Toxic chemicals cause numerous diseases

As a medical doctor, former MRC PhD researcher at Oxford and now visiting fellow in environmental medicine at Stirling University, I am delighted to be included in this discussion.

My only disapointment is that we are still at this relatively initial stage since the evidence that toxic chemicals are damaging all aspects of our health at current exposure levels is completely overwhelming.

Indeed I have just written a ‘popular’ book on this subject called Stop the 21st Century Killing You (Random House UK, Jan 2005). It is based on the thousands of academic papers already out there directly linking our toxic chemical exposure to a wide range of modern health disorders.

These disorders include diabetes, allergies, asthma, eczema, cancer, attention deficit disorder, autism, learning difficulties, infertility, depression, chronic fatigue, chemical sensitivities, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, thyroid disease, inflammatory bowel disease amoungst many others.

Again and again it could be seen that the higher the body level of chemicals such as pesticides, environmental pollutants (such as dioxin), plastics, toxic metals (such as lead from paints and piping, mercury from dental fillings and vaccines, and aluminium from vaccines), chlorine (water), or solvents, the higher the level of disease found in the subject.

With synthetic chemical production doubling approximately every ten years, the problem can only get worse.

The time has come to face up to the problem and tackle it head on. The current problem is that few reseachers even consider the role toxic chemicals play in disease. This appears to be due to the extreme (and initially bewildering) numbers of chemicals out there, the lack of easily accessible information on the subject combined with a lack of previous scientific training about this complex field. Indeed it has taken me years of trawling through thousands of academic papers to get to this stage.

However it has also become clear that by identifying and avoiding the highest sources of toxic chemicals in our food and environment, and by taking a nutritional based program to enhance our body’s natural chemical disposal systems, that it is not only possible to lessen the symptoms of existing diseases but it is also possible to lower the risk of developing them in the first place.

Paula Baillie-Hamilton, UK