Saturday, January 26, 2008

Pollution Causing Diabetes ?






In my opinion, our exposure to high & varying amounts of pollution absolutely causes health problems - eventually this will be as accepted as the once rejected theory the world is round. (I mean, who wants to eat the food sprayed with the stuff that guy has to wear that protective bio warfare suit for !) Until then there will be studies and debates on whether pollution effects our health.
New types of blood tests have been implemented in scientific research, which measure the amount of pollutants in human blood. There is now proof that things we are exposed to on a daily basis are becoming part of our inner workings, as scientists find various types of plastics, heavy metals, pesticides, fire retardants, and other toxic substances floating about the average persons blood stream. This is because these substances are coming from common house hold items- we eat, drink and store everything in plastic, heavy metals are in our nail polish, lipstick, and house paint, pesticides are on all non organic food and garden plants, fire retardants are on our mattress, furniture and children's toys. They have yet to say that this causes a definite disease such as Diabetes, only claiming there is a "correlation" and not a "causation"- but think about blood in it's most rudimentary form, it is what keeps us alive, gives us energy and nourishes us. And I don't think it is far fetched to guess that plastic, heavy metals, and other toxic substances will weaken the veins over time, causing heart disease and other tissue related damage.

Here is an excerpt of a current study on the connection between Diabetes and pesticides:
"In the journal The Lancet, Drs. Oliver Jones and Julian Griffin highlight the need to research the possible link between persistent organic pollutants (POPs, a group which includes many pesticides) and insulin resistance, which can lead to adult onset diabetes.
Dr Jones and Dr. Griffin cite peer reviewed research including that of Dr D Lee, et al, which demonstrated a very strong relationship between the levels of POPs in blood, particularly organochlorine compounds, and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Interestingly, in the Lee study an association between obesity and diabetes was absent in people with low concentrations of POPs in their blood. In other words, individuals were more at risk of diabetes if they were thin with high levels of POPs in their blood than if they were overweight but with low levels of POPs.
It is well documented that significant exposure to POPs can cause negative health effects. The US Environmental Protection Agency states that the pesticide Chlordane, for example, can cause cancer, can lead to behavioral disorders in children if exposed before birth or while nursing, and harms the endocrine system, nervous system, digestive system, and liver."
If you would like to learn more, go to http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125125108.htm for a full report.

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