Guess How Many Pounds of Pesticides
It’s Game Show time and they selected you from the audience to answer the first question of the day:
As estimated by the EPA, how many pounds of pesticides are used each year in the USA?
- 1 million pounds
- 10 million pounds
- 100 million pounds
- 1 billion pounds
I can see your thought process as you mentally consider the gravity of 1 million pounds of pesticides poured on our crops and fertilizing our lawns.
You can also imagine that 10 million pounds fertilizing our parks and golf courses, entering our environment, our food supply, and ultimately our bodies is an even graver reality.
If you guessed 100 million pounds, that is simply unthinkable.
However, the correct answer is… 1 billion pounds!
One billion pounds of pesticides are used each year in the USA—a number so large it’s beyond comprehension.
Some Pesticides Continue to Decline
The good news is that some toxic pesticides such as Organophosphates continue to decline, even though an estimated 33 million pounds are still in use. Organophosphates compounds are a diverse group of chemicals used in both domestic and industrial settings, especially as insecticides.
According to the CDC’s National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals these potent neurotoxins are still detected in most Americans and commonly found in our food.
Brenda Goodman’s explains in her article(1) on WebMD that pesticides, “…are of concern to both scientists and regulators because they work by irreversibly blocking an enzyme that is critical to nerve function in both insects and humans.”
“Even at relatively low levels, organophosphates may be most hazardous to the brain development of fetuses and young children. The EPA banned most residential uses of organophosphates in 2001, but they are still sprayed agriculturally on fruits and vegetables.”
“They’re also used to control pests like mosquitos in public spaces such as parks. They can be absorbed through the lungs or skin or by eating them on food.”
Genetically Modified Crops Using Pesticides
Broad-spectrum systemic herbicides such as Glyphosate are dramatically increasing in quantities. Glyphosate is a toxic weed killer prevalently used throughout the USA. It is also an ingredient in Monsanto’s RoundUp Ready genetically-modified crops.
These genetically-engineered crops include corn, soybeans and canola. You should completely avoid consumption of these food items.
One variety of RoundUp Ready corn was linked to tumors in rats according to a 2012 study.(2)
With an estimated 1 billion pounds of pesticides applied to U.S. farms, lawns and golf courses exactly what is our exposure risk?
Farm workers, pesticide applicators and communities near farms and golf courses carry the most risk. However, studies by the Centers for Disease Control show that we all carry pesticides in our bodies from environmental exposure including the food and water we consume.
We Are A Target for Toxic Assault
Unless we’re living “au naturelle” on a tropical island surrounded by pure ocean water, we must admit that through our food, air, water and clothing, we are a target for toxic assault. What can we do about this to protect ourselves and our families? The answer is quite simple—go organic and take infrared saunas regularly.
In their book Beyond Antibiotics, Drs. Michael A. Schmidt et al., state the following:
“Saunas are being used by some doctors to stimulate the release of toxins from the bodies of their patients. They have found that a lower temperature (105º-130ºF) sauna taken for a longer duration is most beneficial. These low temperatures stimulate a fat sweat, which eliminates toxins stored in fat, as opposed to the high temperature sauna, which encourages a water sweat.”
Sauna Is An Excellent Mode for Toxin Release
Dr. George Yu, Clinical Professor of Urology and Sex Hormones at George Washington University Medical Center and Researcher on internal fat accumulation of toxic chemicals states:
“We know that fat compartments hold huge amounts of toxins compared to the blood. The sauna is an excellent mode for the toxins to be released from the system.”
Regular detoxing keeps our toxic burden down to a manageable level. We do not want to reach the tipping point when the body reaches a state of serious illness and disease because the toxic overload has become too high.
An In-Home Infrared Sauna
The most direct pathway to eliminate chemicals and stored pesticides is through the skin. It does not overburden the liver and kidneys when they process these toxins. As a consequence, you will discover many other benefits of an infrared sauna. Among them, muscular and joint pain relief, improved heart health, stress reduction, deep relaxation, immune system support, and rejuvenated skin.
All of these benefits make an in-home sauna very appealing.
To modify the old saying, “An (organic) apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I would say “An infrared sauna session a day keeps the doctor away!”
Turn up the heat, and go for it! Make your home a wellness center. Have an infrared sauna for you, your family and friends.
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(1) Pesticide Exposure in Womb Linked to Lower IQ
(2) Gilles-Eric Séralini, et al., “Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize,” Food and Chemical Toxicology