Unfortunately, environmental toxins have already been found in many bodily tissues in humans on every corner of our planet. These “Persistent Organic Pollutants” are found in our air, drinking/bathing/swimming water as well as in our game fish (see: the MDHHS’ Eat Safe Fish Guides — State of Michigan), game birds and game mammals and even the paper receipts that we receive these days to name but a few.

Of special concern are PFAS chemicals aka “perfluorinated alkylated substances” as they have a HALF-life of up to 27 years in our body … MUCH longer than most other toxins (see: Toxicology, Volume 2013, Article ID 657849). The good news is that the human body is designed to rid itself of toxins and does so on a daily basis (to some extent). Lest we get discouraged and believe the false statement that “everything causes cancer,” we can start cleaning up our diet today by slowly increasing our intake of dietary insoluble fiber from whole grains and cereals as well as eat more beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, onions and garlic (or supplement our diet with them in pill or powder form) in order to help eliminate more carcinogens than we are exposed to, in order to decrease suffering tomorrow. There is hope!

DR. KIRK C. McANSH,

Alpena

ANNE HERAGHTY,

Alpena