Combinational Toxicology or "mixture toxicity" is the study of the combined
effects of certain chemicals in the body.
To simplify this as much as possible, researchers have traditionally examined
the effect of single toxins on single organ systems.
More recently, researchers have begun to focus on the effect of multiple toxins
on multiple organ systems.
As you can imagine, researchers are seeing that risk multiplies in dramatic
fashion as both number of toxins and overall toxic load increases.
The European governments are taking the lead on this issue, and basically
acknowledged the concern of scientists.
Here is a blurb from one of the organizations that is monitoring this
"The Environment Council, composed of the environment ministers of all EU countries, has called for the European Commission to consider the cumulative (or "cocktail") effect of exposure to multiple chemicals when developing chemicals policy and risk management strategies.
In particular, the Environment Council highlighted exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals as a source of particular concern in the effort to protect public health and the environment. These conclusions reflect a growing scientific concern."
What Is The Endocrine System And Why Is It Important??
The endocrine system plays a key role in regulating mood, growth and development, tissue function, metabolism, as well as sexual function and reproductive processes.
There are tens of thousands of new chemicals that we are exposed to that
our bodies can't deal with. It is effecting our long term health, but it is also
effects our current quality of life.
What we are focusing on at PEERtrainer right now is to bring some basic
awareness to this risk. And we are also focusing on making sure that people
know that there are steps you can take, in your everyday life, to help
mitigate this risk.
The work we are doing with JJ Virgin right now will help everyone take these
steps. What is great about JJ is that she approaches this issue in a really
easy, fun and non-scary way. She makes it easy to deal with.
This Thursday we will hosting a live call, in which she outlines the specific
steps your body can take to eliminate as much of this toxic junk as possible.
This is the start of a much bigger effort for us. The more we look at the research
and the broader discussion, the more compelled we feel to focus on this.
This is important, and we know how to make it fun and non-scary. I will be
hosting the call, and asking JJ the questions. The two of us have talked
a ton about this with each other. Her information has changed my habits,
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that your body makes after exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. Vitamin D functions as a hormone because it sends a message to the intestines to increase the absorption of calcium and phosphorus. By promoting calcium absorption, vitamin D helps to form and maintain strong bones.
Because vitamin D increases the absorption of calcium in the gastrointestinal tract and stimulates osteoblastic (bone-building cells) activity, vitamin D has been generating lots of interest lately in the medical literature. Borderline low levels of vitamin D have been found to be very common in the United States and Canada.
It is estimated that over 25 million adults in the United States have, or are at risk of developing, osteoporosis. Adequate storage levels of vitamin D help keep bones strong and help prevent osteoporosis in older adults. Vitamin D deficiency results in diminished calcium absorption, and has been linked to a higher incidence of osteoporosis-related bone fractures seen in post menopausal women and older Americans.
It is extremely important for individuals with limited sun exposure to ingest supplemental vitamin D.
Vitamin D is more effective than calcium for protecting and building bone. Most people do not have adequate levels of vitamin D. Often a multi-vitamin containing the RDA for D is simply not sufficient to bring blood levels up to the ideal range, especially as we age.
Up to now, much of the public attention on vitamin D has been related to its protective effects on bone health, via increasing calcium absorption. But it is now known that vitamin D has several other critical functions.
Vitamin D insufficiency is thought to be a key contributor to many human diseases including several cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and autoimmune diseases.1,2
Scientists have found that Vitamin D has biological actions in almost every cell and tissue in the human body. What is troublesome is that vitamin D deficiency is now recognized as a pandemic, affecting 30-50% of the population.2,3
Vitamin D regulates several genes and cellular processes related to cancer progression. Some of the most groundbreaking findings in nutrition science in recent years have been evidence of the powerful protection provided by vitamin D against common cancers:
* Breast cancer: About 75% of women with breast cancer are vitamin D deficient.4 A 2009 meta-analysis of 19 studies established a strong inverse relationship between circulating vitamin D levels and breast cancer – women in the highest vitamin D range reduced their risk of breast cancer by 45%.5 read more
* Colorectal cancer: A 2009 review of 25 studies found that sufficient vitamin D levels were consistently associated with reduced risk of colorectal cancer.6 Even after diagnosis with colorectal cancer, higher vitamin D levels are associated with reduced mortality.7
* Cancers of the prostate, pancreas, lung, and endometrium are also associated with vitamin D insufficiency.2,8
For most people, the principal source of vitamin D is production by the skin in response to sunlight. Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D, and achieving adequate vitamin D levels via sun exposure is difficult, considering that most of us work indoors, and cover our body with clothing, especially in the winter months. Plus, sun exposure to assure optimal Vitamin D status may damage and age the skin increasing wrinkling and the risk of skin cancer.
To maintain adequate blood levels of vitamin D, it is extremely important for individuals with limited sun exposure to ingest supplemental vitamin D.
1. Holick MF. Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80(suppl):1678S- 88S
2. American Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2009 Update. Dallas; AHA:2009. Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Circulation. 2008 Dec 15.
3. Lee JH et al. Vitamin D deficiency an important, common, and easily treatable cardiovascular risk factor? J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Dec 9;52(24):1949-56.
4. Hines SL et al. Breast cancer survivors and vitamin D: A review. Nutrition. [Epub ahead of print]
5. Chen P et al. Meta-analysis of vitamin D, calcium and the prevention of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2009 Oct 23. [Epub ahead of print]
6. Zhou G et al. Optimizing vitamin D status to reduce colorectal cancer risk: an evidentiary review. Clin J Oncol Nurs. 2009 Aug;13(4):E3-E17.
7. Ng K et al. Prospective study of predictors of vitamin D status and survival in patients with colorectal cancer. Br J Cancer. 2009 Sep 15;101(6):916-23. Epub 2009 Aug 18.
8. Peterlik M et al. Calcium, vitamin D and cancer. Anticancer Res. 2009 Sep;29(9):3687-98.
We have been focusing on a couple different diet approaches with our PEERtrainer Tip Of The Day email coaching program. One approach in particular, Eat to Live/Eat For Health by Dr. Joel Fuhrman has generated a lot of discussion.
One interesting thing about his work is that it is highly sourced. Overall, Dr. Fuhrman asserts a link between disease and diet, particularly the over-consumption of animal protein and the under-consumption of plant protein. As one works on this ratio, their health will improve and risk decrease.
But what is the evidence that at least supports considering this assertion and these linkages? Going to one of his footnotes for his new "Nutrition Prescription" we see a link to a study published in 2006 that examines the link between Milk and Lactose Intake and Ovarian Cancer.
The link takes you to a NIH page (US Government) that has an "abstract" of the study. The conclusion of this particular study is this:
"studies are consistent and show significant positive associations between intakes of total dairy foods, low-fat milk, and lactose and risk of ovarian cancer.. support the hypothesis that high intakes of dairy foods and lactose may increase the risk of ovarian cancer. "