All earth’s populations are struggling with pollution. There are over 700,000 pollution related deaths a year, but what about your baby’s brain? Dr. Barbara Demeneix is a scientist and professor at the Sorbonne University, Paris, France. Dr B’s 40-year career focus has been on endocrinology with a particular investigation of the thyroid gland and its essential role in intelligence.
Dr. Demeneix discusses how contemporary thyroid health, especially in fetuses and babies, is under attack by today’s toxic environment. Dr. Demeneix’s book is called Toxic Cocktail. She shares how thyroid function, in both the pregnant mom and baby, are a major influence of the child’s IQ and brain function. In contrast, the thyroid gland is one of the most vulnerable tissues of the human body, affected severely by endocrine-disrupting pollutants in today’s chemical soup that we all eat, live and breathe.
There are many “action steps” that a pregnant woman can take in putting the new baby room together, in choice of self-care products, food choices and preparation, and even weight loss and detox protocols, to help protect your baby’s brain.
The last chapter of Dr. D’s book gives a list of to-dos for specific protection.
Toxic chemical exposure during pre-conception (before the egg and sperm come together), throughout pregnancy, and up to 3 years of age of your infant, are all “vulnerable windows” of exposure where chemicals that lurk in your home, air and water can damage your baby’s brain, health and immune system. This radio show should be heard and shared foreword to all those with children, grandchildren or planning to continue to grow their families.
Pesticides on commonly consumed inorganic foods, foam often found inside furniture or baby mattresses, flame-retardants in computers heated up from prolonged use, and on and on, put your child at increased risk of ADHD or Asperger’s syndrome or even obesity and cancer. Dr. D. explains the details of how this is possible.
These are real human health threats, yet, as Drs. D and B deliberate, at the same time Trump has just signed an EPA gag-order to deny the use of research to block more pesticide sales. The argument is that de-regulation creates more jobs. But it makes more people ill, especially children. California has the strictest environmental laws but has accomplished one of the most robust economies in the world. Dr. D shares how regulatory action can actually create more jobs.
We go on to discuss specific minerals that are protective against these environmental assaults. Dr. D warns about the “dangers” of relying solely on sea salt as your salt of choice. Sea salt is deficient in iodine and may be contributing to thyroid disorders as well as increasing human vulnerabilities of the thyroid gland to today’s toxic exposures. We also discuss “zinc fingers” and oral contraceptives. Birth control pills appear to be potentially increasing thyroid vulnerabilities to toxic exposures by causing zinc deficiency inside red blood cells. Two atoms of zinc, called “zinc fingers” are critical for all sex, thyroid and adrenal hormones to deliver their signals to genes effectively. This spurned possibly new research directions with some of Dr. D’s European cohorts with banked blood. That would be so cool.
Drs. D. and B. discuss the intimate role of the adrenal hormone cortisol with the thyroid hormones.
Dr. D. explains that thyroid dynamics are extremely complex. Wherever there is more complexity, more can go wrong and there can be more vulnerability to all these toxic interfaces.
We discuss the use of IQ air filters to come to the aid of the “gray matter “of your family. Click here for IQ airlifters. Click here for Dr. Demeneix’s new book, Toxic Cocktail.