Robert Whitfield MD describes how environmental exposures during his childhood (the 1970s) likely affected his health. He cites high arsenic levels in local groundwater as a common source of arsenic exposure, poor non-organic food quality and dietary habits, and household/environmental risks such as mold from water leaks. He also notes his parents did not smoke, reducing secondhand smoke exposure.
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The 1970s.
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And depending on where you lived when you grew up. So think of, like, the water. Where I grew up, there was a high amount of arsenic in the groundwater. That is the most common reason you would have high levels of arsenic in your system then. If you think of the quality of the food I ate when I was growing up in the 70s, it was not good. We didn't have organic food. And I remember going to the grocery store, my mother. And honestly, I didn't really eat that well growing up. I didn't like the food. And it makes me think that it was more the quality of the food rather than, you know, anything else. Obviously, you know, knowing what I know now, I guess I would have tried to convince my mom to go to a farmer's market, but back then, as a little kid, didn't know any in terms of air quality. My parents didn't smoke growing up. So I was fortunate. So the. The things that I could have got exposed to, like ACE or something like mold. I think mold's a difficult one. Depending on where you grow up and what's the environment. It takes very little to have a mold problem in a home. You can have a water leak under the sink, the behind the refrigerator.
