., “PAH/Aromatic DNA Adducts in Cord Blood and Behavior Scores in New York City Children.” Environ Health Perspect. 2011 Apr 4.
4. T. Kampfrath, et al., “Chronic Fine Particulate Matter Exposure Induces Systemic Vascular Dysfunction via NADPH Oxidase and TLR4 Pathways.” Circ Res. 2011 Mar 18;108(6):716-26.
5. T.E. Morgan, et al., “Glutamatergic neurons in rodent models respond to nanoscale particulate urban air pollutants in vivo and in vitro.” Environ Health Perspect. 2011 Apr 4.
6. C.A. Cope, et al., “Fine-particulate air pollution and life expectancy in the United States.” N Engl J Med. 2009 Jan 22;360(4):376-86.
7. http://www.ehow.com/about_6404803_hepa-cabin-filter_.html#ixzz1JnfTQzQA
8. http://www.epa.gov/nhsrc/pubs/TISPortableMotorVehicleCabinAirPurifier.pdf
9. www.filters-now.com

Dr. Leonard Smith is a prominent Board-Certified, general, gastrointestinal and vascular surgeon who had a successful private practice for 25 years. In addition to his active surgery practice, he also incorporated lifestyle, diet, supplementation, exercise, detoxification, and stress management into many of the therapies he would prescribe. Many of his patients with cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other serious illnesses did so well under his treatment regimes that he began to devote most of his career to foundational health care and preventive medicine.

Share this Post...

ADHD, air, air pollution, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, blood, body, brain, cardiovascular disease, Children, chronic diseases, colon, diet, digestive imbalance, environmental toxins, exercise, fat, fiber, food, fruits and vegetables, gut inflammation, Health, healthy, healthy fats, healthy lifestyle, inflammation, kidneys, liver, lungs, lymph, meditation, memory loss, nutrients, Omega-3 Oils, pesticides, prenatal exposure, Probiotics, proteins, seven channels of elimination, skin, stress, toxic, toxic soup, toxins, water, whole grains

My assistant recently returned from the latest Institute for Functional Medicine conference in southern Florida. For those not familiar with Functional Medicine it is a personalized medicine that deals with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of symptoms for serious chronic disease. In other words, they teach Medical Doctors as well as all other specialties how to evaluate a person to get to the route of a problem or disease and treating the cause verses just treating the symptoms.

A big part of Functional Medicine includes the use of nutraceuticals in treatment.

This year’s conference centered on Mood Disorders, including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder as well as touching base on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Amazingly, one of the focuses of the lectures was the gut-brain connection in relation to mood disorders. More specifically, how reactions of our immune system and gut inflammation can directly affect our brain.

Remember that most of our immune system is in our gut.

Without getting too technical, the same type of cells and neurotransmitters found in our brain are also located within the digestive system. The development of an infection or inflammation anywhere in the body will set the immune system in action. Again, most of this reaction takes place first within the immune system of the digestive tract. Our immune system responds by the reaction of proteins called cytokines. These cytokines tell our body what type of reaction to have, such as swelling, stiffness, pain etc…It has now been shown that these cytokines will travel a very unique pathway and arrive at the brain, setting into motion a chemical reaction that results in the breakdown of the neurotransmitters involved in mood stability and inflammation within the brain itself.

Once this brain inflammation develops, it can remain for months even though the initial problem in the other part of our body gets resolved. This brain reaction can result in symptoms such as brain fog, memory problems, depression and anxiety. In addition, the influx of these cytokines to the brain can disrupt the lining of the brain called the blood-brain-barrier, causing what they now call “Leaky Brain” syndrome, making the brain more susceptible to other agents that do not normally pass this barrier. This is very similar indeed to what we know as Leaky Gut syndrome.

The more inflammation and irritation of the gut lining, as in Leaky Gut, will in turn send more of the cytokines to the brain, resulting in more inflammation and irritation there. In reverse, they are now seeing that healing the gut, reducing inflammation and supporting the immune system with the proper nutraceuticals can in turn reduce depression, anxiety and even reduce some symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

All the more reason to take precautionary measures by supporting your immune system with probiotics, as well as your vitamins and minerals. Taking a glutamine supplement such as IntestiNew will help keep your intestinal tract healthy, reduce inflammation and defer the development of leaky gut.

It is funny that years ago scientists and doctors treated the brain and mood disorders as a total separate entity from the rest of the body. It is nice to see that they now realize the brain is connected to the body, through something called the neck!

Share this Post...

Alzheimer's, cytokines, functional medicine conference, glutamine supplement, gut inflammation, IntestiNew, leaky brain, leaky gut, Probiotics