dioxins | Health Topics | NutritionFacts.org

33 videos

Topic summary contributed by volunteer(s): Crystal

Dioxins are persistent environmental pollutants that can also be found in our food supply. These pollutants can persist for years in our bodies. Those eating plant-based diets appear to have the lowest levels of dioxins and other industrial pollutants. Phytonutrients found in plant foods may protect against the toxic effects of dioxins through the Ah receptor system.

Most human dioxin exposure comes from eating fish such as salmon and tuna. Farmed fish have more dioxins than wild caught. In fact, human biomarkers for fish consumption now include dioxins, PCBs, and mercury. The negative health effects of dioxins and other pollutants in fish may outweigh any benefit from omega-3’s. Dioxins found in fish may be linked to increased risk of atrial fibrillation, lower sperm count and semen quality, diabetes, cancer, and impaired child neurobehavioral development. We may also be exposed to dioxins through the consumption of chicken, meat, dairy, and eggs. Dioxins found in chicken may explain the link between chicken consumption and cancer.

The information on this page has been compiled from the research presented in the videos listed. Sources for each video can be found by going to the video’s page and clicking on the Sources Cited tab.

All Videos for Dioxins

Assortment of whole food plant-based foods

Fasting to Detox

How might we help flush the pollutants stored in our fat that come spilling out into our bloodstream during weight loss?

Two people evaluating a medical file

A Case of Stage 3 Cancer Reversal with Fasting

I go over a case report of water-only fasting, followed by a whole food, plant-based diet for follicular lymphoma.

a bowl filled with grains and beans

Animal Protein vs. Plant-Based Protein

I discuss a public health case for modernizing the definition of protein quality.

image of a brain floating off in pieces

Pesticides (DDT) and Alzheimer’s Disease

How can we avoid the breakdown product of pesticides that may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease as much as if you carried APOE e4, the so-called Alzheimer’s gene?

Multigrain cereals with fresh berry

Ochratoxin in Breakfast Cereals

One of the few food contaminants found at higher levels in those eating plant-based diets are mycotoxins, fungal toxins in moldy food ingredients, such as oats.

The Human Health Effects of Cultivated Meat: Chemical Safety

The Human Health Effects of Cultivated Meat: Chemical Safety

More than 95 percent of human exposure to industrial pollutants like dioxins and PCBs comes from fish, other meat, and dairy.

Avoiding Fish for 5 Years Before Pregnancy

Avoiding Fish for 5 Years Before Pregnancy

The problem with fish advisories that tell pregnant women to cut down on fish is that it may be too late for certain persistent pollutants.

Are Microplastics in Seafood a Cancer Risk?

Are Microplastics in Seafood a Cancer Risk?

Plastic particles may exacerbate the pollutant contamination of fish.

Is Organic Meat Less Carcinogenic?

Is Organic Meat Less Carcinogenic?

Researchers tested 76 samples of different kinds of organic and conventional meats for 33 different carcinogens.

various grilled meats

Carcinogens in Meat

What are the eight preparation methods to reduce exposure to carcinogens in cooked meat?

Where Does the Arsenic in Chicken Come From?

Where Does the Arsenic in Chicken Come From?

What was the National Chicken Council’s response to public health authorities calling for the industry to stop feeding arsenic-based drugs to poultry?

The Role of Poultry Viruses in Human Cancers

The Role of Poultry Viruses in Human Cancers

Does a cancer-causing herpes virus in chickens pose a public health threat?

pot of bone broth

Lead Contamination in Bone Broth

Organic chicken broth is popular with paleo diet advocates, but do tests indicate the presence of the toxic heavy metal lead?

Should Vegan Women Supplement with DHA During Pregnancy?

Should Vegan Women Supplement with DHA during Pregnancy?

I recommend all pregnant and breastfeeding women follow the consensus guidelines to get about 200mg of preformed DHA from a pollutant-free source.

Flame Retardant Pollutants and Child Development

Flame-Retardant Pollutants and Child Development

PBDE fire-retardant chemicals in the food supply may contribute to attention and cognitive deficits in children.

fruits and veggies in a science lab

Are the Benefits of Organic Food Underrated or Overrated?

If we increased our consumption of conventionally-produced fruits and vegetables, how much cancer would be prevented versus how much cancer might be caused by the additional pesticide exposure?

illustration of a sperm on black background

Dairy Estrogen and Male Fertility

Sex steroid hormones in meat, eggs, and dairy may help explain the link between saturated fat intake and declining sperm counts.

Dioxins in U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish

Dioxins in U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish

Feed contaminated with toxic pollutants thought to originate from sewer sludge fed to chickens and fish results in human dioxin exposure through poultry, eggs, and catfish.

Pollutants in Salmon and Our Own Fat

Pollutants in Salmon and Our Own Fat

Farmed Atlantic salmon, the kind of salmon most commonly found in restaurants and supermarkets, may be the single largest source of toxic dietary pollutants.

Diabetes and Dioxins

Diabetes and Dioxins

Industrial pollutants that build up in our own body fat may help explain the link between obesity and diabetes.

Fish and Diabetes

Fish and Diabetes

The relationship between fish consumption and diabetes risk may be due to toxic pollutants that build up in the aquatic food chain.

California Children Are Contaminated

California Children Are Contaminated

The levels of arsenic, banned pesticides, and dioxins exceeded cancer benchmarks in each of the 364 children tested. Which foods were the primary sources of toxic pollutants for preschoolers and their parents?

How Long to Detox from Fish Before Pregnancy?

How many months does it take to clear 99% of the mercury and other industrial toxins from one’s body, and what role might our fat stores play in holding on to fat-soluble pollutants?

Counteracting the Effects of Dioxins Through Diet

Counteracting the Effects of Dioxins Through Diet

Phytonutrients in certain plant foods may block the toxic effects of industrial pollutants, like dioxins, through the Ah receptor system.

Male Fertility & Diet

Dioxins, endocrine disrupting pollutants, heavy metals, saturated fat, and steroids in the meat supply may be affecting sperm counts, semen quality, and the ability of men to conceive.

Lowering Dietary Antibiotic Intake

Lowering Dietary Antibiotic Intake

What a few days eating vegetarian can do to the levels of antibiotics and phthalates flowing through one’s body.

Plants vs. Pesticides

Plants vs. Pesticides

Phytonutrients found in certain foods may protect against the toxic effects of industrial pollutants such as dioxin and DDT, suggesting a dual role for plant-based diets to reduce both exposure and subsequent damage.

Food Sources of Flame-Retardant Chemicals

Other than pet food and fish (which may be most contaminated), how do fire-retardant chemicals (PBDEs) and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) concentrate in the American food supply?

Red Fish, White Fish; Dark Fish, Atrial Fibrillation

Red Fish, White Fish; Dark Fish, Atrial Fibrillation

The consumption of dark fish (such as salmon, swordfish, bluefish, mackerel, and sardines) may increase our risk of atrial fibrillation—an irregular heartbeat rhythm associated with stroke, dementia, heart failure, and a shortened lifespan.

Chicken Dioxins, Viruses, or Antibiotics?

Chicken Dioxins, Viruses, or Antibiotics?

The association between poultry and cancer may be explained by the presence in chickens’ and turkeys’ flesh of industrial carcinogens such as dioxins, oncogenic (cancer-causing) viruses, and/or the drugs that were fed to the birds.

young boy covering his face against orange background

Preventing Childhood Allergies

What is responsible for the rising prevalence of atopic diseases, such as food allergies, asthma, hay fever, and eczema?

Mercury in Vaccinations vs. Tuna

Mercury in Vaccinations vs. Tuna

Balancing the risks and benefits of fish consumption.

Farmed Fish vs. Wild-Caught

Farmed Fish vs. Wild-Caught

The levels of industrial pollutants found in aquaculture.

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