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tigious journal Environmental Health Perspec- the development of Alzheimer’s. Few healthcare
tives and can be found online at ehp.niehs.nih. As you can see, children and the elderly
gov/11839/#b78-ehp-117-159. present unique challenges regarding the effect providers look
This matter is such a sober concern that a of environmental toxicity. In the article, “Aging at toxicity as a
twenty-one-year prospective study was proposed Society and Environmental Health Challenges,” cause of many
to examine one hundred thousand children. The author Yun-Chul eloquently states that “Children
National Children’s Study unfortunately was are not just smaller adults, nor are the elderly just chronic health
halted in 2014 due to funding troubles as well as older adults; they are individuals with unique disorders and
the difficulties of determining what the research- challenges and medical needs different from instead look
ers were seeing. No doubt, industry pressure was those of younger adults.” 40,41
involved as well. to managing
The elderly is another group exceedingly THE TOXIC OVERLOAD illnesses, such
vulnerable to the effects of toxicity. This part of We’ve established that environmental toxins as type 2
the population is increasing rapidly and for the are all around us, but which ones should we be
first time in human history soon there will be most cautious about and what are their sources? diabetes.
more people over the age of sixty-five than are Can we reduce our load and exposure to prevent
under the age of five. Because they have been chronic illness or at least avoid as many of these
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around a long time, they have been expoxed to toxins as possible?
toxins for a long time. Toxins are known to in-
crease oxidative stress which increases the risk PHTHALATES
of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Phthalates are a group of chemicals used
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We have only recently been faced with the to soften and increase the flexibility of plastics.
problems of toxicity and aging as many people They are also heavily used in personal care prod-
in earlier times succumbed to infection, injury ucts, especially those that are scented. You will
or illness before they reached an advanced age. also find them in air fresheners that use heat to
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Now with expanded life expectancy and the release the aroma. Even if you avoid all of these
dramatic increase in environmental toxic ex- sources, you will be exposed because phthalates
posures, we must meet new challenges. We are do not bind very tightly to the plastics and there-
still working under an old and outdated medical fore are released into the atmosphere quite easily.
model. Few healthcare providers look at toxicity This means that the main sources of exposure are
as a cause of many chronic health disorders and inhalation, dermal absorption and ingestion.
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instead look to managing illnesses, such as type Several recent studies have revealed that
2 diabetes. Focusing on the root cause of disease, many of the metabolites of phthalates (DEP,
especially when environmental in nature, may DnBP, BBzP, and DEHP) are found extensively
result in a longer and healthier life. in the general population. 43,44 There is evidence
Another great concern when talking about that the exposures also have socioeconomic and
our aging society is of course cognitive function sociodemographic divides, which place a greater
as it relates to toxic exposures. An example: burden on children of the poor. 45,46
as with children and lead we are becoming in- One of the mechanisms behind phthalate
creasingly aware that the elderly lose cognitive toxicity is its depression of testosterone. Grow-
function when exposed to this heavy metal. 37 ing evidence shows that phthalate exposure may
Alzheimer’s disease is rapidly becoming an epi- express its effect on reproductive health, espe-
demic. In 2014, over five million Americans were cially in developing males. 48,49 It has also been
diagnosed with the disease. In 2050, the number implicated in miscarriages and birth defects.
is expected to rise to over fifteen million. A Arguments against phthalate’s toxicity in-
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number of studies link different environmental clude its relatively short half-life, which is less
toxins to this rise. One such study links the than twenty-four hours. This assertion does not
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exposure of a fetus to lead to a far greater pro- hold true, as we are constantly exposed to the
pensity to develop β-amyloid plaque when they chemical; thus, its effects are persistent, with a
get older. This plaque has been implicated in percentage of the population having unaccept-
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