Wellness Wednesday

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A few years ago a friend who is connected to the conventional medical world came to me, shocked that pharmaceuticals were discovered in our water supply, and asked, "Did you know about this?" My response was that anyone who read alternative health publications knew about it. The sad thing is that those whose thinking falls outside the conservative medical paradigm are ignored or, worse, ridiculed. One example is Dr. Barry Marshall who claimed that H. pylori bacteria caused stomach ulcers. The medical establishment laughed at him but now antibiotics are the accepted course of treatment for ulcers. However, despite a history of alternative medicine being proven right over and over again (this history major loves to point out the importance of knowing history), we forget and continue to support mainstream thinking while dismissing alternative viewpoints as quackery. While some alternative healthcare practices are quackery, using common sense and having an open mind will help separate the true from the false.

In 2012, the Harvard School of Public Health released a study linking fluoridated water (along with other chemicals) to cognitive and behavioral disorders. According to the study,"[f]luoride readily crosses the placenta. Fluoride exposure to the developing brain, which is much more susceptible to injury caused by toxicants than is the mature brain, may possibly lead to permanent damage." Despite this study from a well-respected institution, it has yet to become mainstream thinking. Cities across the US continue to add fluoride to the water and those who fight it are considered fringe freaks. And we continue to "wonder" why on earth there has been such an increase in autism spectrum disorders.

Many of the chemicals that we use in our everyday lives are rarely tested and we know nothing about the effects of the toxic soup created by releasing multitudes of chemicals into our environment. The bottom line is we should avoid as many chemicals as possible and use the most basic, natural ingredients in our homes, yards, food, clothing, and personal care products. History will prove this to be the best route to optimum health and a clean environment.