There is an undeniable link between the health of our planet and its inhabitants.

The U.S. Public Health Service estimates that environment and diet play a role in 90% of cancers and cardiovascular disease.

Measurements show that indoor environments can be 10 times more polluted than outdoors, and respiratory infections, allergies, asthma, and chemical hypersensitivity are increasing.

Chemicals such as natural gas, industrial solvents, pesticides, car exhaust, and formaldehyde have been identified as responsible for significant previously unrecognized health problems.

Of particular importance is the recognition of the effects of chemicals in the home and workplace, such as "sick building syndrome." To reduce energy consumption, modern buildings are sealed from outside air, trapping gases from synthetic materials as well as the human pollution present when large numbers of people are in small enclosed spaces.

Understanding the impact of persistent organic pollution on women and the environment is a goal of the Women's Environmental Developmental Organization (WEDO), bringing women of the world together to share expertise and take action on common agendas in the United Nations, offering women's experiences and perspectives to benefit the concerns of society as a whole.

Breast Cancer is the most common form of cancer among women, and research is underway in the field of environmental influences on breast cancer risk.

Fewer than 10% of breast cancers develop due to inherited risk. Instead, most related DNA mutations occur during a woman's life and may result from cancer-causing chemicals. Other established risk factors are linked with total lifetime exposure to estrogen and estrogen-like chemicals (those found in pesticides and other common industrial products), radiation and electromagnetic fields.

In the Journal of Epidemiology (Dec. 2001), UCLA researchers drew a link between pollution and birth defects, reporting that women exposed to high levels of ozone and carbon monoxide were three times more likely to have babies with cleft lips and palates and defective heart valves.

A U.S. News and World Report indicated that one in every six American children suffers from learning disabilities, and question links between these figures and exposure to toxins.

A 1993 study by the National Academy of Sciences found children to be more susceptible to the harmful effects of pesticides because they take in more air, food, and water in proportion to their body weight.

The Office on Women's Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a Federal Interagency Working Group on Women's Health and the Environment which states that there is abundant evidence environmental factors contribute to many diseases in women – including breast and ovarian cancers, osteoporosis, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and autoimmune diseases.

Its mission is to address the environmental and often preventable threats to women's health. Current topics include: musculo-skeletal disorders at the workplace, occupational adult asthma, reproductive health and women's pesticide exposure. An additional goal is to identify gaps and stimulate the planning and implementation of future activities to address identified needs.

I believe one important gap to be filled is in recognizing the unique application chiropractic care has in health, which promotes women's wellness through the benefits of subluxation correction. Chiropractic can help address health issues in a positive manner by increasing both public education and research on the possible effects of environmentally triggered subluxations on women's health.

Many adults who present for chiropractic care with a history of respiratory problems, i.e. asthma and allergies, grew up in rural areas where pesticides use was commonplace. Too many have lived for years with possible associated subluxations that had remained undetected.

Pesticides in products from food/coffee to dry cleaning can also have a major disruptive influence on the hormonal system, altering women's menstrual cycles, sleep or fertility.

I often see a sudden increase in respiratory stress in the summer and fall, during the first few days when the air conditioning or heating is turned on and the body has to adapt to what is introduced into the air.

In the summer, I see changes when pesticides are used. A young girl, under care for about a month, presented one day with unusually high parameters, confirmed by the results of a thermal scan. The mom mentioned her husband had just used lawn pesticides. She knew they were harmful, but felt her daughter was safe because she didn't touch the lawn. She was amazed to consider the young girl could absorbed these chemicals through her respiratory system, and impact her body so strongly.

In these examples, chiropractic care provided a valuable service in helping people improve their responses to the environmental stresses they were exposed to.

Chiropractic offers the skills and tools to help educate our communities about environmental factors affecting health, thus helping people to make better choices.

I encourage chiropractors to take time this Earth Day to help our communities become healthier, through promoting subluxation correction for adults and children, and by learning how not to subluxate Mother Nature.

There are many choices for screenings and events (the website www.earthday.net includes a list of corporate sponsors). It would be a great fit to introduce earth-friendly businesses to being body friendly as well. Other references and websites I've mentioned here are available upon request.