Detox in a Toxic World, Part 1: Understanding Environmental Toxins and Their Impact on Health

May 25

Welcome to Our New Series: Detox in a Toxic World

Listen to the companion podcast episode on The Trip Lab: #30 – Detox in a Toxic World, Part 1: Understanding Environmental Toxins and Their Impact on Health

This piece is part of a new 5-part series called Detox in a Toxic World, where I’m taking a deeper, more evidence-based look at environmental toxins and health. I wanted to create this series because this topic is both real and wildly misunderstood. We now have meaningful research showing that many modern exposures can affect human biology in important ways, and at the same time, the conversation is too often dominated by fearmongering, oversimplification, and wellness misinformation.

This is the companion guide to my podcast series. My goal is for it to serve as a reference guide you can come back to after listening. A little something to help organize the bigger ideas, key mechanisms, and practical takeaways.

A roadmap to what is ahead:

Part 1: Understanding Environmental Toxins and Their Impact on Health
Part 2: Reducing Exposures to Toxins, Starting in the Home
Part 3: Supporting the Body’s Natural Detox Mechanisms
Part 4: An Evidence-Based Look at Detox Supplements and Protocols
Part 5: Digital Detox and the New Age of Toxins

This series is not intended to create perfection. It is an invitation to understand this topic with more clarity and perspective, so you can begin to focus on the exposures, patterns, and daily choices that truly shape health.

Why this topic matters

Environmental toxins are inevitably part of the modern biological landscape. They are embedded in the systems, materials, and products that shape daily life, and growing research suggests that many of these exposures are not inert. While the conversation is often distorted by fear or oversimplification, the broader reality is that toxins can influence health through some of the same core pathways that underlie chronic disease, including inflammation, oxidative stress, hormone disruption, mitochondrial strain, and immune dysfunction.

Part 1, what we will cover here, is meant to lay the foundation for the rest of the series. We’ll begin by reviewing the main mechanisms through which toxins affect the body, then move through the major categories of environmental toxins in modern life, from plastics and pesticides to mold-related toxins, heavy metals, and food additives. We’ll end by exploring why these exposures seem to affect some people far more than others, which is where this conversation becomes especially meaningful.

How toxins affect the body: the core biologic pathways

Oxidative stress and DNA damage

Oxidative stress happens when the body generates more damaging reactive molecules, or free radicals, than it can neutralize.
These molecules can damage cell membranes, proteins, mitochondria, and DNA.
Many toxins appear to act through this pathway, including pesticides, heavy metals, and plastic-associated chemicals.
In a 2025 study (PMID: 39978743) of children living in agricultural communities, researchers found higher levels of 8-OHdG, a biomarker of oxidative DNA damage, along with higher inflammatory markers.
Over time, oxidative stress and DNA damage may contribute to cancer risk, neuroinflammation, fertility issues, cardiovascular disease, and chronic metabolic dysfunction.

Endocrine disruption

Some chemicals can mimic hormones, block hormone receptors, alter hormone metabolism, or change hormonal signaling.
BPA can act like estrogen, phthalates can interfere with androgen signaling, and perchlorate can disrupt thyroid hormone production by blocking iodine uptake. (NIEHS, 2025)
Because hormones regulate reproduction, metabolism, mood, brain development, and immune signaling, endocrine disruption may show up as fertility issues, menstrual irregularity, thyroid dysfunction, metabolic problems, and hormone-sensitive cancers.

Metabolic dysfunction, obesogens, and mitochondrial dysfunction

Some environmental chemicals may act as obesogens, meaning they can disrupt weight regulation, insulin signaling, fat storage, and metabolism.
BPA, phthalates, and some PFAS have all been studied in this context.
Part of this may happen through mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria are the energy-producing structures inside our cells. When mitochondrial function is impaired, the body becomes less efficient at producing energy, handling glucose, burning fat, and regulating inflammation.
This may help explain why toxins can contribute not only to obvious toxicity, but also to fatigue, poor resilience, and chronic metabolic dysfunction.

Immune dysregulation and inflammation

Certain toxins can keep the immune system activated when it should not be, or disrupt how immune cells communicate and regulate inflammation.
PFAS, pesticides, and heavy metals have all been studied in this context.
Chronic inflammatory signaling can contribute to insulin resistance, vascular dysfunction, neuroinflammation, gut barrier disruption, and abnormal immune activation.
When immune tolerance starts breaking down, this becomes one reason toxins are discussed in relation to autoimmune disease.

Accumulation, the exposome, and total toxic burden

Most people are not dealing with one dramatic toxin exposure. They are dealing with low-dose, repeated exposures from many sources over years.
The exposome refers to the totality of environmental exposures a person experiences across life, along with the body’s response to them.
This is also where the idea of total toxic burden comes from: multiple exposures layered onto genetics, nutrition, infections, stress, and underlying physiology.
The bigger issue is often not one toxin in isolation, but the cumulative burden over time.

An Overview of Environmental Toxins

Plastics, Microplastics & Associated Chemicals

What they are: Tiny plastic fragments, generally smaller than 5 mm, that form as larger plastics break down over time with heat, sunlight, washing, friction, and wear. Plastics can also release associated chemicals as they degrade.
Examples: Polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, plus plastic-associated chemicals like BPA, phthalates, and PFAS.
Where they are found: Plastic bottles, food packaging, food storage containers, synthetic clothing, household dust, personal care products, receipts, and the air.
Microplastics have now been detected in a wide range of human tissues, and the concern is not just that they are present, but that they may be biologically active. The 2025 JAMA review notes that microplastics and plastic-associated chemicals can drive oxidative stress, DNA damage, inflammation, immune disruption, and endocrine effects, which helps explain why researchers are increasingly studying them in relation to cardiovascular, reproductive, neurologic, and metabolic health.
In a 2024 New England Journal of Medicine study, polyethylene was found in 58.4% of carotid artery plaques and PVC in 12.1%; plaques containing micro- and nanoplastics were associated with higher risk of heart attack, stroke, or death during follow-up.

Pesticides

What they are: Biologically active chemicals designed to kill weeds, insects, fungi, and other living organisms.
Examples: Organophosphates like chlorpyrifos, herbicides like glyphosate and paraquat, and older organochlorines like DDT.
Where they are found: Agriculture, lawn and garden care, pest control, residues on food, contaminated water, soil, dust, and air near treated areas.
Pesticides can increase oxidative stress, disrupt hormones, and directly affect the nervous system, which is why they come up in conversations around fertility, miscarriage risk, developmental issues, and certain cancers.
A UCLA-led study found that long-term residential chlorpyrifos exposure was associated with more than 2.5 times the risk of Parkinson’s disease; animal models in the same report showed dopamine neuron loss, movement problems, and brain inflammation.
*Organic means lower-pesticide and more tightly regulated, not pesticide-free. USDA organic standards prohibit most synthetic pesticides, but trace residues can still show up from environmental contamination or drift. Organic products generally cannot be sold as organic if prohibited residues exceed 5% of the EPA tolerance for that pesticide. And while those tolerances are meant to reflect safe exposure levels, they still do not fully account for the long-term reality of small repeated exposures, chemical mixtures, cumulative burden, and individual susceptibility.

Mycotoxins (& the mold toxicity question)

What they are: Toxic compounds produced by certain molds. In real life, “mold exposure” is often broader than one purified toxin and may include mold spores, fungal fragments, allergens, microbial compounds, and damp-building exposure overall.
Examples: Mycotoxins from molds such as Aspergillus, along with mixed damp-building exposures more broadly.
Where they are found: Water-damaged buildings, damp indoor environments, basements, bathrooms, HVAC systems, and sometimes contaminated foods.
The strongest and least controversial links are respiratory. Damp or moldy buildings are associated with respiratory symptoms, worsening asthma, allergic rhinitis, and other airway problems. WHO reports that occupants of damp or moldy buildings have up to a 75% greater risk of respiratory symptoms and asthma.
Broader systemic symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, and brain fog are biologically plausible and may be real for some people, but they are much harder to prove cleanly because they overlap with many other conditions and exposures.

Heavy Metals

What they are: Metals that can accumulate in the body and become toxic at higher levels or with repeated exposure over time. Overt toxicity is real and treated in conventional medicine.
Examples: Lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium. Lead and mercury have no known beneficial role in the body, while some other metals like iron, zinc, selenium, and copper are essential in the right amounts.
Where they are found: Contaminated water, old paint and pipes, industrial pollution, cigarette smoke, occupational settings, certain foods like large fish, and polluted soil or dust.
Lead is a cumulative toxicant that can affect the brain, kidneys, cardiovascular system, and reproductive system, and even low-level exposure can matter over time.
Long-term arsenic exposure has been linked to cancer, skin lesions, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and negative effects on cognitive development.
These exposures can also show up in everyday products. Clean Label Project reported that 47% of tested protein powders exceeded at least one federal or state safety threshold for heavy metals, and a 2026 Consumer Reports investigation also found concerning lead levels in many powders and shakes.

Food Additives, Synthetic Dyes & Emulsifiers

What they are: Additives used to improve appearance, taste, texture, shelf life, or stability in processed foods. This includes artificial colorings, preservatives, emulsifiers, and flavoring systems.
Examples: Synthetic dyes like Red No. 3, preservatives, emulsifiers, and broad labeling categories like “natural flavors.”
Where they are found: Candy, cereal, packaged snacks, drinks, ultra-processed foods, baked goods, sauces, and many convenience foods.
*“Natural flavors” means flavor compounds derived from natural sources, but it does not mean the product is minimally processed or that the label will tell you exactly what those compounds are.
Red No. 3 was revoked by the FDA in 2025 because it had been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals, which triggered the Delaney Clause.
Emulsifiers are increasingly being studied for effects on the gut microbiome, intestinal permeability, and inflammation. A placebo-controlled randomized trial published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology found measurable effects of certain dietary emulsifiers on inflammation, permeability, and the microbiome.

*A note on seed oils: Seed oils are not really an environmental toxin in the same category as pesticides or heavy metals, but they are worth mentioning because they are so heavily demonized online. Seed oils include soybean, corn, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, grapeseed, and canola oil. The more accurate issue is balance, not elimination. Omega-6 fats are essential, but modern diets are often too high in omega-6 and too low in omega-3. Reviews have found that higher linoleic acid intake is associated with lower coronary heart disease risk, and typical seed oil intake does not appear to increase inflammation or oxidative stress in humans. The issue arises when we consume too much seed oils with fried foods or ultra-processed foods.

Why are some people are more vulnerable to toxins than others?

One of the most important questions in this entire conversation is this: if these exposures are so widespread, why do some people seem relatively unaffected while others develop fatigue, hormone disruption, autoimmune disease, infertility, neurologic symptoms, or more serious illness?

The answer is that it is not just about the toxin itself. It is also about the body it lands in. Genetics, nutrition, hormones, gut health, stress load, cumulative exposure, and overall biologic resilience all shape how a person responds. The same exposure can have very different effects depending on the terrain. And here are a few reasons why:

Genetics and detox enzyme variation: Some people may have differences in methylation, antioxidant defense, inflammatory signaling, or detoxification pathways that make them more vulnerable to environmental exposures.

Age and developmental window: Timing matters. Exposures during pregnancy, infancy, childhood, puberty, and other sensitive windows can have outsized effects because the brain, hormones, and immune system are still developing.
Body burden and cumulative exposure: Sometimes it is not one toxin, but many low-dose exposures layered over time. That cumulative burden can gradually push the body closer to dysfunction.
Nutritional status: Nutrient status influences resilience. Lower levels of nutrients involved in antioxidant defense, mitochondrial function, and detoxification may make exposure harder to tolerate.
Gut integrity and microbiome: A more vulnerable gut barrier or disrupted microbiome may increase inflammation, alter immune signaling, and make some people more reactive to environmental stressors.
Hormonal status: Puberty, pregnancy, postpartum, and perimenopause can all shift how the body responds to toxins because hormones influence metabolism, immunity, detoxification, and inflammation.
Concurrent viral or inflammatory load: If the body is already dealing with chronic inflammation, immune activation, or a lingering viral burden, an environmental exposure may hit harder.
Prior mitochondrial dysfunction: If mitochondrial function is already impaired, the body may have less reserve to tolerate toxins that increase oxidative stress or metabolic strain.
Socioeconomic and environmental injustice: Not everyone is exposed equally. Housing quality, pollution burden, work conditions, access to food, and access to healthcare all shape both exposure and resilience.
Stress physiology and allostatic load: Chronic stress changes the body. Over time, it can alter immune function, inflammation, metabolism, and detoxification capacity, making some people more biologically vulnerable.

Final Thoughts

My goal with this series is not to create fear, but to offer a more honest and complete picture of how environmental toxins fit into modern health. We do not need to be perfect, and we cannot eliminate every exposure. But we are also not powerless. There is a great deal we can do to better understand our environment, reduce the exposures that matter most, and support the body in practical ways. Once we see the bigger picture more clearly, we can start making more informed choices without needing to do everything at once.

In the next part of this series, we are going to shift from understanding the problem to doing something about it: reducing exposures to toxins, starting in the home. We will look at the home as a health ecosystem, and talk through the spaces, products, and everyday patterns that may be shaping our health more than we realize, along with realistic ways to start creating a lower-toxin, more supportive environment.