ABSTRACT
Environmental toxins and toxicants have become major causes of chronic disease. Pollution of the environment with metals and chemicals has been shown to cause or increase the risk of ADHD (attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder), asthma, autoimmune disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes, endocrine disruption, gout, infertility, kidney failure, and rheumatoid arthritis—i.e., virtually every chronic disease. The list is long and continues to grow. Researchers around the world are systematically uncovering the evidence which consistently shows not only correlations between body load of specific toxins and most chronic diseases but also the mechanisms of damage. Becoming an expert in environmental medicine is daunting since over 100 metals and chemicals are in the environment at high enough levels to affect the entire population. Making this more challenging is the huge genetic variation in individual ability to excrete or detoxify these noxious agents and the lack of broad scientific agreement on the best ways to measure body load of specific toxins. Nonetheless, those wanting to help their patients suffering from cardiovascular disease can provide them a lot of very important care by simply understanding those toxins which cause the most cardiovascular damage.
