Neurotoxins can damage the brain and nerves.
Neurotoxins, natural or man-made agents that damage the brain and nerves, can cause a long list of ailments, both as direct side effects and as precursors to a variety of neurological diseases. Neurotoxins abound in our industrial environments, our food additives, and our everyday household products. Avoiding known sources of neurotoxins can prevent their debilitating effects, but in some cases unknowingly ingesting toxic substances leads to permanent chronic illness or death.
Neurotoxicity
According to Medications.com, neurotoxicity describes a condition that occurs when the human body comes into contact with certain substances that damage neurons, or nerve cells, throughout the central nervous system. Common neurotoxins include pesticides, industrial chemicals, cleaning supplies or even foods. Medical procedures such as transplants, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or certain drugs also involve some use of neurotoxic substances. Many neurotoxic substances play a role in our everyday lives. ScienceDaily has reported, for example, that the popular insect repellent known as DEET appears to be a nerve toxin.
Side Effects
The Mood & Energy Wellness website explains that toxins and other health problems cause an imbalance of neurotransmitters, the chemicals that regulate electrical signals throughout the body. Medications.com states that the side effects of this damage may take some time to present themselves. When they do, they can include mental or emotional changes, vision loss, weakness or numbness in the arms and legs, or sexual impairment. NeuroResearch Clinics, Inc. lists more than 1,100 known neurotoxins that lead to brain damage.
Relationship to Other Illnesses
In addition to debilitating side effects, neurotoxins can also instigate or worsen neurological diseases or syndromes. One neurotoxin, Clostridium botulinum, causes the muscle-paralyzing disease known as botulism, according to the Journal of Wildlife Diseases. NeuroResearch Clinics states that neurotoxins may induce Parkinson's disease, fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, attention-deficit disorder and other chronic illnesses. The Natural News website adds asthma, migraines and ALS to the list of illnesses with neurotoxic origins.
Treatment
Medications.com states that the principal treatment for neurotoxic disorders involves avoiding the toxic substance as much as possible. The Mayo Clinic, for instance, warns that pregnant women should reduce their intake of fish that might contain the neurotoxin mercury. NeuroResearch Clinics also recommends rebalancing the neurotransmitter levels to help the remaining healthy neurons counteract the side effects of the neurotoxin. Treatment does not always lead to complete recovery, however, and extreme exposure to some neurotoxins can result in death.
Considerations
According to NeuroResearch Clinics, the occurrence of neurotoxin-related illnesses in the United States has directly paralleled the country's industrial boom, and the incidence of these diseases will continue to climb as industries and consumers pump more chemicals into the environment. Meanwhile, as the Natural News website points out, grocery shoppers and restaurant diners risk consuming food additives such as monosodium glutamate, maltodextrin, conditioning agents and other common ingredients. Yet while one in four of these consumers experiences neurotoxic side effects from these additives, only one out of every 250 realizes that the cause of their afflictions may lie hidden in their food and drink, Natural News reports.
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