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Chlorine -“A Crippler and Killer”
Charlie Skeen, C.N.C

Throughout the United States and Canada and other countries, chlorine is commonly used to kill disease-causing organisms in the water that come from rivers, lakes, and reservoirs which are used by millions of people everyday for drinking, bathing, showering and swimming. But what many people do not know is that this same chlorine they are exposing their body to is a very poisonous and deadly chemical that according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is essentially a pesticide. And since we are living organisms, chlorine is damaging and killing some part of our body each time we drink, shower, bathe, or swim. A University of Minnesota researcher, Dr. Robert Carlson, whose work is sponsored by the EPA, had this to say about chlorine, ‘ the chlorine problem is similar to that of air pollution:, and that “chlorine is the greatest crippler and killer of modern times!”

To understand how this “crippler and killer” came to be used in the drinking water, we need to go back in time to its first application.

The History of Chlorine Use for Disinfecting Water
Chlorine was first used to disinfect water 156 years ago in 1850 London, England. At this time, John Snow was trying to disinfect the Broad Street Pump water supply after an outbreak of cholera. Later, following a typhoid outbreak in 1897, Sims Woodhead used a chlorine bleach solution to disinfect potable water distribution mains at Maidstone, Kent in England. It wasn’t until the early 1900's that the wide and continuous use of chlorine greatly reduced the number of deaths from typhoid in Great Britain.

Use of Chlorine in the United States
Due to the success in England of reducing the death rate from infectious diseases such as typhoid, the use of chlorine in the United States began in 1908 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Soon after, cities and towns across the United States began to effectively treat their water supplies, reducing the danger from waterborne diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis A.

The First Use of Chlorine By the Military
Chlorine is a very toxic and poisonous chemical and has been used effectively in warfare as a deadly weapon. It was administered as a gas and given the code name bertholite, by the Germans who first used it against the French in 1915 during the second battle of Ypres in Belgium. Almost immediately, it was used on the eastern front against the Russians and continued to be used throughout the war resulting in thousands of casualties.

Other Uses of Chlorine
Other uses of this chemical include being used as a bleach in the paper and pulp industry and to bleach flour. It is also used to make other chemicals such as ethlene dichloride for the manufacture of polyvinly chloride which is used to make siding, flooring, tubing, coatings, piping, film, and other products. Another chemical made from chlorine is propylene oxide for manufacturing plastics called polyesters that are used to make boat and car bodies, bowling balls, carpets, and fabrics. Chlorine is also found in cosmetics, medicines, solvents, sealants, computer chips, paints, and other types of disinfectants.

Industrial Chlorine
The type of chlorine that is being referred to is industrial type not the natural mineral sodium chloride such as found in sea water. To produce industrial type chlorine natural sodium chloride is exposed to powerful electrical charges which separates the chlorine from the chloride producing a toxic and poisonous chlorine gas. It is this chlorine that has been used to treat the drinking water, to poison and kill soldiers during world wars I and II, and is used for the manufacture of many other chemicals to make other man-made products and chemicals,

What Research Has Been Done on Chlorine Before Adding it to the Water Supply?
Since chlorine is a toxic and poisonous substance, even being called a pesticide by the EPA, you would think that some sort of research would have been conducted before allowing people to drink, shower and bathe, and swim in it. However, it's interesting to note that in the July 28th 1951 Journal of the American Medical Association there was a question to the editor under the section where physicians could ask questions from a physician as to whether any studies had been done to ascertain any negative effects to drinking chlorinated water. The editor’s reply to the question was that he carefully examined all available material and found that there was never any research conducted on the effects of chlorine on the human body. However, the editor did say that there were cases of skin inflammation and many outbreaks of asthma traced to chlorine, but said these were due to allergies.

At the time of that statement in 1951 forty-three years had passed and people in the United States had been drinking and exposing their bodies to a chemical that was used as a weapon to kill people in two world wars. It kind of boggles the imagination to think that such a powerful and deadly chemical would be allowed to be added to water that people would use for drinking, showering, bathing, swimming in, and making baby formulas without first conducting a study to see if the long-term low dosage use of chlorine would cause any sort of negative effects. The interesting part is that to this date, 2006, or 55 years since 1951, the medical community nor the FDA still have not conducted official studies as to the effects on chlorine in or on the human body.

Available Research on the Effects of Chlorine on the Human Body
While there has been no official research done on the effects of chlorine on the human body by the medical community as a whole, or the FDA, there is however many years of research and experience available from other researchers, physicians, and scientists from around the world that we can examine. As you continue reading you will find abundant information as to how toxic and damaging chlorine is to the body and how you can protect yourself.

Cardiovascular Disease in 1908
When chlorine was first added to the drinking water it was of course intended to benefit mankind by eliminating disease-causing organisms such as typhoid and cholera. And it worked very well. Before chlorine became widely used in1908 in the United States, the deaths resulting from typhoid were about 35,379, or 31 per 100,000 of population. And the deaths from heart disease was about 64,439, or 137 per 100,000 of population.
PLEASE NOTE: Deaths from heart disease were actually lower than this before 1900, with some of the first recorded cases occurring in the late 1800's.

Cardiovascular Disease in 1950
By 1950, or forty-two years later after 1908, chlorine had become more widely used in the water supplies of the United States. Also, people had been exposed to chlorine for a longer period of time. Due to the chlorine and improved sanitary conditions the number of deaths from typhoid had dropped almost 90 which was essentially zero per 100,000 of population. However, the death rate from heart disease had dramatically increased to 535,920, or 355 per 100,000 of population. That was a total increase of 471,481 since 1908 when chlorine was first used in the water supplies.

Cardiovascular Disease in 2003
In 2003, ninety-five years after chlorine was first added to the drinking water in1908, it has become a common household word that people don’t think much about and is used in almost every municipality’s water supply in the United States. And since the American public has been exposed to chlorine for almost 100 years what have been the results? While typhoid still remains under control and no longer poses a major health risk, the death from heart disease has increased dramatically.

Based on the estimates of The American Heart Association for 2003 there were 71,300,000 Americans affected by some form of cardiovascular disease resulting in over 910,614 deaths. And out of those deaths it was estimated that 479,305 were due to coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

Then in 2004 The American Heart Association estimated that 13,200,000 people alive at that time had a history of heart attack, angina pectoris or both. They also estimated that another 1.2 million Americans would have a new or recurrent coronary attack.

Coronaries/Cholesterol/Chlorine
During the 1960s Dr. Joseph Price wanted to know why cardiovascular heart disease, such as heart attacks, strokes, and atherosclerosis, had become so prevalent during this time when prior to 1900 it was virtually non-existent. In his book Coronaries/Cholesterol/Chlorine published in 1969 he said, “that something has dramatically changed in the last six to seven decades of human history.” Dr. Price felt that there was some sort of environmental factor that was being overlooked by the medical community contributing to the development of atherosclerosis.

NOTE: Atherosclerosis is when the large and medium sized arteries develop plaques on the inner layers of the walls where lesions or tears occur. These plaques are made up of cholesterol, other blood fats called lipids, blood platelets and other clotting factors such as fibrinogen, or protein nets, and cellular debris. As the muscle cells in the artery wall enlarge in the affected area and the plaque continues to form, blood flow diminishes to the organs normally supplied by the artery. Also, due to the hardening of the plaque, or calcification from calcium being deposited with the fats, there is a risk of pressure from blood flow breaking off a piece of the plaque which can travel to various parts of the body causing a blockage.

Dr. Price further comments in his book, “Chlorination gained relatively wide acceptance in the second decade of this century (20th century) and in the third decade (1920's) it was found that satisfactory killing of organisms was dependent upon a residual of chlorine in the water above the amount necessary to react with organic impurities. When it was remembered that evidence of clinical disease from atherosclerosis takes 10-20 years to develop, it becomes evident that there is a correlation between the introduction and widespread application of chlorination of water supplies and the origin and increasing incidence of heart attacks that is exceedingly difficult to explain away.”

Japan:
When the doctor looked at people from around the world he discovered that the Japanese people who have a very low rate of heart attack, one-sixth that of the United States, develop atherosclerosis, or blockage of the arteries by cholesterol and other fat deposits, when they move to Hawaii and drink chlorinated water. (It’s interesting to note that when the Japanese where rebuilding their cities after the war they installed water purification systems using chlorine recommended by the American engineers who were assisting. Prior to this time they had never used it. Not soon after this the Japanese medical community began to notice that the Japanese people were starting to have a lot of cardiovascular health issues, namely heart attacks. Their investigation led them to chlorine as the source of the causative factor. They discontinued the use of chlorine.

Africa:
In Africa, Dr. Price found people that even though they ate a diet very high in fat and cholesterol, but who did not drink chlorinated water, did not get heart attacks.

Ireland:
Another physician, Dr. Paul Dudley White, mentioned by Dr. Price, noted that Irish farm workers who drank their own well water free of chlorine never suffer from coronary heart disease.

Young Men and Advanced Arterial Disease
Dr. Price commented on the findings of Dr. William Enos who lead a team of physicians to autopsy 300 American soldiers who died in the Korean war. The average age of the deceased soldiers were 22.1 years. All were examined before their induction and found to be healthy. The autopsies revealed that 77% of the 300 soldiers had, “gross evidence of atherosclerosis ("hardening" of the arteries caused by the formation of multiple plaques) in the coronary arteries.” In some of the soldiers the one or more arteries of the heart were partly or completely occluded, or blocked. Dr. Enos and the team of physicians explanation of their findings was that these young men had the early development of “degenerative-disease.”

In other words they felt that this unusual and severe development of coronary heart disease in such young healthy men in such a short period of time was just a natural development of degeneration not attributed to anything they may have been exposed to or ingested.

However, note the comments of Dr. Price, “If you ask any man who served in that war he will tell you that the water in Korea for our soldiers was so heavily chlorinated for sanitary reasons that it was almost undrinkable... Apparently, there is a direct causal correlation between the amount of chlorine ingested and the speed and degree of development of atherosclerosis.”

PLEASE NOTE: American soldiers in Vietnam, just like the ones in the Korean war, drank heavily chlorinated water as well. And their autopsies revealed the same sort of severe artery damage and atherosclerosis in a short period of time.

Chlorine and Heart Problems
In a book called Poisoning by Dr. W. F. von Oettingen on page 72 he has this to say on chlorine, “It has been claimed that injury of the mitral valve (of the heart) and cardiac (heart) insufficiency may result from severe exposure to chlorine, or carbon monoxide. Coronary thrombosis, characterized by palpitation, irregularities of the heart beat, and anxiety, has been reported in poisonings with chlorine, carbon monoxide and ferric chloride.” (A chlorine compound.)

In his statement the doctor is referring to a severe exposure to chlorine. As we already noted the young soldiers who were examined during induction and were certified healthy before going to war in Korea and Vietnam did have severe exposer to chlorine in a short period of time. Based on what they know about the effects of severe chlorine exposure to the cardiovascular system and how much the soldiers drank in such a short period of time, one can conclude that the main cause of their heart disease was the chlorinated water.

Heart Attacks in the United States Since 1908
When chlorination of water supplies first began in 1908 in the United States it wasn’t until 10 to 20 years later that heart attacks first began to increase. That’s because unlike the soldiers in the Korean and Vietnam Wars who drank very high concentrations of chlorinated water, causing a faster rate of developing plaques on the blood vessel walls within a year or less, the public water supplies had much lower amounts which produced a slower rate of developing plaques over a 10 to 20 year period.

Dr. Price’s Result of an Experiment Using Chlorinated Water
In his book, Coronaries/Cholesterol/Chlorine, Dr. Price reveals the results of an experiment he conducted with several hundred healthy young chickens separated into two groups. One group drank from water with chlorine and the other group used water without chlorine. Both groups were raised until they had reached complete maturity. The birds were then autopsied revealing that every chicken in the group that drank the chlorinated water had some level of cardiovascular disease, and the ones without the chlorinated water had no signs. It was also noted that when the amount of chlorine was increased in the water of the chickens who drank it, the severity of destruction to the cardiovascular system was more severe and occurred sooner.

Observation of the chickens while they were maturing revealed that the birds without the chlorinated water grew faster, larger and were far healthier, while the chickens that drank the chlorinated water under winter conditions displayed outward signs of poor circulation, shivered, had drooping feathers, and a reduced level of activity. Due to Dr Price’s experiment most of the large poultry producers today provide water without chlorine for the chickens.

Dr. Price’s Conclusion on the Safety of Chlorine
After studying the results of chlorine on living tissue Dr. Price states in his book that, “nothing can negate the incontrovertible fact, the basic cause of atherosclerosis and resulting entities such as heart and stroke, is chlorine.”

Chlorine, Disinfection-By-Products, and Cancer
Fifty-percent or more of municipalities’ water sources come from rivers and lakes. As the surface water in these rivers and lakes come into contact with the organic matter as humus from dead leaves and plants, soil, silt, mud, and different forms of effluent, such as sewage, humic acids are produced. And when chlorine is used to disinfect water, it comes into contact with these humic acids producing what are called DBPs, or Disinfection-By-Products. One class of these chemicals is called trihalomethanes which would include chloroform, trichloroethylene, and carbon tetrachloride, all shown to be carcinogens, or cancer causing.

Bladder and Rectal Cancer
In a study by physicians from Harvard and the University of Wisconsin it was discovered that these Disinfection-By-Products may be responsible for over 10,700 cases of bladder and rectal cancers per year.

Greater Risk of Bladder Cancer
In a study reported on in 1987 by the Journal of National Cancer Institute it was found that people who drank chlorinated water had an 80% greater risk of developing bladder cancer.

Gastrointestinal and Urinary Tract Cancer
Another study by the Columbia University School of Public Health revealed that women who drank chlorinated water from seven upstate New York counties had a 44% higher death rate from gastrointestinal and urinary tract cancers than women who drank water from home wells.

Another study in the 1970s which analyzed thousands of cancer deaths in Louisiana, North Carolina, Illinois, and Wisconsin revealed that those who drank chlorinated water over a lifetime have a fifty to one-hundred percent greater risk of dying of gastrointestinal cancer. It is interesting to note that this risk is from water having chlorine at, or below, the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard as “safe?” And that Dr. Robert Harris, the lead scientist, commented that this standard “is going to make the EPA look ridiculous.”

Kidney, Liver, Nervous System, and Birth Defects
It has been established that chloroform and carbon tetrachloride destroy the kidney, liver, nervous system and cause birth defects.

"Studies show - a strong link between chlorinated water supplies with elevated trihalomethane levels and cancers of the bladder, kidney, liver, pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, colon and brain." - from: The Maker's Diet; Jordan S. Rubin, N. MD., PhD.

Chlorine, Women and Breast Cancer
Approximately one in every eight women in the United States has breast cancer, and studies show that
chlorine and chlorine byproducts, called organochlorines, may be responsible for about one-third of them. The source of the chlorine of course would be from the drinking water, shower, bathing, swimming, and food such as bleached flour, but organochlorines would come from plastics, agricultural chemicals, and cleaning and bleaching products. Women with breast cancer have been found to have 50 to 60% more organochlorines in their breast tissue than women without breast cancer.

Chlorine and Skin Cancer
Studies by scientists in Belgium and other places have linked the development of deadly malignant melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer, to chlorine exposure from drinking water and swimming pools. In the Ames, and other mutagenicity tests, sodium hypochlorite has been shown to be mutagenic.

Compared to darker skin people, redheads and blondes are more likely to develop skin cancer as their skin contains more pheomelanins, meaning lighter pigmentation, than melanins, or darker pigmentation.

Skin Cancers Not Due to Ultraviolet Light
It’s interesting to note that skin cancer is not due to exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun, and that people who spend a lot more time indoors exposed to fluorescent light have the most skin cancer. Also, skin cancer most often appears on areas of the body not exposed to the rays of the sun.

Skin Cancers Increases Worldwide
Due to worldwide pollution of rivers and oceans and chlorination of swimming pools, Franz H. Rampen of the Netherlands has said it has caused an increase in melanoma, or skin cancer.

Chlorinated Acids -Extremely Dangerous Chemicals
Besides the cancer causing Disinfection-By-Products such as trihalomethanes (THMs) produced when chlorine interacts with humic acids in the surface water of rivers and lakes, it also creates two other chemicals called chlorinated acids, MX and DCA. Many scientists feel that these two chemicals are the most dangerous that people can be exposed to.

Mutagen X, also called MX ,is the common name for 3-Chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)- furanone (C5 H3Cl3O3) - found in all chlorinated water for which it was tested. H. Paul Ringhand, an EPA chemist, feels that MX may be the single most mutagenic chemical in city water sources. And anything that can mutate, or in this case adversely alter the genetic material of healthy cells, will increase their cancer-causing potential.

DCA (dichloroacetic acid) - adversely alters cholesterol metabolism increasing the bad forms of LDL (low density lipoprotein), VLDL (very low density lipoprotein), and lipoprotein a, all of which travel from the liver to the blood stream where they can plug the arteries producing plaques increasing the risks of heart attack and stroke, while at the same time decreasing the good HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol which travels from the blood to the liver reducing cholesterol and the risks of heart attack and stroke. DCA has also been shown to cause liver cancer in lab animals.

Chlorine and Diabetes
Healthy blood sugar levels are maintained by the insulin produced by the beta cells from the islets of langerhans located in the pancreas. When chlorine enters the body it produces a powerful oxidizing agent, or uric acid derivative, called alloxan. This alloxan creates free radicals that damage the DNA in the beta cells of the islets of langerhans in the pancreas causing the cells to malfunction and eventually die. Alloxan also interferes with the activity of the mineral zinc required for the activation of an enzyme, DNA ligase, that helps produce the genetic material for the production of new beta cells. And the chlorine deactivates the B vitamin niacin needed to place the zinc into the enzyme. Zinc is also required for the storage and function of insulin. When beta cells fail to produce sufficient insulin, or no longer produce insulin, and the mineral zinc has insufficient activity, diabetes will be the result.

The deleterious effects of alloxan on the pancreas is so powerful that the Textbook of Natural Medicine calls it “a potent beta-cell toxin.”

Chlorine In Bleached Flour Contributes to Alloxan Production
Commercial yeasted breads, even the whole-grain varieties, often have other problems. They typically contain flour bleach, which forms alloxan, a compound known to cause diabetes in animals by destroying the beta cells of the pancreas (Clinical Nutrition Newsletter, Dec. 1982). …
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 451

As seen from this list zinc is heavily involved throughout the entire human body, and any deficiency or reduced activity of this essential mineral could negatively impact the health in any number of ways.

Zinc and DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is found in every cell of the human body which is essentially a blueprint of all the instructions and information needed for the cell to reproduce itself. For example; a liver cell can become only a liver cell and a bone cell can become only a bone cell. When it comes time for the cell to reproduce enzymes are needed to put the DNA together within the cell.

In order for the enzymes to become activated several minerals are required, including zinc. When zinc is inhibited from working properly, new DNA cannot be produced. As a result new cell reproduction to replace the old dying cells, of the liver, heart, brain, pancreas, kidneys, thyroid, gastrointestinal tract, arteries, muscle, tendons, lungs, bone, cartilage and other cells throughout the body, slows down or stops altogether. The end result being the breakdown of cells in bones, cartilage, spinal discs, muscles, brain, organs and glands and whatever part of the body is affected by hampered DNA production. If this process were allowed to continue anyone can see that this would have a devastating affect on the health of the body.

Zinc and Premature Aging of th Body
Any interference with the activity of zinc and new DNA production and cell replication would be affecting every cell in the body resulting in premature aging.

Signs of premature aging would be excess wrinkling of the skin, reduced lubrication of the joints, less flexibility and lost range of motion, cartilage and spinal disc deterioration, less energy, weakening eyesight, weight gain from excess fat and reduced muscle tissue, loss of appetite, hormone imbalances, high cholesterol and blood fats, less flexible and healthy blood vessels, increased blood pressure, reduced sex drive, fluctuating blood sugar levels, lowered immune system function, poor digestion and elimination, reduced absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, impaired mental function, increased blood pressure, inflammation, increased sensitivity to pain, poor wound healing, poor teeth, gum, and enamel health, and weak and thinning bones. In essence the body is basically falling apart at an accelerated rate!

Zinc and the Small Intestine
The small intestine is where most of the digestion and absorption takes place of the food we eat. On the wall of the small intestine are what are called villi. The primary job of the villi is to absorb nutrients broken down by digestion into the blood stream where they are eventually delivered to individual cells throughout the body. Lining the small intestine, including the villi, are epithelial cells. Due to the harsh environment of the small intestine more than a 100 million intestinal cells die off every sixty seconds with a complete replacement of the lining of the small intestine every 3 days. The cell replacement on the tips of the villi are especially important as this is where the majority of the absorption of nutrients take place.

Without proper zinc activity new DNA cannot be produced and replication of healthy epithelial cells would be affected hindering the repair of the surface of the villi reducing their ability to absorb nutrients. If this were not corrected overtime malnutrition of the entire body would result.

For those people who are suffering form various bowel problems such as crohns, colitis, celiac, diarrhea, poor absorption, inflammation and others, it would be very prudent to remove yourself from exposure to chlorine as much as possible. That would mean either purchasing chlorine-free drinking water, or using filters at home for your drinking water, as well as on your shower and bath tub. More about this will be mentioned at the end of the article.

Zinc and Vitamin D
Vitamin D is considered both a hormone, since the body can produce it when the skin is exposed to sunlight, and a vitamin. Scientists have found that vitamin D is needed not only to promote absorption of calcium from the small intestine and bone formation, but also works with the immune system to keep it functioning normally and regulates the health and activity of 20 different tissues including the brain and cell growth.

The body can obtain vitamin D, also known as cholecalciferol, by sunlight hitting the skin which turns 7-dihydroxycholesterol into cholecalciferol, from the food we eat, and from vitamin D supplements, preferably D₃, the natural form.

Vitamin D Must Be Converted Into the Biologically Active Forms for Use
Once D₃, cholecalciferol, is available to the body it must be converted into the more potent bioactive forms, 25-dihydroxycholesterol and 1,25-dihydroxycholesterol, in order for it to be useful to the body. Cholecalciferol first goes to the liver where an enzyme converts it into 25-dihydroxycholesterol. From there 25-dihydroxycholesterol goes to the kidneys where another enzyme is needed to convert it to 1,25-dihydroxycholesterol.

Zinc Required for Enzymes to Produce the Bioactive Forms of Vitamin D
As mentioned earlier, enzymes are needed for the activation of the thousands of processes within the human body, in this case vitamin D₃. And minerals are required for the production and activation of the enzymes. To produce and activate the enzymes to convert vitamin D into the bioactive forms, minerals such as magnesium, boron, manganese, and zinc are required.

Zinc Inhibition by Alloxan from Chlorine Reduces Vitamin D Activity
If the minerals required for the conversion process are low, and, or zinc is inhibited by alloxan from chlorine, the body cannot produce the enzymes required to convert the natural form of D₃, cholecalciferol, into the more potent and biologically active forms reducing, and or preventing, the ability to absorb calcium from the small intestine, maintain a healthy immune system, and regulate the health of the other twenty tissues, such as the brain and cell growth.

Low Vitamin D Intake and Conversion Contribute to Health Problems
Low vitamin D₃ intake and inhibited conversion into the biologically active forms will contribute to bone loss and possible alteration in the immune system causing it to attack the body producing inflammation and weakening the bones. Also, research has discovered that it can contribute to diabetes and autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.

Zinc, Vitamin A and Eye Health
Vitamin A in the body is stored in the liver. In order for the vitamin A to be used it has to be transported to the various locations throughout the body, such as the retina of the eyes which contains one of the highest concentrations of zinc in the body. The zinc is required to make the transport protein to move the vitamin A from the liver to the retina. The alloxan from chlorine would interfere with zinc’s activity preventing the use of vitamin A contributing to problems of the eye, and any other areas of the body that require vitamin A, such as lung tissue.

Chlorine and Friendly Bacteria (Probiotics)
We have about four pounds of bacteria living in our digestive tract. In fact it is considered an organ. In a healthy bowel about 85% of it should be good and 15% bad. This is referred to as symbiosis because of the healthy beneficial relationship between the bacteria and our body. The two primary strains of bacteria are bifidus and acidophilus. From these two the body develops other friendly strains with their particular benefits. Please note the benefits of the two strains of friendly bacteria below.

Chlorine’s Contribution to the Destruction of the Friendly Bacteria
There are many things that disrupt and destroy the friendly bacteria such as processed foods, sugars, sodas, various drugs from your physician and over the counter medications such as Tylenol and Aspirin, low fiber, antibiotics from your physician and food, alcohol, smoking, stress, and backed up rotting food in the intestines. But now you add the toxic chemical chlorine and you have a bad situation made even worse. The friendly bacteria are destroyed and reduced down to 15% or lower and the majority now become 85% or more bad. This is referred to as dysbiosis because of the unhealthy relationship between the bacteria and the body.

With the majority of the bacteria being in a dysbiotic, or bad state, there will be reduced digestion and absorption of nutrients from our food and the unhealthy growth of bad bacteria, germs, microbes and other harmful pathogens. The immune system will be weakened as well, since 70% of it is located in the small intestine.
The surface of the bowel wall also becomes impaired, and in many cases damaged, resulting in what is called leaky-gut syndrome. This is where undigested food and other matter not normally permitted into the bloodstream enters creating allergic and inflammatory reactions as the immune system becomes activated.

As the harmful pathogens grow in number and travel into the blood stream through the now weakened intestinal wall, the overburdened liver cannot eliminate them, and the immune system due to its weakened state cannot fend them off. As a result the individual’s health becomes impaired and the immune system can become altered and begin attacking the body instead of defending it. This can result in increased inflammation of various tissues such as the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and connective.

Excessive and long term inflammation can affect the joints contributing to stiffness and pain and increase the risk of osteoarthritis, and could possibly induce auto immune diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. The cardiovascular system will be affected as well increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. In fact, physicians now perform a blood test for C-Reactive Protein which indicates the level of inflammation of the cardiovascular system. The higher your C-Reactive Protein the greater your risk of heart attack and stroke, as much as three times higher.

Parasites
Last but not least, is something most people do not consider, parasites. A parasite is an organism that obtains its food, nutrition, and shelter by living in or on another organism. People can be a host to over one hundred different types of parasites. In a person with a healthy immune and digestive system most parasites are destroyed and eliminated. But once the integrity of the bowel and immune system is impaired by an unhealthy diet, drugs, lifestyle and chlorine exposure this all changes and parasites can now make their home inside of the body contributing to poor health in many other ways.

Chlorine, Asthma, Allergies and Bowel Problems
Many people in the United States suffer from asthma, allergies and bowel problems. And in many of these cases the cause, or causes, cannot be found. Note that in 1934 a physician, Dr. M. J. Gutmann of Jerusalem, found an article in the Journal of Allergy in which chlorinated water was the cause of asthma and functional colitis.
When chlorinated water was completely taken away from the patient and given just distilled water, within 3 days both disorders went away and did not reappear. But when the physician put just a small drop of sodium hypochloride in the distilled drinking water the colitis and asthma returned.

Dr. Guttman also relates that he had other patients who were affected by even the smallest amounts of chlorine by breaking out with hives. One case was of a woman 28 years old who suffered with hives from childhood. In an effort to get rid of them she experimented with all kinds of diets to locate the offending food. When she tried the recommendation to change her drinking water the hives disappeared within a few days. However, when she tried drinking chlorinated water again the hives would return.

Another Case of Hives
Another case of chlorinated induced hives was reported on by Dr. Gutmann from an article he read in the November 1944 issue of the Journal of Allergy. An English officer had a case of giant hives. In the testing with over forty different foods, they found no sensitivity, or cause for the allergic reaction. They also found no indications of bacteria that would cause the allergy.

When the English officer who was stationed in Jerusalem was transferred to other duty stations where he drank non-chlorinated mineral water, his hives disappeared. And this is the only thing that changed, as his diet and lifestyle remained the same. But whenever he was transferred back to the duty station in Jerusalem and drank the chlorinated water the hives would return immediately.

Most people in the United States are already deficient in essential fatty acids and have an imbalance because of eating too many processed fats and oils, free radical damage destroying the good fats because of inadequate antioxidant protection, and an unbalanced omega 6 to 3 ratio.

Another way that our essential fatty acids are destroyed is by chlorine. This occurs when chlorine destroys many of the antioxidants, such as vitamins E and A, that protect these fats from free radical damage. Another way that these essential fats are destroyed is when chlorine mixes with surface water it creates a compound called hypochlorite which produces excess free radicals that oxidize them, turning them rancid. This was demonstrated by an industrialist chemist J. P. Bercz in 1992.

Deficient and oxidized essential fatty acids and imbalances can contribute to accelerated aging, excessive weight gain, high cholesterol levels with unhealthy ratios of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and serious health problems such as excessive systemic inflammation, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, asthma, lupus, postpartum depression, obesity, arthritis, immune system dysfunction, liver dysfunction, Alzheimer's Disease, ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, depression, bone loss, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and various digestive disorders such as leaky gut syndrome, crohn’s disease, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Chlorine, Halides and the Thyroid
Chlorine belongs to a group of chemicals called halides. Other halides include fluorine, or calcium flouride, in drinking water and dental products and bromides found in disinfectants, pesticides, sodas, and dough conditioners for bread.

Iodine - A Beneficial Halide
Another halide which is very beneficial to our health is organic iodine, with iodine being the smallest of these halides. Iodine is required by the body to be used in the thyroid along with the amino acid, L-tyrosine, to produce a thyroid hormone called thyroxin. Almost every tissue in the human body is directly or indirectly affected by thyroid hormone. When chlorine, and other halides such as sodium fluoride, are taken into the body, being smaller in size than iodine, they will displace the iodine in the thyroid resulting in poor thyroid function and thyroxin production.

Without sufficient thyroxin the whole body will be affected such as the heart, nervous system, metabolism, and body temperature regulation. Health problems that can result due to thyroxine disruption would be low energy, poor sleep patterns, slower metabolism with weight gain, edema or water retention, hormone imbalances, and poor bone remodeling contributing to osteoporosis.

Chlorine and Iron
Iron is the nucleus of each blood cell. And chlorine affects iron negatively as an oxidizing agent essentially threatening the healthy structure of blood. In the book, Water Fit to Drink by Carol Keough, it cites studies done by the University of Michigan linking chlorinated water to anemia, a condition where red blood cells are not providing adequate oxygen to body tissues.

Chlorine Destroys Vitamin E
Notice what Dr. Richard Kunin said happens to vitamin E when subjected to chlorine in his book, Mega-Nutrition published by New American Library, “Even in the minute quantities sufficient to kill germs, chlorine can undermine the body’s defenses against atherosclerosis. Chlorine creates electrically charged molecules called free radicals, which can combine with alpha tocopherol (vitamin E) and eliminate it from your system. In addition, free radicals can directly damage the [lining] of blood vessels and so create the environment for the formation of plaque.”

Vitamin E is an important antioxidant that protects us from excess free radicals that could damage our cells such as the ones in the heart and blood vessel walls helping to prevent cardiovascular disease and tumor formation. Insufficient amounts of vitamin E can contribute poor heart muscle function and weakened and constricted blood vessels contributing to elevated blood pressure and heart disease.

Chlorine Destroys Vitamins A, B-Complex, C and Amino Acid Tryptophan
In the book edited by J. I. Rodale and staff, Prevention Method for Better Health, 1968 the editor mentions on page 383 that he read an article at that time from a German magazine on the subject of chlorine and its ability to destroy, or reduce not only vitamin E, but also the vitamins A, B, C, and the amino acid tryptophan.

Importance of A, C, and E
Vitamins A, C, and E are antioxidants. They work together to support a healthy immune system, teeth, bones, joints, skin, eyes, lungs, DNA, and cardiovascular system preventing the oxidizing of cholesterol and other blood fats preventing plaque buildup on the blood vessel walls. Vitamin C is needed to insure the healthy turn-over of collagen throughout the body, including the cardiovascular system, bones, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, muscles, organs, and glands, because it is required as an enzyme cofactor for prolyl hydroxylase and lysyl hydroxylase to convert the amino acids L-lysine and L-proline into the hydroxy forms, hyroxylysine and hydroxyproline. This is especially crucial in maintaining the health of the covering on the blood vessel walls called the endothelium which reduces the friction of blood flow, and the actual muscle cells that make up the blood vessels. If proper collagen levels are not maintained, the blood vessels can become stiff and inflexible increasing blood pressure. There is also a greater risk of internal bleeding from the blood vessels. Also, since collagen is likened to glue that holds our body together, any disruption in its turnover will weaken its entire structure.

The Importance of B Vitamins
The B vitamins acts as coenzymes for the activation of many enzymes for the many complex chemical interactions, healthy gastrointestinal tract, the breakdown and utilization of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, nervous system function, healthy blood sugar levels, brain function, energy production, skin, hair, liver, eyes, amino acid utilization, and DNA activation and utilization.

Chlorine, B-6, B-12, Folic Acid, Homocysteine and Heart Disease
One of the major factors in maintaining the strength, flexibility, and health of the lining of the blood vessel walls, called the endothelium, and the muscle cells of the blood vessels is collagen. If this collagen becomes broken down and never gets replaced the endothelium and the walls of the blood vessels essentially become damaged. One of the things that can damage the blood vessels is an amino acid called homocysteine.

Homocysteine production is a normal part of digestion when foods are eaten containing the amino acid methionine. In a healthy person with sufficient amounts of B-6, folic acid and B-12 this is not a problem because these B vitamins are used by the body to convert it into cystine, cysteine, and methionine, all harmless amino acids. However, if they are not available the homocysteine can become overly elevated in the blood with the ability to breakdown the collagen damaging the lining of the blood vessels and the muscle cells of the blood vessel walls producing lesions, or small tears.

In an effort to repair these lesions the body sets in motion several mechanisms; (1) The liver begins producing more cholesterol, reducing the good HDL (which carries cholesterol out of the circulatory system to the liver) and elevates the LDL and VLDL (which carries the cholesterol and other lipids, or fats, from the liver out to the circulatory system), and other lipids such as lipoprotein (a) to go to the sites of damage and plug up, or cover over the lesion; (2) the body kicks in the clotting system sending blood platelets and fibrinogen (protein nets) to the affected areas to cover over, or plug up as well; and (3) the muscle cells in the blood vessel wall where the damage has occurred begin to grow abnormally large.

All of this contributes to narrowing of the arteries as the plaque builds up and the muscle cells expand cutting blood flow to the heart and other affected areas eventually leading to a heart attack or stroke if left unchecked.

Homocysteine and Bone Loss
Homocysteine also contributes to osteoporosis, or bone loss, by interfering with the body’s collagen cross-linking which causes a defective bone matrix. As a result, the normal bone-building process is severely diminished weakening the bone tissue.

Chlorine, B-6, Niacin, Zinc and Tryptophan
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid which is a precursor to a neurotransmitter in the brain called serotonin. Serotonin is also a platelet clotting factor and neurohormone found in the organs throughout the body. Two of the B vitamins, B-6 and niacin along with the mineral zinc and other nutrients are needed to convert tryptophan into serotonin.

Serotonin's production can be inhibited by chlorine’s interference of tryptophan, B-6, niacin, and zinc which can contribute to abnormal sleep patterns, insomnia, poor brain function, mental retardation, depression, suicide, schizophrenia, aggressive behavior, poor clotting, compulsive eating leading to excessive weight gain, anorexia, deficiency of growth hormone and possibly the hormone prolactin, required for healthy mammary development and milk production.

Lack of Vitamin E and Joint Problems
The body produces a specialized proteoglycan called hyaluronic acid which is required to produce a thick lubricating fluid called synovial fluid. If the level of the hyaluronic acid drops then the synovial fluid will lose its viscosity, or lubricating ability, allowing too much friction during movement eventually wearing out the cartilage to the point of bone on bone, and making the joint stiff and painful to move.

The enzyme hyaluronidase breaks down hyaluronic acid reducing the viscosity, or lubricating qualities of the synovial fluid. It also has the ability to destroy the synoival fluid and to send the decomposed fluid to the lymphatic system causing the joints to swell.

Adequate levels of the antioxidant vitamin E prevent the excessive production of this hyaluronidase enzyme. When chlorine enters the body it destroys vitamin E allowing the hyaluronidase to accumulate excessively destroying hyaluronic acid and the synoival fluid resulting in the swelling and inflammation of the joints. If this situation is not corrected it would eventually lead to arthritis and destruction of the cartilage.

Chlorine - A “Crippler and Killer”
While we can’t blame every disease or health problem on chlorine, we can however, say that chlorine’s long history of use certainly is a major contributor allowing it to be called a “crippler and killer”. As its history reveals its use started as well intentioned and was the technology of its time saving many lives from cholera, typhoid and other infectious and deadly diseases. But that was over 150 years ago. This is now the 21st century and we are still using technology from the 19th century. Or, should I say almost all.

There are some cities that recognize that chlorine is a toxic poison and use safer means to disinfect water. For example, because chlorine gas was used as a weapon during the two world wars in Europe, and recognizing its deadly nature, many communities there do not use chlorine, but instead use ozone (oxygen) and ultraviolet light to kill harmful microorganisms. Another method used is a sand filtration system such as the one in Holland.

The main reason why more cities do not use these alternative methods is because of cost. Chlorine is cheap and they would have to spend more money than they are willing to make the necessary changes to their purification systems.

But until the time comes, if ever, when every major city removes chemicals such as chlorine and sodium fluoride from the drinking water people will have to take responsibility and remove it themselves.

Reducing and Eliminating Chlorine from Your Life
Many people have begun to this do this already by either purchasing chlorine free water or by using a filter on their tap at home. However, there are other areas of chlorine exposure.

Showers and Bathes
Studies done on chlorine exposure have revealed that up to 2/3rds of it comes from showering and taking a bath. That means that we absorb more chlorine when showering or bathing than if we drank 8 glasses of chlorinated water a day. That’s because when we take a shower or bath we breath chlorine gas called chloroform which goes not only into the lungs but also goes directly into the blood stream, while we absorb the chlorine in the water into the pores of our skin that have been opened by the hot water.

Comments from Others
"Volatile organics can evaporate from water in a shower or bath." from: Is Your Water Safe to Drink? Consumer Reports"

A long, hot shower can be dangerous. The toxic chemicals are inhaled in high concentrations." from: Bottom Line; Dr. John Andelman, PhD. Books

"Avoiding contact with chlorinated water is of the utmost importance. This includes bathing water and drinking water. Chlorine kills bacteria, friendly and unfriendly, in the intestines. it can be absorbed through the skin. I recommend installing a shower filter to remove Chlorine." -from: Patient, Heal Thyself; Jordan S. Rubin, N.MD., PhD.

Asthma and Bronchitis Has Increased Dramatically
In the last 20 years asthma and bronchitis has increased 300%, especially in children. Researchers feel this is due to breathing chlorine gas, or chloroform. Note what Dr. Lance Wallace of the United States Environmental Protection Agency said about this, “ Showering is suspected as the primary cause of elevated levels of chloroform in nearly every home because of chlorine in the water.”

Chlorine and Dishwashers
Another area of the house that increases the exposure to chlorine is from dishwashers. When the chlorine containing detergents are added to the dishwasher they blend with the organic food matter creating various harmful chlorine compounds that get vented into the air that we breathe. A dishwater can vent 5 to 7 quarts of air per minute of operation. To reduce this hazard you could either wash dishes by hand in a sink which has a filter, and if you do not have filtered water you can wear rubber gloves, or use chlorine-free automatic dishwashing gel by Seventh Generation. If you cannot find the gel in your area their toll free number is 1-800-456-1191. Their web address is www.seventhgeneration.com.

Chlorine and Swimming Pools
Another area of severe chlorine exposure is swimming pools. Researchers found that the chlorine in the water reacts to the organic matter of the human body such as sweat, urine, blood, feces, mucus, and skin cells producing toxic chlorine by-products called chloramines. Also, chloroform exposure is 70 to 240 times higher in the air over indoor pools than outdoor pools. One hour of swimming in a pool with chlorine showed chloroform concentrations in the swimmers’ blood ranging from 100 to 1,093 parts per billion.

Chlorine and the Skin and Hair
Besides the damaging effects of chlorine internally, it also damages our skin and hair. The chlorine robs the skin and hair of moisture making it less elastic as it breaks down the protein structures that keep them healthy, strong and flexible. Over time the appearance would become less youthful and healthy looking.

The Truth About Beauty
Note this statement from Kat James, The Truth About Beauty, "at least 70% of the skin's blemish- and wrinkle fighting hydration comes from the water we consume. If you haven't done so already, switching from chlorinated tap water-the water you shower in- to reliably pure water will be perhaps the most important health and beauty lifestyle upgrade you will ever make." About dry skin, she points out. "Chlorinated water can contribute to dry skin. Installing a shower filter can make an unbelievable difference."

Premium Shower and Water Filters
For those who interested in a shower filter to remove chlorine from their water I recommend the Premium Shower Filter by New Wave Enviro Products. I have been using this filter for about 14 years and it works extremely well. And if you looking for a water filter to remove chlorine from the water you use to drink and cook with they also have one called the Premium 10-Stage Filter that uses the same KDF® technology as the shower filter.

How Does the Premium Shower Filter Work?
A patented mixture of zinc and copper called KDF-55, plus crystal Quartz, converts chlorine into zinc chloride. Zinc is considered to be helpful in alleviating dandruff and is used in anti-dandruff shampoos. Unlike carbon, KDF® stands up to hot water and is very effective in filtering out chlorine, odors and dirt particles. KDF® possesses strong bacteriostatic character, inhibiting the growth of bacteria, fungus, algae and mildew. The Premium Shower Filter contains 14 oz. of KDF® and 2 oz. of crystal Quartz for enhanced performance.

Proven Effectiveness and Safety of KDF® Technology
In a book called, Don’t Drink the Water published in 1996, by Lono Kahuna Kupua A’O, on pages 65 and 66, it has this to say about KDF® technology.” Independent laboratory tests confirm user experience that KDF® is one of the best tools for improving drinking and bathing water naturally and economically. Compared to carbon-only units, KDF® lasts far longer, doesn’t permit bacterial growth, and removes a much wider range of inorganic matter (e.g. heavy metals). Compared to reverse-osmosis, KDF® is less expensive, wastes no water, does not require membrane replacement, works in most water temperatures, and removes chlorine. Compared to ultraviolet lights, KDF® works in turbid water, doesn't require bulb replacement or electricity, and takes out inorganics. Compared to ozone, KDF® lasts longer than 17 seconds for a continued residual bacteriostatic effect in water, does not require electricity, and costs less. Compared to water softeners, KDF® reduces hard scale and helps to condition water without the need for brine tanks, or salt replacement. It is also less expensive to install and operate.”

“In 1992, the EPA ruled that KDF® qualifies as a mechanical device which filters water and imparts nothing harmful to the water. Later that year, the National Sanitation Foundation tested the media and found it to be in compliance with its Standard 61, which certifies that the media imparts nothing harmful to the filtered water.”

Summary
Besides learning to eat healthy, exercising regularly, and improving our overall lifestyle, we also need to remove and prevent toxic chemicals like chlorine from our drinking water, the shower and bath, dishwasher, swimming pools, and even food such as bleached flour.

We have already examined the consequences to the body when we allow chlorine to interfere with the way it functions. What good does it do to spend money on supplements, eat organic foods, and try to live the best healthy lifestyle possible if we allow chlorine to destroy our vitamins, minerals, enzymes, essential fatty acids, amino acids, proteins, DNA, skin, hair, and the trillions of cells that make up our body?

And, while it’s true we cannot entirely prevent ourselves from growing old and eventually dying, we can however take better care of ourselves, so we can age more gracefully and enjoy better health and live our lives without the debilitating diseases so common to many.

So, whether you are suffering from a health problem, or you enjoy a fairly good level of health and vitality, the removal of chlorine would certainly improve your quality of life.