You’ve heard me tell you to watch what you put into your body.

But what you put into your body isn’t just limited to what you eat and drink. Many of the toxins we’re exposed to gain entry through our environment.

And some environments are more hazardous than others.

A new study shows that regular on-the-job exposure to pesticides increases your risk for Parkinson’s disease.

The study, published in June in the Annals of Neurology, doesn’t identify the cause of Parkinson’s so much as a risk factor that we all need to be aware of – especially those of us who work around these chemicals.

French researchers followed 800 adults, some with Parkinson’s disease and somewithout, who worked on farms and in the course of their jobs were exposed to fungicides, herbicides and insecticides.

While the researchers found an increased risk between occupational exposure to pesticides and the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, the highest risk came among those who worked around insecticides, especially organochlorine insecticides such as DDT.

In fact, men who worked with organochlorine insecticides had twice the risk as men with no on-the-job exposure. Even more significantly, the Parkinson’s risk increased as a worker’s exposure to these chemicals increased.

The study did not look at any impact pesticides around the home may have on Parkinson’s risk.

This is not the first study to come up with this kind of link.

Lab research, including a study published in Nature Neurscience back in 2000, has found that rats injected with the insecticide rotenone are more likely to develop an animal equivalent of the disease.

The French researchers say the overall risk of getting Parkinson’s is still small, even among workers exposed regularly to insecticide.

But if you’re concerned about risk factors, this one is hard to ignore. If you work with these chemicals, limit your direct exposure as much as possible and follow all the proper safety procedures when handling them. When you do this kind of work for a living, there’s always a danger of complacency, so remain vigilant.

For the rest of us, it’s a good time to take a look at everything we’re exposed to on a regular basis, especially those chemicals you’ve been around so much you’ve stopped noticing them.

Toxins can cause a number of illnesses, diseases and conditions, and the challenge isn’t just identifying them – but avoiding them, day after day.

Most folks know that being overweight isn’t healthy, and being obese is even worse.

But not everyone realizes just how deep those problems can run, going well beyond the obvious conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

For women, new research shows that obesity is a risk factor for endometrial cancer, which occurs in the innermost lining of the uterus.

While past studies have found a correlation between weight and this type of cancer in pre-menopausal and postmenopausal women, the latest study is the first to find a risk in younger women, too – especially those who experienced early menopause.

The study, published in the July issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, found a dramatic increase in the risk of endometrial cancer in women with a body-mass index greater than 25.

A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is generally considered normal. A BMI of 25-29.9 is overweight, while 30 or greater is considered obese.

The most frightening statistic concerned women with a BMI greater than 35 who were under 45 years old at the time of their last period. The researchers found that they were 22 times more likely to develop endometrial cancer than women with healthy weight levels.

That’s not just a jump in risk – that’s a launch into the atmosphere. And all for something that is entirely within your control, no matter what your gender: weight.

The risk extends to other groups of overweight women, too.

Women with a BMI greater than 25 who had their last menstrual cycle before the age of 45 had a six-fold increase in the risk for endometrial cancer, while women who were older than 45 at the time of their last period and had a BMI greater than 35 were 3.7 times more likely to get endometrial cancer.

In every case, those extra pounds seem to play a major role in the risk for this cancer. Researchers believe that extra weight could be creating a hormonal imbalance, which makes sense to me. Obesity can play havoc with your body on so many levels, and your hormones are one area that can suffer.

The best thing you can do for yourself — for so many reasons — is to lose that weight. I know it’s not easy, and it doesn’t help when nearly every day of your life you’re being given bad advice about eating.

The low-fat Torture Chamber Diet being forced down everyone’s throat is a long-term recipe for disease and obesity. It’s literally killing us and making us sick in so many ways – this is just one of them.

So if you’re carrying around a few extra pounds, do something about it now – while you still can – regardless of your gender.

That means avoiding the carbs and processed foods that have become a staple of 21st century American life. It also means getting some steady exercise. You don’t have to join a health club, just make sure you get some steady movement in your life and work up a sweat a few times a week doing something you enjoy.

While it may be tricky at first, I think you’ll find it easier once you start seeing how quickly the weight comes off, and how much better you feel when it does.

It’s no big secret that we’ve gotten steadily unhealthier in the years since omega-3 fatty acids began disappearing from our diets.

Call it another gift of what I have come to call the Torture Chamber Diet, which declared war on all fats – even the ones we need most for good health.

A new study shows that those wonderful omega-3 fatty acids – the ones we no longer get enough of – may play a role in fighting heart disease in diabetics.

Researchers in Iran found that diabetics who take an omega-3 supplement have lower blood levels of an amino acid linked to heart disease. They found that diabetics with the omega-3 supplements reduced their levels of homocysteine by 22 percent – versus just one percent in the placebo group.

The results of their study were published in April in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease.

While this is great news for diabetics, the reality is that most of us can benefit from an omega-3 fatty acid supplement.

In fact, the lack of omega-3 fatty acids in our diet may be killing enough Americans to wipe out a small city each year. In a study published in April in Public Library of Science Medicine, Harvard University researchers looked at risk factors in preventable deaths. They found that between 72,000 and 96,000 Americans die each year as a result of an
omega-3 deficiency.

That’s about as many Americans who die each year from homicide, traffic accidents, drunk drivers and accidental poisonings combined.

Once upon a time, our meats and dairy products were loaded with natural omega-3 fatty acids. Modern farming techniques – and that indiscriminate war on all fat – changed that. Now, the most consistent sources of omega-3s are certain kinds of wild fish.

Because most of us don’t eat fish regularly enough, we’re not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids.

We’re starting to see more supermarket products fortified with omega-3s, but don’t be fooled by most of them. Some of these are highly processed foods that you shouldn’t be eating to begin with. Your best bet is a supplement, if you’re not already taking one.

There is solid evidence that omega-3 fatty acids can promote heart health and healthy cholesterol levels, lower your risk for certain kinds of cancers, fight pain and inflammation and improve brain functioning.

Those are benefits we could all use.

The Food and Drug Administration often completely misses the point when it comes to supplements.

In fact, they usually want nothing to do with nutritional healing. It’s so backwards that when it comes to natural health, even the tiniest acknowledgement from the FDA is a huge victory.

Take their new stance on selenium, a mineral that, in tiny amounts, can help our bodies in a number of ways. Some promising research even shows that selenium could help lower your risk for certain cancers.

The FDA said in June that it’s willing to let supplement makers mention that link, albeit in a very limited way. In fact, the wording the FDA says it will allow is downright unusable. But when you consider the usual stance it takes on supplements, this is a radical departure.

The research on selenium is still ongoing, but so far it’s been very encouraging in areas well beyond cancer prevention. Selenium has been shown to be necessary for thyroid hormone activation, and may have some fantastic antioxidant properties. Both of these roles help you fight off illnesses and even aging.

Maybe next the FDA will admit we’re onto something after all, not just with selenium but the many other vitamins and minerals that can help fight disease and illness better than all of Big Pharma’s meds put together.

Maybe, but I doubt it.

After all, there are so many supplements out there that have helped millions of people treat their illnesses without having to rely on prescription drugs, yet the FDA has barely glanced in our direction.

So while I wish that little opening in the door might be a signal that the FDA is opening its collective mind to natural healing, the cynic in me sees something else at work.

A couple of Big Pharma’s over-the-counter vitamins are starting to include selenium. They’re finally catching on to what the rest of us already know: There’s enough emerging evidence in its favor that people want to make sure they’re getting enough of it.

One of those vitamins got into some hot water in June for making a mild claim about those cancer-fighting properties.

So I see this is as the FDA rushing to the defense of some of its most favored clients, not a signal that the winds are finally shifting in favor of truth.

Too bad. One more missed opportunity.