Environmental Medicine Boosts the Immune System

As people begin to venture out into a masked world it is the immune system that is going to need masking as well. With all that is happening regarding public health, so few are talking about not only boosting the immune system but how environmental medicine can be a mitigating factor. Before looking at antibodies and vaccines, shoring up our ability to defend against environmental pathogens should be front and center.

Utilizing the training of a professional naturopath to assess the influence of outside factors can be wholly empowering. Few realize how surrounding industrial as well as natural elements can play an essential role on immune system response, particularly in today’s health climate. Whether it is maintaining a home in the far expanse of rural America to living shoulder to shoulder in a dense city, there is always something to consider in our environment that can affect quality of life.

Environmental medicine looks at ways one can protect, prevent, and perfect how living in a world with so many unseen risks doesn’t have to make us so vulnerable to health compromises.

Toxin Data

Living in a modern society it is inevitable that some form of pollution will make its way into the biology of humans. In the summary of a 2019 study by researchers at the University of Rochester it was stated that,

“New research shows that maternal exposure to a common and ubiquitous [found everywhere] form of industrial pollution can harm the immune system of offspring and that this injury is passed along to subsequent generations, weakening the body’s defenses against infections such as the influenza virus.”

This detection alone shows how the human system deals daily with one of many pending pollutants. By identifying what may be a surrounding risk, an Environmental Medicine assessment can determine the best course of action for an individual to utilize.

Foundational Medicine Review describes environmental medicine,

“Environmental medicine, [] focuses specifically on the development of chronic illnesses, congenital defects, or abnormal physiological functions that people are likely to experience as a result of contaminants or toxins which are highly prevalent in the modern lifestyle…Environmental Medicine studies pollutants as they occur in populations. This means that Environmental Medicine can trace the population-level pathologies or physiological deviancies associated with exposure to pollutants so as to make public health policy recommendations as well as consumer protection recommendations.”

Using EM to Line Up Remedies

Through visual clues as well as a good blood workup, Environmental Medicine can be applied to formulate a detailed naturopathic remedy protocol. The Scientific World Journal explored chelation, a process where certain compounds can bind themselves to heavy metals in the body and harmlessly extract them. Remedies (as food or supplements) explored in this study by researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute included:

• Taurine and methionine (sulfur containing amino acids) – Decrease oxidative stress markers resulting from heavy metal exposure
• Cilantro (leaves of Coriandrum sativum) – A popular culinary and medicinal herb, gained attention when a soup was reported to enhance mercury excretion following dental amalgam removal
• Alpha lipoic acid – A powerful antioxidant that regenerates other antioxidants (e.g., vitamins E and C, and reduced glutathione) and has metal-chelating activity.
• N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) – A chelator of toxic elements and may stimulate glutathione synthesis, particularly in the presence of vitamins C and E
• Selenium – The selenide ion forms an extremely stable, insoluble compound with mercury, and provides relief of mercurialism symptoms
• Dietary fibers – From various food products, including bran from grains as well as fruit, have been evaluated as an alternative or adjunct [add-on] to chelation therapy with the aim to interrupt enterohepatic [liver movement] recirculation and to modulate intestinal flora, with findings of reduced levels of mercury in the brain and blood

Case Studies

To give an idea of how a practitioner of Environmental Medicine may approach a patient, there are some case studies that explain the process. These are some examples posted by the Harvard School of Public Health:

“A 66-year-old man suffered the symptoms of severe lead poisoning for 2 years before diagnosis. The man had a blood lead level (PbB) on admission to hospital of 98 microg/dL. A detailed investigation revealed that the poisoning occurred as a result of drinking a homemade red wine, for which analyses showed a lead concentration up to 14 mg/L–70 times the Australian maximum limit for lead in wine.”

“A 34-year-old male laboratory worker suffered from asthenospermia [low sperm motility] and fertility problems…He was suspected of having been exposed to solvents used at work due to a malfunction of the ventilation system…A laboratory walk-through and air and bulk sample collection were performed to determine the possible exposure levels of chemical hazards in his job…It was found that the worker was possibly exposed to chloroform at levels of 10 or 50 times higher than the permissible exposure”

Before falling into the pharmaceutical labyrinth of medicines designed to quell symptoms, Environmental Medicine may be a good way to determine a possible outside cause.This approach can either help one heal themselves and avoid toxic surroundings naturally or, if conventional medicine must intercede, at least understand the reason particularly for unexplained symptoms. At Integrative Med Solutions, we will design an Environmental Medicine treatment program that works for you either in person or through digital, telemedicine communication. In many cases, insurance covers portions of the treatment. Allow us to support you to achieve optimal health. To make an appointment or find out more about how acupuncture and naturopathic medicine can benefit you, please call our office at 914-337-2980 or Click Here to schedule an online appointment.

*Please Click Here to see a current list of insurance companies that commonly carry acupuncture benefits for its members. For more info, please call 914-337-2980 or securely email us at info@intmedsolutions.com.

Best in health from Integrative Med Solutions.