We asked Paula Baillie-Hamilton, MD, PhD, a visiting fellow in occupational and environmental health at Stirling University in Scotland and the author of Toxic Overload, for ways to combat health problems caused by dangerous chemicals.

TFL: Don’t our bodies naturally fight off toxins?

Paula Baillie-Hamilton, MD, PhD: Like all our other body systems, our detoxifying or waste disposal systems in the liver, kidney, and body tissues will work only under the right circumstances, when our diets are high in unprocessed and nutritious foods. For hundreds of thousands of years, our bodies used the relative abundance of nutrients and the naturally high fiber content of our diet to neutralize existing chemical threats. Today we still need the same high level of nutrients—vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids—and fiber to detoxify and remove toxins. However, our modern, highly refined diets contain only a fraction of the nutrients and fiber they once did. This has resulted in the diversion of the few nutrients our bodies do get to systems that power our life support rather than those that flush out waste and chemical toxins.

When you combine this with the explosive increase in the amount of heavy metals and synthetic chemicals in our foods, homes, and beauty products, the result is that we are exposed to levels of chemicals far higher than our bodies were designed to withstand. This increase has effectively overloaded our natural coping mechanisms. The more saturated with chemicals these natural mechanisms become, the less able they are to protect us. The chemicals we can’t process end up accumulating in our bodies, and this growing toxic-chemical burden works to poison our tissues and exacerbate, as well as cause, disease. It will probably come as no surprise that people with higher levels of toxic metals in their bodies are at a much greater risk of developing cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes, and that exposure to high levels of synthetic chemicals can make the situation even worse.

TFL: Do we need to approach disease differently today?

Dr. Baillie-Hamilton: Dr. Claudia Miller from the Department of Family Practice, University of Texas at San Antonio, believes that we are on the threshold of a new theory of disease—one that recognizes the impact of toxic chemicals. Not only have chemicals been linked to a large number of existing diseases, such as attention deficit disorder and cancer, but Dr. Miller and other scientists also believe that this new disease process might be the key to explaining the emergence of totally new types of chemically related disorders, such as chronic fatigue syndrome and chemical sensitivities.

TFL: How can we protect against these problems?

Dr. Baillie-Hamilton: The good news is that by making simple lifestyle changes, it is possible to significantly lower the levels of toxic chemicals in your body. Basically, there are three steps to a chemical-free life:

1. Take detoxifying supplements.
2. Detoxify your diet.
3. Detoxify your home.

Some of these steps may take some time to implement. But the key is to do what you can when you can.

TFL: Why begin with supplements?

Dr. Baillie-Hamilton: Because our detox systems rely on the presence of a wide range of nutrients to be fully functional, we need to ensure that our levels of all the most important vitamins and minerals are optimized at all times. Starting a long-term daily supplement program is vital for relieving the body of its existing burden of chemicals and protecting it from future chemical exposure.

TFL: What kind of supplements do you recommend?

Dr. Baillie-Hamilton: A good multivitamin and mineral supplement can provide appropriate levels of virtually all the nutrients vital to health and essential for detoxifying the body.
 

TFL: What are the most important chemical detoxifiers found in a multiple?

Dr. Baillie-Hamilton: Vitamin A (produced in the body from carotenes in brightly colored fruits and vegetables) helps soak up damaging free radicals and detoxifies the body. Commonly found toxins (drugs, insecticides, PCBs, and solvents) can dramatically drain the body’s stores of A and other antioxidants.

B vitamins (particularly B1, B6, and B12) process toxic chemicals and prevent a wide range of diseases and conditions.
Vitamin C (one of the best known antioxidants and free-radical scavengers) plays a vital role in protecting our bodies from the continual damage that toxic chemicals inflict.

Magnesium (one of the most important minerals for chemical detoxification) protects the body’s tissues, particularly the brain, from the toxic effects of heavy and other dangerous metals.

In addition to a daily multiple, omega-3 oils play an important role in normal functioning. People deficient in these health-giving oils are not only less able to detoxify chemicals but are also more prone to developing a number of different diseases.

Certain amino acids are crucial to our ability to detoxify ourselves of chemical pollutants, particularly organochlorines. The amino acids that should be taken as supplements include cysteine, glutathione, methionine, and taurine. For those who want to minimize their intake of supplements, MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) is an alternative, since it appears to play an essential role in cleaning up and safely removing some of the most persistent heavy metals, such as mercury, from the body.

Two types of fiber are valuable in detox. The first is soluble fiber, or roughage (like wheat bran), that passes through the gut unchanged. The second and even more important is soluble fiber (found in apples, beans, oats, and seeds), which acquires a gel-like consistency when combined with water. Soluble fibers are among the few substances that can lower virtually all the different types of chemical toxins in the body by binding themselves to dangerous toxins so they can be safely excreted. But fiber can bind to nutrients as well, so take vitamins and minerals at least half an hour after taking soluble fiber.

TFL: What about diet?

Dr. Baillie-Hamilton: After starting the supplement program, I recommend a seven-day de-sludge diet. Eat at least 12 ounces (300 grams) from the following protein sources, preferably organic: eggs, white fish (no more than once weekly), poultry, lean beef or venison, or vegetable-based protein (soy or Quorn). In addition to omega-3 supplements, add one tablespoon of unprocessed vegetable oil (olive, pumpkin seed, or walnut), one ounce (28 grams) raw nuts or seeds, and one small avocado to your diet. You can eat unlimited amounts of most vegetables (raw, steamed, or in a fat-free soup). Also eat four servings of fruit and drink at least eight glasses of filtered or bottled water daily. There are some foods you should definitely avoid because they slow down or impair your ability to detoxify. These include alcohol, caffeinated drinks, and trans fat.

Since the primary way chemicals enter your body is through diet, you can avoid dangerous toxins by choosing organic fruits and vegetables, which are grown without the synthetic chemicals used in conventional farming—pretty much like the food humans have been eating since time began, up to the beginning of the twentieth century. Not only do organic foods have fewer deliberately added chemicals, but they also tend to be more resistant to contamination from environmentally acquired chemicals, such as heavy metals and organochlorines.

Diet requires more attention and will be an ongoing process, as it takes time to change your shopping habits and lifestyle. Be realistic. While it’s very hard to eat and drink healthily all the time, the greater proportion of beneficial foods in your diet, the better.

TFL: How can we detoxify our own personal environment?

Dr. Baillie-Hamilton: While it is virtually impossible to cut chemicals out of your life entirely, you can dramatically slash the amount by paying attention to the products you use to furnish and clean your home and those you put on your face and body. For example, most domestic cleaning products contain an abundance of toxic chemicals, most of which can seriously impact your health. Clear them all out and choose healthier alternatives—white vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, and/or borax diluted with water, as well as natural cleaners from natural products stores.

All carpets, whether synthetic or wool, act as sanctuaries for large quantities of toxic chemicals. Limit carpeting as much as possible, and steam clean every six months with a mixture of 1 cup white vinegar to 2-1/2 gallons water. Place doormats at all entrances and encourage your family to remove their shoes when they come inside.

Airborne chemicals pose one of the greatest contamination threats to the home. Indoor pollutant levels may be two to five times higher than outdoor levels, so open windows for at least a half hour daily. Place a plant that helps absorb solvents in the air (aloe vera, Boston fern, English ivy, philodendron, or spider plant) in each room.

The bedroom is particularly important, since most of us spend more than a third of our lives there. The easiest, most effective way to detoxify this room is simply to keep a window open at night. Consider buying an organic mattress or use a hypoallergenic mattress cover. Since most conventional fabrics are treated with flame-resistant chemicals that continuously emit toxic formaldehyde gas at rates as high as 500 parts per million, wash all new clothing and bedding three times before using. Choose organic and natural fibers that are machine washable and, if you must dry-clean clothes, air them in a well-ventilated spot or find a chemical-free dry cleaner.

Carefully read labels on beauty products, deodorants, shampoos, and toothpastes, and avoid benzyl violet 4B, coal tar, crystalline silica, formaldehyde, lead acetate, parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, and selenium sulfide. Fortunately, a number of natural and organic cosmetics and beauty aids offer alternatives to conventional products.