Tired or Toxic!

Many of us feel tired now and again but for some people their tiredness is debilitating. At Natural Health Technologies we help to identify and treat the cause of fatigue not just treat the symptoms.

Why Am I So Tired? 

Do you feel old & over the hill - but you're not?

• Is it hard for you to get up in the morning & can you hardly wait to get back in bed?
• Are you cranky, lagging, foggy minded, gaining weight, constantly feeling overwhelmed and that's just the start . and no one knows why?
• Approximately 20% of Americans claim to have fatigue intense enough to interfere with their having a normal life.
• Approximately 20% of fatal road accidents involve driver fatigue

* 80% of American women will suffer from some form of thyroid or adrenal fatigue.

We are the first generation of people ever exposed to such an unprecedented number of chemicals on a daily basis - there are now over 70,000 chemicals commercially produced in the U.S., and the number is increasing. Not only do we have "acceptable limits" of contaminants in our food, air and water, we are constantly "upping the ante."

We come into contact with more than 500 chemicals and toxic substances every day, and the Sierra Club tells us that there are already approximately 200 chemicals in the average person's body fat. It is not a question of if we are carrying a burden of toxic compounds, but how much.

The symptoms that may be manifested from these toxins can be any physical and/or mental complaint; fatigue, headaches, flu-like symptoms, nausea, dizziness, "brain fog," depression, anxiety, and even vision and hearing problems. There are also other factors that seem to predispose individuals to increased sensitivity to chemicals such as low thyroid, adrenal stress, nutritional deficiencies, and other stressors.

In an address to the Well Mind Association in Seattle, Washington, David S. Bushcer, M.D., made the following remarks: "My personal theory on chronic fatigue is that the increased load of pollutants in our environment, such as pesticides, is causing people to have a breakdown of their immune systems.I would say that 70% of my patients with chronic fatigue had a chemical trigger; they moved into a new home, there was remodeling at the office, or a pesticide application, and now they have chronic fatigue. I think the mechanism is some kind of cellular poisoning from these chemicals. The affected person's detoxification system is clogged up or destroyed, they get a backlog of chemicals, and their immune system goes down."

The classic patient who has developed chemical sensitivities has usually been to a dozen or more specialists, has no definite diagnosis, and is often given a tranquilizer and referred to a psychiatrist. Most are told the symptoms are all in their heads, which can be partially true, as the chemicals do affect their brains. If one is totally ignorant of the biochemistry of detoxification, the victim seems to be a malingerer, faking it, or in need of psychiatric help, says Sherry Rogers, M.D. (Dr. Rogers has had MCS and now teaches advanced courses in Environmental Medicine. She is also author of several books including "Tired or Toxic.")

In 1992, the neurobehavioral effects of various chemicals were reviewed in Environmental Neurotoxicity, published by the National Research Council. The following symptoms commonly associated with fatigue and the number of chemicals that may cause these symptoms are significant.

Symptom: Number of Chemicals:

Fatigue: 87

Listlessness: 30

Depression: 40

Sleep disturbances: 119

Weakness: 179

An important fact about chemical exposure is the role that cumulative exposure plays in causing illness. Exposure to trace amounts of one chemical may produce few ill effects. However, when five, ten, or even fifty different compounds are encountered in trace amounts, which is not unusual, the additive effects can be serious.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently recognizes more than four million chemical compounds. More than 60,000 of these are produced commercially, with three new compounds introduced each day. In 1992, the EPA published the results of a study in which the urine of 7,000 randomly sampled Americans was tested for toxic chemical residues.

Chemicals like pentachlorophenol, a wood preservative, and others were found in 71 percent of individuals tested. There were not people working at chemical factories or industrial waste incinerators. This study looked at the average citizen - you and me. It is disconcerting to find such a high percentage of individuals with chemical residue in their urine. These are all chemicals not even in existence 100 years ago.

Many doctors who work with chronically fatigued patients and those who work in the field of environmental medicine, agree that chemical exposure is a major contributor to fatigue and low vitality. For example, if you review the symptoms of formaldehyde exposure, you will find fatigue, depression, and poor concentration right at the top.

The symptoms of exposure to trichloroethylene (found in floor polish, copy machines, carpet cleaner, etc.) include fatigue, poor concentration, and drowsiness, among others. Exposure to toluene, the most common indoor air pollutant, triggers symptoms of fatigue, poor concentration, drowsiness, and headache.

Methylene chloride is found in paint thinner, hair spray, adhesives, solvents, paint, flame retardants, and many other common products. The aerosol propellants found in hair sprays, antiperspirants, air fresheners, and spray paint, may contain up to 50% methylene chloride. Once inhaled, methylene chloride goes directly to the brain, fat cells, and liver. Common symptoms include fatigue, lethargy, headaches, and chest pain.

Your nutritional status has everything to do with how your detoxification systems work and how you handle the toxins in your environment. If you are deficient in the trace element molybdenum, an enzyme called aldehyde oxidase does not function properly. Under these circumstances, if you were exposed to a common pollutant such as formaldehyde, it would not be properly detoxified. In fact, such compounds are shunted into another pathway that forms other, often more toxic, compounds. In the case of formaldehyde, it gets converted into chloral hydrate - also known as "Mickey Finn" or "knockout drops." The effect is a dopey, foggy, fatigued feeling, like you were drunk, but without the euphoria. If you are deficient in magnesium, many aspects of the detoxification mechanism do not work. The same is true of zinc deficiency.

The immune system can become seriously impaired by exposure to chemicals. Some chemical exposures may act to suppress immunity, while others may cause the immune system to overreact. The former circumstance leads to susceptibility to infections and perhaps cancer. The latter leads to autoimmune diseases in which the immune system attacks the body's own cells. Some arthritic conditions, lupus, and some thyroid disorders are examples of this latter effect.

In Sherry Rogers, M.D.,  book entitled Tired of Toxic?  She describes in great detail how toxicity contributes to fatigue. She mentions that the most common organ affected by chemical exposure is the brain, leading to drowsiness, fatigue, exhaustion, sluggish thinking, or a host of other symptoms. She states, "Frequently, most of these people are initially too intimidated and embarrassed to mention how exhausted they are. Instead they concentrate on the more visible symptoms that can be more readily verified. Medicine, unfortunately, delegates brain symptoms.to the psychiatrists."

One means by which chemicals may contribute to fatigue is by affecting thyroid function, a common cause of low vitality. Chlorinated compounds  (like in your drinking  water) are well known for their effects on thyroid function. Many of these compete directly with thyroid hormones or proteins that carry thyroid hormones. One such chemical, pentachlorophenol, was found to significantly lower the level of both the active and inactive form of thyroid hormone.

Because of the pervasive use of chemicals in our society, a new disease has emerged known as multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). While chemical exposure affects all of us to one degree or another, people with MCS are severely affected. People with chemical sensitivity often become ill from being in the presence of only minute amounts of a chemical. To them, a faint of formaldehyde can cause devastating symptoms of fatigue.

Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms of chemical toxicity are far too numerous to mention. In general, chemical exposure affects different people in different ways, depending on their individual biochemistry, nutritional status, stress levels, level of exposure, and many other factors. Conditions ranging from thyroid disease, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, endocrine diseases, depression, psychosis, and many other disorders can be triggered or caused by chemical exposure or toxicity.

Fatigue, sluggishness, and low energy are among the most common symptoms of toxicity. If you experience these symptoms and your health problems seem to defy identifications or do not respond to treatment, it may be that you are ill because of toxicity. Certainly, those who work in occupations where chemicals are used should be screened for toxicity. However, many people who have no contact with industrial chemicals whatsoever experience exposure that seriously impairs their health.

Treatment

Toxicity is a very complicated phenomenon that requires the guidance of a doctor and the detoxification program should include the following:

1. Reduce the total toxic load by removing toxins from your environment and by removing offending foods and additives from your diet.

2. Identify functional nutrient deficiencies related to detoxification and general metabolism.

3. Assess the functional health of the organs of elimination (live, kidney etc.)

4. Begin a supervised detoxification program aimed at removing toxins stored in body tissues.

5. Utilize an infrared sauna. The infrared sauna encourages a "fat sweat" to eliminate toxins that are stored in the body's fat.

6. Support the endocrine, immune, and hepatic (liver) system.

7. Restore gastrointestinal function.

Natural Health Technologies
Center for Colon and Digestive Health
Detoxification Therapy
Colonic Therapy
253 564-9223

Suggested Reading

If you would like more information about environmental toxicity and health effects obtain a copy of Tired or Toxic by Sherry Rogers, M.D. (Prestige Publishing, Syracuse, New York, 1990). For health professionals interested in a textbook of environmental medicine, obtain the four-part series by William Rea, M.D., entitled Chemical Sensitivity (Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, 1993).

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