persistent organic pollutants

75 videos

Topic summary contributed by volunteer(s): Linda

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemical substances that persist in the environment and bio-accumulate through the food web. POPs may be linked to a range of health concerns, including endometriosis, gum disease, fibrosis, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular mortality. Those eating plant-based diets may be significantly less polluted with industrial toxins than omnivores.

Fish may be the biggest source of POPs for consumers along with milk. Farmed Atlantic salmon, the kind of salmon most commonly found in restaurants and supermarkets, may be the single largest food source of POPs. Perflurochemicals, which may enter the body mostly through meat and fish, may be linked to thyroid disease risk. It can take the body as long as 10 years to get rid of about one-half of certain ingested POPs such as dioxins and PCBs.

All Videos for Persistent Organic Pollutants

How Much Microplastic Is Found in Fish Fillets?

How many plastic particles per serving have been found in the fish muscle itself?

Are Microplastics in Seafood a Cancer Risk?

Plastic particles may exacerbate the pollutant contamination of fish.

Microplastic Contamination and Seafood Safety

Microplastic Contamination & Seafood Safety

Can ingested plastic particles from fish get into our bloodstream?

Is Organic Meat Less Carcinogenic?

Researchers tested 76 samples of different kinds of meat, both organic and conventional, for 33 different carcinogens.

Carcinogens in Meat

Eight preparation methods to reduce exposure to carcinogens in cooked meat.

Heavy Metal Urine Testing and Chelation for Autism

Heavy Metal Urine Testing & Chelation for Autism

Is testing for body burden of heavy metals like mercury with “urine mobilization tests,” “challenge tests,” “provoked urine tests” just a scam?

The Best Diet for Fibroids

The same diet that helps regulate hormones in women may also reduce exposure to endocrine-disrupting pollutants.

Which Brands and Sources of Rice Have the Least Arsenic?

Which Brands & Sources of Rice Have the Least Arsenic?

Arsenic levels were tested in 5800 rice samples from 25 countries.

Cancer Risk from Arsenic in Rice and Seaweed

Cancer Risk from Arsenic in Rice & Seaweed

A half-cup of cooked rice a day may carry a hundred times the acceptable cancer risk of arsenic. What about Maine coast seaweed?

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?

How Our Gut Bacteria Can Use Eggs to Accelerate Cancer

The reason egg consumption is associated with elevated cancer risk may be the TMAO, considered the “smoking gun” of microbiome-disease interactions.

Best Food to Counter the Effects of Air Pollution

There is a food that offers the best of both worlds—significantly improving our ability to detox carcinogens like diesel fumes and decreasing inflammation in our airways—all while improving our respiratory defenses against infections.