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We all recognize that people vary widely in their response to a room full of cigarette smoke - some people can ignore it easily while others react with stuffy nose, teary eyes, coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath. Both inorganic compounds (such as carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and heavy metals) and organic compounds (pesticides, formaldehyde, phenol, etc.) are involved. Different initiating events may give rise to somewhat different ailments, all of which cause sensitivity to chemicals - just as different infectious diseases can all cause a fever. There are over 70,000 chemicals commercially produced in the United States today. The long-term, low dose effects of many of these chemicals have never been investigated. The main mechanism for chemical sensitivity seems to be the failure of the body's enzyme detoxification pathways to adequately clear chemical compounds. Both immune and non-immune processes have been involved.
Because most of the toxic chemicals involved are fat-soluble, they become stored in the body's fat, resistant to metabolism and excretion. The belief that the food chain is contaminated with toxic chemicals is universal and readily validated.
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