 Is Modern
Technology
Taking a Toll on Your Health?
Every
morning you wake up, roll out of bed and head to the bathroom
to take a shower. You dress and make your way to the kitchen
for a quick bite to eat, grabbing a bottle of water from the
fridge before heading out the door. And as you hop in the car
to begin yet another day in the twenty-first century, you’re
probably not thinking about the fact that your typical pre-lunch
routine has just exposed your body to a whole host of potentially
harmful toxins.
Think for a moment about the mattress you sleep
on every night. It was likely treated with polybrominated diphenyl
ethers (PBDEs), toxic flame retardants used in a vast number
of consumer products including your carpets, furniture and electrical
appliances to keep them from catching fire. Or the phthalates
you encountered in the shower. Those are chemicals found in a
number of personal care products such as shampoo, lotion and
perfume, as well as your vinyl shower curtain. And if you think
your clothes are free of toxins, think again. There’s a
good chance that while they were at the dry cleaners they were
treated with perchloroethylene, a toxic chemical often used as
a cleaning solvent.
The list goes on to include perfluorinated
compounds (PFCs), those nifty little chemicals that make your
nonstick frying pan so convenient, and the pesticides potentially
lurking on the fruits and veggies in your refrigerator. Not to
mention heavy metals like lead, mercury and arsenic—all
byproducts of the industrial revolution that have been seeping
into the earth (and subsequently into our air, water and food)
for decades.
Indeed, modern technology has made our lives
more convenient, but as research into the dangers of toxic exposure
continues, we may soon be wondering if the benefits outweigh
the possible health risks. In recent decades, for instance, several
chemicals once thought to be harmless have been proven otherwise,
including DDT, an insecticide developed in the 1940s that was
later found to be extremely harmful to humans.
A recent study
conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) gathered data
on the exposure levels of more than 140 substances, a critical
first step in gauging the health risks of toxic exposure. The
CDC hopes to gather enough information to be able to determine
whether or not the hundreds of chemicals we encounter daily pose
a serious threat to our overall health. But even today, as environmentalists
and others continue to push for better regulation of industrial
chemicals, close to 2,000 new substances are introduced each
year.
Realistically, none of us can live completely
free of toxins, but studies have shown that there are ways in
which we can reduce our risk of exposure. These include simple
changes in our diet, such as choosing organic fruits, vegetables
and other foods as often as possible; consuming fish with lower
levels of mercury such as salmon, tilapia and catfish instead
of swordfish or tuna; and avoiding nonstick cookware. Around
the house, try to use non-toxic cleaners and detergents, and
avoid using pesticides on your lawn and garden, as well as in
your home (this includes Fido’s flea collar). Many cosmetic companies also make
non-toxic products that are free of harsh chemicals.
While making
a commitment to reducing the amount of chemical baggage our bodies
are toting around may require some commitment, it could also
be the first step toward bringing about real change in our increasingly
toxic world. |
