by Paul Kramer, R.N.C.
VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Most of us may not realize it but our bodies are storehouses for many forms of toxic chemicals I call "body pollution". In today's society, we ingest more and more potentially toxic chemicals than ever before. These toxins appear in the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe.
Our bodies were simply not designed to be able to handle this level of chemical attack. The effects these chemicals
are having on our health are now being more fully recognized. Yet there is much we do not know. The author of a
recent report on the effects of chemicals in the body stated, "the level of ignorance on these toxins is vast".
Although there is much we do not know; the dangers to our health are very real. The United States Environmental
Protection Agency recently banned a common chemical used in lawn sprays because it was shown to cause blurred
vision and memory loss. The truly frightening part is that this chemical has been used for many, many years before
its effect on our health was fully studied!
Food Chemicals
Modern farming techniques have for many years now employed the use of chemical sprays to control both weeds and
pests. In actual fact, in Canada alone, over 35 million kilograms of chemical sprays are used each year on
the food we eat. These sprays certainly are effective in controlling weeds and bugs, and are considered a
necessity by most farmers, but what are they doing to our health? I refuse to believe that we are not ingesting
a certain amount of chemical residue from this massive use of chemical sprays! It is well documented that the
fruits and vegetables we eat contain chemical residues that end up in our bodies. In fact, it has been shown
that many of our favorite fruits such as apples and grapes do contain high levels of toxic residues from
pesticides. These chemicals are being increasingly linked to health problems, especially in children.
The Effects On Our Children
Children are more vulnerable to the negative effects of chemicals. A recent newspaper ran a
headline "KID'S HEALTH AT RISK, REPORT WARNS". The article went on to describe how government environmental
standards are failing children by jeopardizing their health. The report stated that there are over 23,000 toxic
substances found to be in commercial use in Canada alone and only 15% have had their toxic effects fully studied.
Simple calculations will tell you that leaves over 19,000 toxic substances that have not been fully studied for
their potential negative effects. It is widely known that exposure to these types of substances can lead to damage
of the immune system and reproductive organs, an increase in the rates of breathing diseases such as asthma, as
well as contributing to retarding of normal brain development.
Modern Agriculture - The Business of Growing Food
Many people are not aware of what is happening in the agriculture or agri-food business. The concept of the local
farmer growing our food using his or her own seeds is quickly disappearing. Today a hand full of massive
multinational chemical companies own and control the major supply of plant seeds in the world. There is no real
secret to their corporate objectives, control the growing of food by controlling the supply of the seeds and
thereby increase the use of their particular brand of chemical sprays. Since chemical companies have begun to
dominate the food business chemical pesticide sales have steadily increased to the point where last year the top
ten companies recorded sales of over 4.2 billion dollars. These multinational chemical/agri-food companies are
also pushing the development of genetically modified crops in a further effort to corner the market for their
particular brand of chemical sprays.
Fighting Back With Nutritional Supplements
As much as we would all like to wave a magic wand and make food chemicals, toxic water and polluted air
disappear - it's not likely to happen. So many of these things are out of control of the average citizen, and
as we have seen, the health authorities are not able to do much either. It really is up to each and every one
of us to take steps to help our bodies deal with the daily exposure to these potentially lethal chemicals.
Can we fight the negative effects of toxic body pollution?
YES - we can! - by using nutritional supplements daily.
Just how do supplements help fight the effects of body pollution?
Let's look a few of the ways:
Detoxifying the Body:
Many botanical extracts such as aloe vera, schisandra berry and dandelion root help the body to detoxify and reduce
the burden of stored chemicals. This is vital as the prevention of toxic chemical buildup in the body is the first
step in long-term prevention.
Fighting Free Radical Production:
Many toxic chemicals we ingest contribute to the production of free radicals in the body. These free radicals are
unstable molecules that attack and damage the healthy cells of the body. Antioxidant nutrients such as licorice
root extract, Chinese pearl barley, and German chamomile along with vitamin C, E, the mineral Selenium and
beta-carotene all fight the formation of free radicals.
Protecting the Immune System:
Many studies have shown that the human immune system is weakened by the ingestion of toxic chemicals. Nutritional
supplements can help by keeping the immune system (the body's last line of defense against disease) strong. Botanical
extracts such as astragalus, reishi mushroom, ginseng and sarsaparilla are strong boosters of the immune system.
Vitamin A, and the minerals zinc and selenium also assist in keeping the immune system strong.
As we can clearly see, using nutritional supplements daily, along with incorporating a more natural diet, is our
best chance of reducing the negative effects of toxic chemicals that we cannot totally avoid.
The concept of "body pollution" is real; it's not just a theory. As Lifestyles Distributors, our high end - quality
nutritional supplements can provide a solution to help deal with the problem. If we all agree on that, then don't
we all have an obligation to share our solution with everyone we meet?
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