Category: Immune System Problems

Our Most Toxic Chemical: Who is Doing What about PFAS?

What are the Effects of PFAS Chemical?   Because of their toxicity at extremely low concentrations, there are risks from PFAS bioaccumulation.  In addition to their presence in the human body–where, among other serious effects, they are linked with increased rates of some types of cancer, hormonal disruption, and immune responses–PFAS chemicals (a class of over 3000 compounds) are released into the environment, transported through groundwater, river, and soils, and can only be partially remediated. Scientists will be
meeting at the Geological Society of America’s 2020 Annual Meeting to learn more about this highly toxic chemical and discuss the need for more research.

Gut Microbiome Affected by Toxic Chemicals in Products, Environment, Food

The microbes that inhabit our bodies are influenced by what we eat, drink, breathe and absorb through our skin, and most of us are chronically exposed to natural and human-made environmental contaminants.  In this study, scientists reviewed the research linking dozens of chemicals present in our personal care products, home care products, general environment and our food to changes in the gut microbiome and associated health challenges.

Consumer BPA Exposure Much Higher than Originally Thought

Using new direct testing methods, scientific experts on the chemical BPA have made a new discovery: Previous estimates of the levels of BPA consumers are exposed to each day have been based on flawed, inaccurate testing methods. The previous measurements and estimates that have been used by regulatory agencies–including the FDA**–have underestimated exposure levels by as much as 44 times. With new, more advanced methods*** scientists are now able to see that previous estimates of exposure to the endocrine-disrupting chemical are far greater than regulators and legislators believed when establishing guidelines for what is “safe” exposure levels for U.S. children and adults.

Exposure to Toxic Chemical Dioxin During Pregnancy Harms Offspring for Several Generations

New scientific research has demonstrated that exposure to dioxin, a common toxic chemical in industrial pollution, during pregnancy can harm the immune system of offspring and that this injury is passed along to subsequent generations, weakening the body’s defenses against infections such as the influenza virus. Exposure to dioxin in pregnancy occurs primarily in the food humans eat.