As a regular reader, you know how corrupt the institutions in charge of protecting your health can be.
Take the FDA, for example…
Time after time, they turn a blind eye to the real health catastrophes plaguing the nation.
I’m talking about the FDA’s outright refusal to ban dangerous, hormone-disrupting chemicals called phthalates.
These are a group of industrial chemicals used to make plastic more durable.
Recently, a handful of environmental groups decided to take matters into their own hands. Together they’re suing the FDA, demanding they do a better job protecting the American public from these toxins.
In 2016, the agency failed to respond to two petitions filed by food safety organizations. These petitions provided the agency with undeniable proof linking phthalates with serious health consequences.
The FDA was required by law to respond to the petition within 180 days.
And in the six years since they failed to act, the problem has only increased.
Now, the FDA tried to give the appearance that they were protecting the American public. They banned the most well-known hormone disruptor – BPA (bisphenol A) – from baby bottle cups. But they refused to call for an overall ban on bisphenols.
And they continued to ignore phthalates…
But phthalates are everywhere…from food packaging to personal care products to dental fillings. In fact, they’re so common in our environment that they’re sometimes called “everywhere” chemicals.
They enter your body through the foods you eat, the personal care products you put on your skin, and through exposure from materials like vinyl flooring and upholstery.
Phthalates are even in the air we breathe.
Our modern environment is tainted with phthalates at every turn. We already know that these powerful hormone disruptors lead to estrogen overload in men and women alike. They lower a man’s testosterone. They bring
on extreme symptoms of PMS and menopause. They destroy your sex drive and lead to impotence.In the past few years, researchers have also linked phthalates to:
- Type 2 diabetes
- High blood pressure and heart disease
- Memory loss
- Weight gain
- Breast cancer
- Asthma
- Thyroid disease
It’s very clear what these toxins are doing to our bodies. And agencies like the FDA aren’t interested in addressing this.
It’s impossible to avoid phthalates in today’s world. You can’t wrap yourself in a plastic bubble for the rest of your life. (And even if you did, it would probably have phthalates too!)
But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do to protect yourself. Here’s what I tell my patients:
- Avoid phthalate exposure as much as you can. Stop storing food in plastic containers and never use them to heat foods. Dust often eliminates phthalates in the air. Don’t use products with artificial fragrances. Buy produce that isn’t packaged… even better is buying your food fresh from a farmer’s market. And look for personal care products that are labeled phthalate-free.
- Supplement to flush phthalates away. Here are two I recommend…
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- DIM. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower are packed with a powerful nutrient known as diindolylmethane – or DIM. This natural remedy helps your body break down and excrete all the fake hormones we get in the modern world. Adding these foods to your diet can also help lower your risk for chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease. DIM is also available as a supplement. I suggest you take 100 to 200 mg of DIM every day.
- Milk thistle (Silybum marianum). This is one of the best herbs for clearing toxins from your blood. It helps detoxify the liver and restore healthy liver function. Look for dried milk thistle extract. But make sure it has at least 80% silymarin, the active ingredient for liver cleansing. I recommend taking one 200 mg capsule twice daily
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- Sweat it out. I recommend every patient at my clinic detox with an infrared sauna. I prefer this type of sauna to a traditional steam sauna. Infrared light penetrates several inches into your tissue. This releases debris from the fat underneath your skin. It also allows your body to free toxins stored in other organs and tissues. In one study, sweat from a traditional sauna was up to 97% water. But sweat released in an infrared sauna was only 80% water. The remaining 20% was made up of fat-soluble toxins like xenoestrogens.1
If you’re in the South Florida area and interested in infrared therapy, call the Sears Institute for Anti-Aging Medicine at 561-410-7854 and talk to my staff.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
References:
1. Evolution Health. Infrared sauna detoxification.