Michael Simms, A Tale of Toxicity: Winning the Fight for Health in a Toxic World, 2011.

We have all wondered if the incidence of asthma, autism, diabetes, chronic fatigue, and many other conditions are increasing in the Western world (and elsewhere for that matter)  ¢â‚¬“ or whether we are just more accurately diagnosing illnesses which previous generations simply lived with and called by other names?

Here ¢â‚¬â„¢s a compelling true story which makes the case that because of increased rubbish in the atmosphere, food, etc., the bodies of moderns are accumulating toxins and battling diseases in a way our forefathers knew little about.

I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve known Mike Simms since we first met in Vancouver, Canada, in 1982. Mike married Roslyn Glasgow, an Australian girl, and came to Australia to pastor a Baptist Church in Queensland. But health problems  ¢â‚¬“ physical and emotional  ¢â‚¬“ soon began to overwhelm him, and for over two decades he went to more doctors, paramedical professionals, dieticians  ¢â‚¬“ you-name-it  ¢â‚¬“ than almost anyone I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve ever heard of, to figure out why his athletic body so often had little or no energy.

The book provides two valuable gifts: evidence that toxicity may be a major player in the development of disease and, perhaps just as significantly, Mike ¢â‚¬â„¢s example of a stubborn, determined quest for answers. His strong Christian faith and wonderful   marriage/family gave him a platform from which to launch investigations into diet, stress, toxicity, natural therapies, modern dental practices etc. etc., finding answers which have contributed to his gradual healing.

So the book invites us to be skeptical, yet open to a new understanding of health, and there may be something here which will help you and/or your loved ones to battle disease, including strange  ¢â‚¬Ëœmodern ¢â‚¬â„¢ illnesses like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS). Although doctors are learning a lot about these problems, and are beginning to take them seriously,  ¢â‚¬Ëœthey still don ¢â‚¬â„¢t know what causes them or how to get rid of them. This is another instance of doctors knowing much more about disease than they do about health ¢â‚¬â„¢ (p. 50).

The major clue for Mike that toxicity was involved in his dysfunction was the discovery of the heavy metals that he carried around in his system, which his body had been unable to remove.  ¢â‚¬ËœI discovered that, according to the World Health Organization, people with amalgams are exposed to about nine times more mercury from their fillings than from all other sources combined ¢â‚¬â„¢ (p. 118).    ¢â‚¬ËœThroughout my life my body had ingested more mercury than it could handle, and I had been forced to store what it couldn ¢â‚¬â„¢t detoxify ¢â‚¬â„¢ (p. 123).

Although mercury may not be the cause of your illness, Mike ¢â‚¬â„¢s story will, hopefully inspire you toward a persistent and courageous quest for facts. Our doctors might be puzzled, but the answers are out there somewhere: as Winston Churchill said in his second-most-famous speech: don ¢â‚¬â„¢t ever, ever, ever give up!

Why didn ¢â‚¬â„¢t I know that my appendix is not simply a vestigial organ useful in the past but of no use to moderns? Or that it ¢â‚¬â„¢s beneficial to health to add a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice to every glass of water we drink? Or that  ¢â‚¬Ëœvegetarians struggle to overcome cumulative toxicity because non-animal sources of protein lack the full array of amino acids, as well as other important nutrients ¢â‚¬â„¢ (p. 251)? Or that  ¢â‚¬“ to quote a leading heart surgeon  ¢â‚¬“  ¢â‚¬Ëœprescribing medications to lower cholesterol and a diet that severely restricts fat intake ¢â‚¬ ¦ are no longer scientifically or morally defensible ¢â‚¬â„¢ (p. 255). IOW (in other words) there ¢â‚¬â„¢s good fats and bad fats!

 ¢â‚¬ËœGetting help does not make you a loser ¢â‚¬ ¦ Keep your head up high and get whatever financial and other support is available, and accept it with gratitude. When you eventually get well, your grateful heart will enable you to help others in their need ¢â‚¬â„¢ (p. 291).

This is well-written (and Mike has mastered the lingo of his adopted country). And although he ¢â‚¬â„¢s a committed Christian his book isn ¢â‚¬â„¢t  ¢â‚¬Ëœpreachy ¢â‚¬â„¢. You can give it to anyone. Find out how to get a copy from www.taleoftoxicity.com .

Rowland Croucher

November 2011

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And this in today’s Age newspaper:  http://www.theage.com.au/national/hidden-risks-of-lurking-chemicals-20111129-1o54p.html?skin=text-only