Chris Lake is a neurodiverse native New Yorker who has worked with children with various developmental delays across the past two decades. He is the author of award-winning book "Help Your Toddler Meet Their Milestones: 101 Behavior Hacks."
We have a problem. We’re all exposed to an onslaught of toxins daily. In response, many of us are left feeling deflated and asking ourselves, “What I can do about it anyway?” It is truly a daunting task to face this reality. Every single day we face a borage of exposure to trace (and not so trace) amounts of toxins through the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and even the cosmetics we use. It’s exhausting to hear about yet another recall. Or worse yet, the lack of a recall for some common food despite testing positive for toxic heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, or mercury. From infant formula to baby food, to fruit juice, to Lunchables – we hear about food with toxins hitting the most vulnerable members of our families far too often. And many of these toxins are increasingly found to be linked to cancer, symptoms of Autism, ADHD, speech delays, and a variety of developmental delays in children.
The other problem?
There are two types of people we expect to protect us, and they both could be doing a better job. These types of people work in Big Business and Regulation. While big business prioritizes maximizing profit, they historically have done so with a reckless disregard for our health. On the other hand, Regulation typically avoids protecting public health if it means disrupting industry. More often than not, they will settle on a compromise that leans towards a better deal for Big Business than for the consumer. This combined effect allows food to be legally within government standards, despite serving a dose of poison that adds up over time. And depending on who is ingesting this poison, it can add up in big and nasty ways. Some common foods currently available in stores can raise blood lead levels in young children if ingested regularly over just one month. As per CDC standards, these elevated levels call for environmental testing, blood work, and reporting to local health departments. Undetected, these lead levels can cause brain damage that permanently alters a child’s life, their hearing, and even their ability to speak.
The good news on detox?
Evidence-based remedies exist. They simply lack a solid PR team. Certain options in a plant-based diet are rich in “micro magnets” that are really good at pulling metals free from the body and moving them out of our system. Unfortunately, research is not well funded, so the word gets out slowly. Additionally, most med schools provide less than 1% of lecture hours on diet and nutrition. This results in many doctors feeling not very confident discussing these options with patients. So, most opt not to. But does this mean that plant-based options and supplements are without value? No. It just means that we are slowly becoming aware of the promising potential of plants. Thankfully, there is an ever-increasing amount of research showing this.
The hold-up?
Big Business and Regulation create a very, very slow pathway to the inevitable conclusion. In the end, we will likely find out all that we suspect is hurting us, is in fact hurting us. What throws us off the scent is the slow pace of developing symptoms (for most). The nature of toxin accumulation is gradual and can go unnoticed or underestimated for quite some time. Developing young children are especially sensitive to these effects. For example, too much lead exposure might make a grown adult consistently forget where they put their keys. In comparison, it can make a toddler unable to ever learn how to use keys. Big difference. On top of this, because the toxic accumulation is gradual, parents are not usually able to pinpoint the source of the problem. Was it the lead in my kid’s Welch’s Concord Grape Juice that caused the speech delay? Was it the lead in their Lunchables that caused their ADHD? Did it start from the Gerber’s Rice Cereal I fed my infant every day? Or was it the heavy metals in the fast food I ate every week while I was pregnant? No matter what the answer is – if you didn’t know, it’s not your fault. However, someone knew. And they chose to disregard the harm. It’s their fault. Blame aside, the issue remains that we’re unwitting prey to so many purveyors of poison that can all hide behind working “legally within government standards.”
What does big business do?
Big Business has a crafty strategy. They spread misinformation. But they do so on the Ivy League level. Scientists and experts are hired to publish pro-industry research and declare existing scientific findings as “non-causal” or “inconclusive.” They also lobby and have reps join various policy-making councils to push regulations toward industry protective standards. What does this misinformation machine look like? It looks like “The Frank Statement,” The Tobacco Industry Research Committee, and Susan Goldhaber. If you’re not familiar with each, here’s a quick breakdown:
The Frank Statement, or “A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers” was widely published on January 4, 1954. It was printed simultaneously in over 400 newspapers in over 250 American cities reaching over 43 million people. The effect was the following:
It established a strategy of creating doubt about scientific health claims without actually denying any harm.
It helped tobacco companies fight against advertising bans by claiming their “commercial free speech” was being infringed upon.
It contributed to increased cigarette sales for years following its publication. From 1954 to 1961, annual cigarette sales actually rose from 369 billion to 488 billion as confidence in the safety of smoking was secured.
The Tobacco Industry Research Committee was created by Tobacco’s biggest brands as a public-facing “scientific” entity that researched links between smoking and health. Ultimately, it was run by a PR firm. It intentionally produced misinformation to successfully create doubt about smoking’s causal link to health concerns. This approach is cited as setting the new corporation playbook for distorting the scientific process.
Do you know just how long it took for the causal link to be established between smoking and lung cancer? From the very first research conducted by Isaac Adler in 1912 to the Surgeon General’s publication of “Smoking and Health” in 1964 – it took a whopping 52 years! Thanks in big part to a
misinformation campaign that extended the debate for a solid ten years. Over the decades, trillions of cigarettes would be sold in America. And that’s not a typo. Trillions.
Now fast forward 60 years and we have Susan Goldhaber, of the American Council on Science and Health. When Consumer Reports outlined the lead content currently found in Lunchables, Kraft Heinz turned to Susan for help. They used her article (not research) as proof their product is safe. However, this Toxicologist with 40 years of experience seems to only write articles that casts doubt on health concerns from Big Business practices, whether it is exposure to PFAS, arsenic, paint stripper, or this example of lead content in Lunchables. And while she is squarely to blame for the misinformation she puts out, the American Council on Science and Health is the bigger problem. They are a modern version of the Tobacco Industry Research Committee. And they are far from the only one. Many industry-backed groups create and widely publish misleading research to cast doubt on valid scientific findings. This tactic has been so effective that since the 1964 declaration linking tobacco products to cancer, not one other product has been officially recognized as directly causing any disease or illness. The flood of doubt-inducing studies makes it difficult to establish clear causal relationships between products and health issues.
What do regulations do?
As mentioned, industry protective standards are not based on health standards. It’s usually a compromise based on what requires the industries to change as little as possible. When health standards are set, they orbit around three concerns: Death, acute poisoning, and cancer. Little else is accounted for – even fertility loss or brain damage. They also expect the industry to “do the right thing” versus the European model of “guilty until proven innocent.” If you didn’t know, the European version of the FDA (for food) is the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This version of regulation requires companies to submit applications for their food before they can be authorized for sale in the EU market. Big businesses must also present supporting scientific evidence proving their safety. In comparison, the FDA does not usually require applications or research for food or drinks. Instead, the FDA sets standards that companies are expected to honor, but without any meaningful way to enforce non-compliance.
Their punitive power mostly boils down to fines. In the event a food product is found to be dangerous, recalls can be issued. However, most recalls are voluntary. In fact, the FDA has only ever issued a mandatory recall for food once, back in 2018, for kratom products that tested positive for Salmonella. Mind you, the FDA has had regulatory power all the way back since 1906. It had its current name since 1930. And in all that time, it stepped in to protect us from “contaminated food products” only once.
What choice do we have?
Not Much. But the few things that are available are really worthwhile. First is the “power of the purse.” We ultimately have the power to buy what we buy. So stop giving your money to companies you know are willing to sell you poison. They don’t deserve it. And they are willing to dishonor you, your family, and your children. The second choice we have is detox. Detox is not a cure. But detox can help.
Relieving some of the toxic load will free up the brain and body to have more energy, suffer less inflammation, think more clearly, have an improved mood and the list goes on. There are tiny helpers called polyphenols, phytochelatins, and more that are found naturally in plants. They are like magnets. On the molecular level, they have a strong affinity for toxic heavy metals and suck them right out of your body. Incorporating these into your diet can yield positive results. Of course, discuss this with your physician before starting any new health regimen. This article is not intended to replace medical advice.
Because we are so often bombarded with trace amounts of toxins every day, it may not be possible to escape them. The FDA literally says, “It is not possible to completely prevent lead from entering the food supply,” and we should believe them. But can we enter safeguards into our individual food supplies regardless? Of course we can! Plants such as cilantro, broccoli, and peppermint have polyphenols. And plants such as chlorella and spirulina are high in phytochelatins. There are thousands of research articles on chlorella chelating toxic heavy metals alone, not to mention these other green options. And side effects with plants are typically nonexistent or minimal, so long as moderation and proper dosage is applied.
If you thought it took a long time for a causal link to be found between smoking and cancer, you can expect a much longer timespan for “proving” medicinal value of plants. Sadly, there is little to no funding for such research. And we wait for med schools to increase the value of diet and nutrition in their course of study. In the meantime, two questions that we may need to lean into are simply: “Does this hurt?” or “Does this help?” I’m not convinced we necessarily need 52 years of research and 7,000 articles to once again prove what the first guy said was right. Maybe plants can work as medicine without us needing it to be a 100% perfect cure. Maybe we can take detox a bit more seriously, even if we don’t need an in-network referral to get our hands on the treatment. Maybe we can talk about detox more seriously, even if the medical community is not ready for the conversation. Let’s consider the possibility that if we successfully incorporate detox into our everyday lives, we can see a healthier future. As far as low-risk/high-reward options go, this one is really accessible. All the more reason to give it a shot.
Chris Lake, Early Childhood Development Analyst
Chris Lake is a neurodiverse native New Yorker who has worked with children with various developmental delays across the past two decades. He is the author of award-winning book "Help Your Toddler Meet Their Milestones: 101 Behavior Hacks." Through his parent consulting brand – Behavior Booster – he offers content on social media, hosts parent workshops, and provides educational materials that further help with understanding milestones, how to reach them, and how to navigate around challenging behaviors. Chris Lake is dedicated to healing and transformation. His ultimate goal is to make parenting easier.
