Food Sources of Perfluorochemicals

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Where do DDT, hexachlorobenzene, PCBs, and perfluorochemicals (linked to thyroid disease) concentrate in the food supply?

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Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

What about perfluorochemicals, another persistent industrial pollutant, recently linked to thyroid disease?

Though the highest levels were found in the United States, China comes in #2. Where is exposure coming from? A little in dust and drinking water, but overwhelmingly meat and fish—though, of course, our infants get it mostly from us.

What about the dietary intake of PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in children and adults? Fish, fats, meat, cheese, eggs, dairy, poultry. Same sources for children.

What about DDT? Again, mostly fish—everything eventually kind of flows into the sea, though our children get a bit more DDT drinking milk than adults.

And for those aching for a little hexochlorobenzene, it’s conveniently packaged in these same foods.

How many pesticides do you think our children are potentially exposed to? Well, here’s the list, in alphabetical order. This is just up to A. Why don’t we just stop at T here.

How do these chemicals get into our food supply? We’ve so polluted our planet, now it just comes down in the rain, and can concentrate their way up the food chain.

Eight different pesticides were recently reported contaminating the snow-packed tips of the Rocky Mountains. If they’re contaminated, then everywhere’s contaminated.

So, the best we can do is eat as low on the food chain as possible—plant foods, preferably organic.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Image thanks to Tomasz Sienicki via Wikimedia

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

What about perfluorochemicals, another persistent industrial pollutant, recently linked to thyroid disease?

Though the highest levels were found in the United States, China comes in #2. Where is exposure coming from? A little in dust and drinking water, but overwhelmingly meat and fish—though, of course, our infants get it mostly from us.

What about the dietary intake of PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in children and adults? Fish, fats, meat, cheese, eggs, dairy, poultry. Same sources for children.

What about DDT? Again, mostly fish—everything eventually kind of flows into the sea, though our children get a bit more DDT drinking milk than adults.

And for those aching for a little hexochlorobenzene, it’s conveniently packaged in these same foods.

How many pesticides do you think our children are potentially exposed to? Well, here’s the list, in alphabetical order. This is just up to A. Why don’t we just stop at T here.

How do these chemicals get into our food supply? We’ve so polluted our planet, now it just comes down in the rain, and can concentrate their way up the food chain.

Eight different pesticides were recently reported contaminating the snow-packed tips of the Rocky Mountains. If they’re contaminated, then everywhere’s contaminated.

So, the best we can do is eat as low on the food chain as possible—plant foods, preferably organic.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Image thanks to Tomasz Sienicki via Wikimedia

Doctor's Note

In multiple videos I explore how an array of foods are contaminated with other industrial pollutants. See Food Sources of PCB Chemical Pollutants; and Food Sources of Flame Retardant Chemicals. Which fish is most contaminated? See Farmed Fish vs. Wild-Caught. In addition to eating as low as possible on the food chain, choosing organic can reduce our family’s pesticide exposure. See, for example, Can Pesticides Be Rinsed Off?

For further context, check out my associated blog posts: Protecting Our Babies From PollutantsCountering Dietary Pollutants & PesticidesApple Peels Turn On Anticancer Genes; and Fukushima Radiation and Seafood.

If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here. Read our important information about translations here.

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