While much of the attention is placed on air pollution, we cannot discount the fact that human behavior have cause tremendous detriments to the soil and as a result our health as well. Soil is heavily integrated into the health of living organisms on this planet and humans’ careless treatment of it jeopardizes everyone’s health.

In a review published in journal Cardiovascular Research, investigators explore the many ways soil pollution effects the cardiovascular system.

Soil pollution include heavy metals, pesticides, and plastics, as well as many other novel chemicals produced by people. Such contaminants lead to cardiovascular disease through various mechanisms including oxidative stress, inflammation, and circadian rhythm disruption. And ways these toxic substances get into people include inhalation, transdermal, and orally.

Such toxins found in the soil and water include lead, cadmium, pesticides, fertilizers, microplastics, and other industrial wastes such as benzene, polychlorinated biphenyls, bisphenol A (BPA), and perfluorocaboxylic acids, etc. All of such products have been proven to be erosive to endothelial cells and disrupt natural hormonal systems.

Ultimately, find their way into our food and water system, as well as other ways into our homes.

“Soil pollution, water pollution, deforestation, excessive fertilization, and the use of pesticides and other toxic chemicals degrade the rich bio- diversity of soil around the world, diminish ecosystem sustainability, reduce food crop production, and threaten human health and well-being,” stated the authors in their study.

Educate yourself and stop creating a society dependent on the creating and polluting these chemicals in our environment because ultimately they will their ways into our homes and wombs. And stop supporting politicians that are against deep hard regulations of the environment.

T Münzel et al. Soil and water pollution and human health: what should cardiologists worry about? Cardiovascular Research. doi:10.1093/cvr/cvac082