LEAD
 R.A.S HEMAT, MB;BCh, FRCSI, Dip.Urol.UCL.
Many lead compounds dissolve in water and act as neurotoxins. Lead is used in petrol to improve the octane rating. Despite reductions in the use of lead in petrol (gasoline) and paint, overall lead production continues to grow. Lead still mined, smelted, and used for a variety of purposes including plumbing, paint pigments, cosmetics, medicine, glazes, food sweeteners, and wine stabilisers. Lead is a probable human carcinogen.
- Lead poisoning remains a reality for a disturbingly high number of individuals, especially children (at highest risk-are infants, children up to six years, and foetuses). Foetuses have no metabolic or anatomical barrier to lead uptake. There are two ways by which most lead poisoning occurs: ingestion and, to a lesser extent, inhalation. Bone and teeth store lead in different ways, which affect the rate at which the lead is resorbed into the rest of the body. The quantity absorbed increases significantly under fasting conditions and with iron or calcium deficiency. The body accumulates this metal over a lifetime, so even small doses, over time, can cause lead poisoning. No amount of lead is safe for a child.
Lead is correlated with antisocial behaviour and delinquency in young boys. A significantly high concentration of lead is present in soils near inner-city homes due to lead-based paint. Lead continues to exist in large quantities in paint, dust, dirt, drinking water, food, and tableware. It has also been found in varnishes and pigment inks, hair dyes, anti-fouling paints, waterproofing materials, insecticides, solder, gasoline in certain countries, pipes, plumbing fixtures, traditional folk remedies, and cosmetics. Low levels of lead occur naturally in soil. People employed in lead smelting, metal foundries, battery manufacturing, salvage, radiator repair, painting, and construction are at greatest risk for exposure to dangerous levels of lead. Children of lead-exposed construction workers are 6 times more likely to have high blood-lead levels.
Factors affecting the amount of lead leaching from plumbing include the water's relative pH and mineral content. Lead exposure can stem from the use of folk remedies like azarcon and greta-also known as liga, Maria Luisa, alarcon, coral, and rueda. Molten lead can be used in casting toy soldiers, leaded solder is used in making stained glass (in the frames), leaded glazes are used in making pottery, and artists' paints may contain lead. Furniture refinishing may also result in lead exposure. Twenty-two brands of supplements and antacids may contain lead. Some hair dyes contain lead at levels up to ten times the amount permitted to household paints. The lead residue remaining on the hands of users, faucets, hair dryers, sinks and other surfaces may get on the hands of children and into their mouths. These dyes, containing lead acetate, are called progressive because they work by slowly changing the user's hair colour over a period of several weeks.
The body burden of a substance may be the result of exposures from more than one source. The substance being measured may be a metabolite of another xenobiotic substance. Markers are not often substance specific. Every year, about 2000 new chemicals (toxins) is being released on the market, some not fully tested for their effect on the human body. Persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs) exist in the environment and food chain for a long time. Homotoxins are the basis of most diseases and the inability of the body to regulate their effects will lead to disease. The deeper a toxin or its effects have penetrated the body, the worse the degree of dysregulation. If the toxicity persists, it will be driven into the matrix phases, deposition and impregnation, and then followed by the cellular phases of degeneration and de-differentiation. In treating deeper levels of intoxication, it is important to first restore the autoregulatory system. Toxins may need to be prepared for excretion through a complex series of chemical processes, e.g., in the liver.
November, 2009
The information in this article has been excerpted from the following books:
WATER, by R.A.S. HEMAT.
Note: Permission is granted to copy and redistribute this document electronically as long as it is unmodified. This article may not be sold in any medium, including electronic, CD-ROM, or database, or published in print, without the explicit, written permission of Dr. R. A. S. Hemat.
Clinical Orthomolecularism Classroom
Dr. R.A.S HEMAT declares no conflicts of interest or financial interests in any product or service mentioned in this article, including grants, employment, stock holdings, gifts, or honoraria.
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