Tampons/ leads/ heavy metals/ VOCs/ plastics and more!!
The world has been stunned by this new research paper exposing the presence of lead, arsenic and other heavy metals in tampons. Honestly, this is not surprising at all. This should have been figured out long time ago ever since our environment, soil and water has been increasingly contaminated with various types of contaminants that get absorbed into our food/ clothing/ drinking water etc etc.
How do heavy metals get into the tampons?
Lead and arsenic in your tampons? Well, guess what! Tampons are made with a mix of synthetic and cotton fibers.
Where does cotton come from?
It comes from soil!!
What happens in soil?
Soil contains a huge variety of heavy metals/ toxins/ pthlatates/ plastics – you name it!!
How does soil get all that?
From recycling/ percolating of waste water/ trash and what not!
A study published in the Environmental pollution revealed that lead and barium levels exceeded the health-based guidance values in 10-14% of NYC community garden
soil samples.
FDA states that lead has entered the environment from the past widespread use of lead in paint, gasoline, and plumbing materials, as well as many other products.
Ok, so soil has these contaminants! Where else are they?
Did you know that your beverages such as wine and beer can have higher than acceptable levels of heavy metals such as lead and arsenic? One of the mechanisms that these guys can get in your drink is through the filtration techniques used. This study showed measurable levels seen in various food products such as juices, wine and beer.
These are over simplified explanations for sure but that is what is happening in reality.
So, even if you are not going around licking old walls or ingesting lead from lead paints or bullets, lead and arsenic in tampons, there really is no way around to escape exposure to these heavy metals/ toxins/ plastics etc.
Even if you consume 100 % organic foods (likely grown in any of these gardens), wear 100% organic recycled clothing, triple filter your water… you may reduce the load that you are exposed to but you cannot get to zero!
So, what can you do as a consumer???
Here are some quick and dirty recommendations by the EPA on how to reduce your load and decrease the risk of inadvertent consumption.
What can we as health care practitioners do to help!!
FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE TO YOUR RESCUE!
Thanks to some really cutting-edge technologies, we can now:
– check the various toxin levels in your tissues and blood,
– check how your body is metabolizing them,
– check if you have any genetic combinations which do not allow proper processing and dumping of these metals and toxins in your body
– we can also check how the toxins may be altering the hormonal metabolism and possibly taking you down toxic pathways potentially increasing risks for breast or uterine cancers/ weight gain/ hair loss and so much more
Ok, now we know you have toxins or heavy metals, what next?
This is called precision medicine! We can now target specific issues and customize treatment plans which can help detoxify your body of these harmful toxins through chelation (oral or i/v) and other comprehensive strategies that help raise the anti-oxidant levels to remove the toxin load from not just lead and arsenic in your tampons but also from food and your environment.
And no, your insurance unfortunately will not pay for this!
What can you do immediately??
While you start saving to get a functional care plan, here is what you can start doing today to help curtail the exposure…
– Use organic tampons and change them frequently
– Can use menstrual cups if convenient
– Try and buy organic foods if possible and still wash them with water and vinegar and then rinse them again
– Look at EWGs clean 15 and dirty dozen lists
– Minimize use of plastic food containers or plastic bags
– Never heat food in plastics
– Use organic hair products if possible
And the list can go on and on!
Feel free to reach out to us if you want to get on to the path of true wellness with a little bit of our help!
Be strong, be safe, be prepared,
Ref:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024004355?via%3Dihub
https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/garden/docs/soilpaper.pdf
https://www.nyc.gov/content/leadfree/pages/soil
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1438463920305101
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/new-york-city-gardens-soil-lead-concerns/
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/leadtoxicity/cover-page.html
https://www.epa.gov/lead/learn-about-lead
https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/lead-food-and-foodwares
https://research.library.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1113&context=environ_2015
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9116460/
Disclaimer:
We do not have any financial affiliation with the testing companies. We have simply placed the links on our website for the ease of use.