Dr. Marcel and I recently flew to an environmental medicine conference in beautiful San Diego.
We’re very keen on keeping up with the latest research and new technologies to help our patients resolve their health issues.
The booths in the exhibit hall offered intriguing new options for testing our patients for environmental toxicities, and for new treatments.
The water and air in a typical commercial conference center is notoriously bad. I’m sure you know the feeling – you arrive at the conference full of enthusiasm for learning, and then you end up sleep-walking through the proceedings.
But at this conference, we were delighted by the excellent quality of the air and water. It seems that one of the suppliers had placed air ionizers all around the room. They also offered us bottled water that was alkalinized to a healthy pH value of 8.5.
Marcel and I were aware of the benefits of ionized air and alkalinized water. But we felt so good in the conference room, and we loved the taste of the water so much, that we’ve started alkalinizing our drinking water at home. And we’ve placed an ionizer in our living room.
We’ll let you know our conclusions in a future issue.
We were very interested in the new testing procedures for environmental toxicities.
Marcel and I chose to have ourselves tested with an expanded panel from Great Plains Laboratory. It included a Glyphosate Profile, Toxic Compound Testing, and an Organic Acids Test.
Beware! The following paragraph is crammed with technical terms. Don’t worry – we’ll clarify it below.
The Organic Acids Test is a profile that we were familiar with. It identifies any markers present in the body for intestinal microbial overgrowth, as well as metabolic markers in urine (oxalate metabolites, mitochondrial markers, neurotransmitter metabolites, measures of ketone and fatty acid oxidation, nutritional markers, amino acid metabolites, and indicators of detoxification).
Simply put, these markers help us identify bodily systems that have gone awry because of environmental factors.
This was the first time we’d encountered the Glyphosate Profile. As you might know, glyphosate is the active ingredient in the notorious Round-Up herbicide from Monsanto. This proven toxic chemical is present in virtually all cropland in the United States. And the levels in our bodies rise when we consume non-organic genetically modified foods.
This is very unfortunate, because exposure to glyphosate has been linked to many chronic health problems. Glyphosate disrupts the microbiome and is implicated as a probable carcinogen.
We were happy to find that Dr. Marcel’s and my glyphosate levels were well below average!
But the results of the Toxic Compound testing took us by surprise.
I was already aware of the many toxins that can affect the nervous system. These substances are of particular interest to me, because I’ve noted a tremor in my right hand lately.
Indeed – my readings were in the red zone for MTBE and ETBE (gasoline additives that contaminate groundwater). They are implicated, among other things, in central nervous system and peripheral neurotoxicity.
Also high in my body were styrene and ethylbenzene – toxic substances that negatively impact the central nervous system, and that are found in plastics, building materials, and car exhaust fumes.
Even though Marcel and I buy organic and go out of our way to avoid pesticides, our organophosphate levels were also high.
What’s the conclusion? Marcel and I live very healthy lives, making careful food choices and limiting our exposure to environmental toxins. And yet – it’s clear that our bodies have been compromised by exposure to toxic elements in the environment at large.
These findings have caused us to rethink and expand the testing and detox options we want to offer our clients through our clinic.
In next month’s newsletter, we will focus on detox and treatment protocols for neutralizing these very serious environmental threats that are difficult to avoid.
****
Find out more about Dr. Connie’s work HERE.