Some synthetic chemicals are excreted from our bodies unchanged – in urine, for example, or on our breath when we exhale. Some, such as DDT, are stored unchanged in the body’s fatty tissues. But the vast majority are acted on by enzymes, which change them chemically in biotransformation reactions. Ultimately, these reactions lead to the detoxification of the chemical.
In recent years, minor enzyme deficiencies have been found in some people, which do not normally make them ill unless they take a particular medicinal drug. Studies of such drugs in food-intolerant patients have shown that a large proportion of them suffer from these minor enzyme deficiencies. In one study, some of the patients also had chemical sensitivities, and when the results for these patients alone were considered, 90 per cent were found to be deficient in a particular enzyme system. Such a high percentage is unusual in medical research, and suggests strongly that there is a link between chemical sensitivity and enzyme deficiency. This result was for just one set of enzymes – and hundreds are involved in detoxification. Due to lack of resources, no further studies of this sort have been carried out as yet.
In another study certain artificial food colourings have been found to inhibit crucial detoxification enzymes. It is possible that enzyme inhibition by these artificial colours contributes to the problem in people whose enzymes are partially defective. This could account for the frequency with which food colourings have been identified as the source of adverse reactions.
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Tags: Allergies