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Dr. Griswold has a long history of concern for the environment dating back to her time in college where she received a bachelors in biology. Over the years she has studied ways to reduce chemicals in the environment. The first way is do you remove products that can be replaced with natural and organic products. There are also other ways to help the body eliminate circulating chemicals to include clinical nutrition programs focusing on improving the efficiency of function of detoxification organs such as the liver and the G.I. tract.   Some of these programs are through Metagenics, for example the Clear Change program. Below is a short discussion on chemicals and health. For further information information feel free to email us with questions, contact us on social media or visit the office for a consult.

 

CHEMICALS AND HEALTH

 

1. Our external environment is becoming more saturated with pollutants.  They are in the air, water, building materials, cosmetics and many products we use.  Some chemicals in building materials can mimic the function of hormones, such estrogens. 

2. The external pollutants can be absorbed through the skin, breathed or ingested.  We do have some control over what products we put on our skin and to a degree what air we breath and certainly to what we ingest.  Avoiding cigarette smoke and minimizing time in artificial spaces as well as using air filters is a choice.  We can drink fluids with a minimum of chemicals, such as purified water, juices made from organic sources, etcs.  We can choose a diet of whole foods treated with as few chemicals as possible.  We will still be exposed, however, to many chemicals, some that we are unaware of, cannot see or smell. 

3. So how does the body process all the chemicals that enter the body?

 

a. The gastrointestinal tract

    -is a long tube consisting of esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large      

intestine, colon

     -inside of tube covered with 100 trillion bacteria

    -the bacteria also “eat up” bad bacteria, viruses, etcs. to eliminate them from the body

    -intake of antibiotics as well as indirect intake, ie., through meat and byproducts of meat, destroy good bacteria (another name for good bacteria is probiotics)

    -when environment of gastrointestinal tract is not good, ie., from poor diet, antibiotics, chemicals, the lining becomes less capable of protecting the body and larger particles leak in.  This is called leaky gut syndrome.    The larger particles can be deemed as foreign to the body, causing an autoimmune response and contributing to chronic illness.

    -poor elimination causes toxins to remain in body, some of which are reabsorbed again and recirculated

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1. The liver

-70% of blood from the upper GI tract goes first to the liver to be absorbed

-coverts fat to energy

-toxins are stored in fat particles

-produces good cholesterol

-synthesizes fatty acids from amino acids and sugar

-secretes bile for digestion of fats

-stimulates the intestine by promoting peristalsis

-regulates thyroid function by converting thyroxin to the active form

-clears hormones; if liver unable to clear estrogen, suppresses thyroid function

-produces glucose tolerance factor (GTF) that acts with insulin to regulate blood sugar

-converts beta carotene to Vitamin A

-processes chemicals, alcohol, drugs

-highly regenerative organ

-symptoms of a fatigued or taxed liver are many to include allergies, digestive problems, decreased energy, weight gain, increased cholesterol, muscle/joint pain, etc.

 

1. The kidney

-part of the urinary tract

-removes waste from blood and produces urine

-makes substances that help control blood pressure and regulate the formation of red blood cells

-kidney “fatigue” can be caused by long term physical or emotional stress, chronic illness, drugs, poor diet

 

4. It is crucial to the body that these organs function efficiently.   Although we cannot “run” from all the burdens put on our bodies from environmental causes, we can “hide.”  First by making alternative, chemical free choices of products we use and ingest.  Second by doing more targeted clinical nutritional approaches to heal and promote the efficiency of these organs.  This is vital to our health, because as long as we cannot eliminate these noxious substances, we will continue to circulate them throughout our bodies with an end result of burdened, overloaded and fatigued detoxifying organs and a multiplicity of illnesses.