For many health-conscious people, choosing to eat organic or avoiding heavily processed foods is a natural choice. But researchers have found people are still subject to chemical exposure from other non-dietary environmental sources.
What's happening?
A study published in Environment International found that even people living far from farms were exposed to chemicals from pesticides they did not consume. Volunteers wore silicone bracelets for a week that measured their pesticide exposure. Pesticides were found on every wristband. The volunteers averaged 20 different types of pesticides on their wristbands.
"We were shocked," said Khoji Wesselius, who was found to have exposure to eight different pesticides through his skin and even more chemicals found through tests of his blood, urine, and stool, per the Guardian.
"What's most surprising is that we cannot avoid exposure to pesticides: They are in our direct environment, and our study indicates direct contact," Paul Scheepers, a toxicologist at Radboud University and co-author of the study, told the Guardian.
Why is pesticide exposure important?
Pesticides have been used to help farmers around the world produce more food in less space. But according to the National Institutes of Health, their use has also been linked to "cancers, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, birth defects, and reproductive disorders."
This is only the latest example of chemicals being found in our bodies. Researchers in Germany showed that PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, could reduce the activity of human immune cells. Another study analyzing the urine of patients found the presence of many different kinds of microplastics.
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What's being done about pesticides?
Choosing to eat organic foods and avoiding chemical pesticides is still the best way to avoid extensive contamination. Concerned citizens can also take local action and become more involved in their communities. People can also choose climate-friendly candidates who understand the intense pressures on our environment.
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