Organic Living and Lifestyle Blog

What Is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)?

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a condition that develops due to an exposure to synthetic chemicals. The sufferer experiences various chronic symptoms such as itchy and irritated skin thereafter. These symptoms will appear even when the person is exposed to low levels of these chemicals but over a long period of time. The symptoms can affect the sufferer’s health and well-being. Once the person is no longer around these chemicals, the symptoms disappear and health improves.

MCS is also known by several other names; such as include toxic injury (TI), chemical sensitivity (CS), environmental illness (EI), chemical injury (CI), Sick Building Syndrome, idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI) and Toxicant-induced loss of tolerance (TILT). They all essentially refer to the same condition.

The chronic symptoms can be one or a combination of the following:

1. Runny nose

2. Scalp pain

3. Itchy eyes

4. Mental confusion or sleepiness

5. Headache

6. Palpitations of the heart

7. Abdominal cramping

8. Scratchy throat

9. Dizziness

10. Ear ache

11. Upset stomach

12. Nausea and/or diarrhea

13. Achy joints

14. Shortness of breath

At its worst, MCS can also cause respiratory distress, cognitive dysfunction, seizures, heart arrhythmia, nausea and chronic fatigue.

You should know that unfortunately, many health societies and organizations have not accepted the fact that this illness does exist. They claim that there is nothing to prove that the symptoms directly result from an exposure to certain chemicals. Scientific research studies had found it hard to show a direct link. It is not difficult to guess that a majority of these organizations are simply fighting for their own interest with their view. They are likely to have a financial stake in the continued sale and manufacture of products that contain the synthetic chemicals and their profits will be in jeopardy if they say otherwise.

It is true that MCS is not easy to identify because there are very few products that do not contain synthetic chemicals. Additionally, the symptoms of this disease are quite common in numerous other illnesses and diseases, including stress.

Nevertheless, there really are people who do have recurring symptoms whenever they are around specific environmental chemicals. Here are some common products known to result in MCS and that have been pointed out by experts who say that MCS exists:

1. Latex paints, gloves and caulking

2. Pesticides bug sprays

3. Nitrogen dioxide from unvented gas stoves and heaters

4. Fragrances and dyes

5. Solvents in household cleansers, paints strippers and gasoline

6. Formaldehyde, which is found in carpeting, plywood, particle board and insulation

7. Household cleaners

8. Carbon monoxide from gas appliances

9. Dyes (especially dark blue) that are found in clothing, curtains, tablecloths, napkins, rags and furniture

10. Synthetic fabrics and materials

11. Lawn chemicals

12. Synthetic lemon, pine, floral, etc.

If you want to prevent MCS, then there are things that you can do to minimize your exposure. Within your own home, you can decide on the type of household products and cleansers that you can use. Learn how to read the labels. If you need to handle some of the products that contain chemicals, wear gloves. Minimise the use of fragrance.

It is to your advantage to get educated and informed about the harmful chemicals and the symptoms they can cause. Still, there is so much that you can do as you cannot control the products used outside your home such as in the office. You can of course help to teach those around about what you know about MCS and encourage them to use safer products.

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Technorati Tags: multiple chemical sensitivity, mcs, symptoms, signs, causes, toxic injury, ti, chemical sensitivity, cs, environmental illness, ei, chemical injury, ci, sick building syndrome, idiopathic environmental intolerance, iei, toxicant-induced loss of tolerance, tilt

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Add comment December 28th, 2007

Organic Fruits And Vegetables For Your Detox Diet

Naturopathic experts recommend adopting a detox diet to help clean and purge the body of toxic substances through the consumption of plant compounds that naturally occur in food. When your body is overloaded with too much toxins, you tend to suffer chronic symptoms like bad breath, bloating, gas, eczema, frequent migraines and more. You maximise the benefits of your cleansing regime when you use organic fruits and vegetables over regular produce for detoxification.

Organic fruits and vegetables are produced by purely natural methods. That means they are grown by farmers without using pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilisers. Regular produce tend to contain pesticides and toxic metals. Increasingly, more people are becoming aware that plants in regular commercial production usually get sprayed with pesticides. Additionally, toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, aluminium and mercury enter the soil through various pollution channels and get absorbed by the plants as well. Even after harvest, non-organic fruits are treated with more chemicals to hasten their ripening. Preservatives may also be added to prolong shelf life. All in all, regular produce which appears to be healthy and “fat”, can contain more chemicals than you possibly know of.

Additionally, there is also growing evidence that organically produced plant foods are more nutritious than conventionally grown food. A published research study reported that organic fruits (pears and apples), potatoes, and wheat showed higher nutrient content than their conventionally produced versions by a factor of 90 percent. Another study showed that antioxidants content in organic produce was 600 percent higher than conventionally grown food.

For organic fruits and vegetables, there are several that you can choose from. Apples make up one example of the best organic fruits for your detox diet that you can consume. They contain pectin, a bountiful source of fibre, which slows the absorption of naturally occurring sugar in the apple when you eat it whole. Therefore, you are not likely to get the sudden surge in blood sugar that often comes after eating junk like cakes and cookies.

Different detox diet programs prescribe different ways of eating organic fruits and vegetables; some by eating them whole, some by juicing and others, a combination. For whatever it is, all programs recommend that you use organic fruits and vegetables over regular produce.

If you want to feel better, then consider using only organically grown produce for detoxification and superior nutritional content. You can then derive maximum benefits from your detox diet. You may find that organic fruits and vegetables are more expensive, but the higher costs sure make up for the difference that you pay.

Technorati Tags: organic fruit, organic vegetables, detox, effective, food, organic food, organic, natural, healthy, tips

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Add comment November 25th, 2007

Some Thoughts About Detoxification

Even if you didn’t know anything about nutrition and you want to get your patients better, you would only need to focus on two things: Getting your patients off of processed and prepared foods (if it wasn’t available 100 years ago, or if it comes in a bottle, box or can-it probably isn’t good for you) and getting the toxins out of their bodies. These two things will help make most sick people better.

I realize that this article is read by many kinds of practitioners. But I would like to say something to the chiropractors out there. Some of the best healers I know are chiropractors. These folks are doctors who will learn anything and do anything to help a patient. There are, however, some chiropractors who are running a basic musculoskeletal practice who complain about insurance coverage shrinking and perhaps are not as busy as they would like to be.

These docs work hard to get their backache patients. They run ads, they go to street fairs, and some even offer discount coupons. Yet patients with allergies, asthma, colitis, thyroid problems, fatigue or other non-musculoskeletal complaint often are referred out. Some chiropractors feel that they cannot treat complaints other than back and neck pain, and their practices suffer-especially now that the insurance iceberg is melting.

Actually, getting chronically ill folks better will build a healthy practice. It will also create something that generates cash independent of insurance payments. You can detoxify your patients and get pretty good results with these and other complaints. Diet and detoxification is like hitting the reset button on the human body.

Detoxification is a great place to start. Enough people will get better that it will give you confidence. It will also create referrals. When you get someone who is sick and miserable better-they try to send you everyone they know. Treating a patient with nutrition is like deciding to walk from New York to LA. You don’t have to plot the exact course from the beginning-you just have to start to move Westward. Detoxification is a step in the right direction. It may get you all the way to LA. If it does not, you have time to come up with other approaches. At the very least, your adjustments will become more effective.

There are many kinds of detoxification programs. I will give the Biotics three step detoxification program a little plug here. Some practitioners reading this may prefer to do things differently-perhaps stressing alkalinity, fasting, or colon therapy. There are many ways to do detoxification. The thing that is good about the Biotics program is that it is easy-like following a road map. Also, patients can lead normal lives while following the program. It does not involve fasting or colonics.

I personally have had a good experience with it. On Thanksgiving one year I began to have terrible back pain. The pain went all the way into my foot and I could not do a heel walk or dorsiflex my foot. It was a holiday weekend-no docs around except for the ER. I began phase one of the detoxification. By Monday, I was out of pain.

I still had the drop foot. I went to a chiropractor and began to get adjusted- and I continued the detoxification. At the time I was running my practice and the practice of someone else who was in the hospital. I continued the detox, the adjustments and did some exercises and in six weeks I was able to do the heel walk. The pain was gone the whole time.

Some purists may like to do a detoxification differently, but the Biotics program was easy enough that I could continue to basically work two jobs and still stay on the program. Also, there is plenty of educational material and patient compliance is pretty good.

Technorati Tags: detoxification, pain, back, chiropractor, natural, healthy

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Add comment November 24th, 2007