How to Practice Environmental Medicine

As the research foundation documenting the major role of toxins in most chronic diseases continues to grow, clinicians are facing the challenge of having to learn how to practice environmental medicine. The great diversity of toxins and their damaging effects, the uniqueness of each person's biochemistry greatly affecting susceptibility, and inconsistent clinical presentations complicate making sense of this field. Recognizing that there appear to be essentially 3 types of patients suffering environmental damage helps organize how to think about, diagnose, and treat these patients. In this editorial, I propose 3 categories: (1) "Yellow Canaries," (2) patients with clear toxin exposure, and (3) patients suffering most any chronic disease.