SOCS-325 Week 5 Activity – Toxins in the Body

Week 5 Activity SOCS 325 Environmental Sociology Toxins in the body DeVry University Exercise: List some of the toxins that persist in t he human body, and the potential sources of those toxins in your environment. What are the substances that your body comes into contact with during a normal day? Make up a dialogue between your body and your environment and submit a paper. The paper must be double spaced, minimum two-pages in length, and in APA format. In our everyday lives, we are in contact with many sort of toxins. These toxins come from the food we eat, the water we drink, the environment we live in and surround us, the beauty and personal care products we use and finally stress that affect us. Environmental Gases Each day, millions of particles are released in the atmosphere. Whether it’s from cars or industries, we still manage to breathe and get them into our body. Several studies conducted have shown that a person living in medium to big cities will have their life expectancy shortened by 1 to 2 years. Because of those poisonous gases, human body is exposed to deadly toxins such as benzene coming from gasoline, perchlorethlyene emitted from some dry cleaning facilities and methylene chloride, used as a solvent and paint stripper by a number of industries. These chemicals and gases can lead to respiratory diseases. Finally, we can’t forget cigarettes that contain an enormous quantity of toxins and chemicals which cause heart and respiratory diseases as well. Food and water Large amounts of chemicals come from food. In order to produce fruits and vegetables, pesticides and herbicides are used therefore found in our daily food. Processed foods contain hormones that affect the human body activity and affect its normal functioning. Human body is composed of 70% water and it is essential to drink 2 to 3 liters per day for hydration, liver filtration and so forth. By drinking tap water or bottled water, chemicals penetrate the human body and can cause serious problems. Pharmaceuticals and prescribed drugs are found in water such as antibiotics, anti-depressants, birth control pills, cancer treatments, pain killers, tranquilizers and cholesterol-lowering compounds. These facts are astonishing. And because we can’t live without plastic, bottled waters also release toxins. Beauty, personal care products and housekeeping Chemicals are also found in soap, shampoo, toothpaste, body lotion, cosmetics that penetrate skin and absorbed by our body. It is unfortunate to know that the products we use to clean ourselves and look better have a negative impact on aging and skin. Household cleaning products contain the largest amount of chemicals such as bleach, ammonia may cause nausea, skin problems, fluid in the lungs and more harm. Stress and negative thinking Majority of illness and disease is due to stress. Stress kills healthy bacteria in our body and replace it by negative ones that can affect our immunity system. Having positive thinking and believing in good things can help fight obesity, sleep dysfunction, heart disease. Several studies have proven that stress has a direct correlation with health problems. References Agnvall, E. (2014, November). Stress! Don't Let It Make You Sick. Retrieved from American Association of Retired Persons: