Environmental
Medicine

Environmental Medicine (EM) refers to diagnosing and caring for people exposed to chemical and physical hazards in their homes, communities and workplace.. Environmental Medicine uses a holistic, systems based model to evaluate how various toxins, pollutants, chemicals, and microbes may be compromising our health and dovetails with other branches of medicine, including toxicology, industrial medicine, and public health.

IT'S NOT JUST ONE THING!

There are roughly 80,000 chemicals used in the United States and we are exposed to thousands of these chemicals each day. The ACCUMULATION of toxins can overwhelm us at the cellular level and effect every body system leading to a wide variety of symptoms.

Environmental Medicine (EM) clinicians evaluate how each person’s environmental exposure may be influencing their foundations of health. In addition to toxic load, an EM clinician evaluates genetic variations, nutrient deficiencies, stressors, dietary choices, microbiome status, vitality, and associated conditions that may influence how a patient responds to toxins.

• Chronic illness is typically caused by many factors, so it's important to identify which toxins in the environment are interacting within the body.

• Many chemicals have a direct effect on a variety of organs and tissues, leading to a potential cycle of oxidative stress and inflammation. 

• Current research alludes to inflammation as a key driver of metabolic, neurologic, endocrine, and cellular malfunction contributing to the rise in obesity and cancer as well as autoimmune, neurodegenerative, and reproductive disorders.

HEALTH IMPACTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS

Digestive/Gut Health: Toxins, including the widely used pesticide glyphosate, disrupts the microbiome by killing off good bacteria and slowing the absorption of essential nutrients. Toxins can also lead to ‘leaky gut’ or intestinal permeability, which allows toxins and pathogens access to the bloodstream, leading to a wide range of health issues, including brain inflammation. PMID 25407511

Hormone and Reproductive Health: Extensive animal and human studies have shown that many toxins mimic our own hormones and thereby disrupt the endocrine system. Based on a review by the Endocrine Society, over 1,300 studies show connections between hormone-disrupting chemicals and health conditions such as infertility, diabetes, obesity, hormone-related cancers, and neurological disorders. Research has also found extensive pesticide exposure negatively impacts fertility in both men and women. PMID 34207279

Preconception, Prenatal and Developmental: Children are uniquely impacted by chemical exposures at all stages of development. While pregnancy has long been recognized as a vulnerable developmental window, we now know that the paternal epigenetic programming is also significant. Sperm-line exposure to chemicals at key developmental stages of the male, including during the preconception window, can have lasting health effects on offspring. Children have both increased chemical exposures due to hand-to-mouth behavior and body surface area to mass ratios and have decreased ability to process chemicals due to differences in kidney excretion and liver biotransformation.

Weight Gain and Obesity: In addition to diet and lifestyle, daily exposure to "obesogenic" chemicals is recognized as a contributor to weight gain, obesity, and related health issues. Toxins make weight gain resistant to diets and require detoxification support to mobilize toxins AND fat for real weight loss and improved health. PMID 22296745

Mood & Brain Health: Toxins, infections and metabolic conditions all contribute to neuroinflammation. Toxins can reach the brain via inhalation or intestinal permeability, which allows toxins and pathogens to enter the bloodstream and breach the blood brain barrier, where they can be stored in the fatty tissue of our brains.

Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health: A meta-analysis of 37 studies showed that exposure to arsenic, lead, cadmium, and copper is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease – beyond behavioral risk factors. PMID 30158148

Respiratory Health: Significant increases in asthma, allergies, COPD, and other respiratory illnesses correlate with increased usage of industrial, agricultural, and household chemicals, which release volatile organic compounds (VOCs). While outdoor air pollution is a concern, the EPA has found VOCs are up to 10 times higher indoors.

Immune Health: Over 70% of our immune system is found in the gut. Toxins can damage the gut lining, thereby weakening our immune defense. Continuous toxin exposure also depletes glutathione and key nutrients, increases oxidative stress and inflammation. PMID 25407511