When someone dies of a drug overdose, of say heroin or alcohol, the coroner's report will say "death by acute alcohol poisoning" or "death by acute heroin poisoning". But if the person doesn't die then there is little or no mentioning of any poisoning having taken place by most people. It's just seen as "safe use". After all, it is said "the dose determines the poison". But in reality, the poison determines the poison. In other words, if the substance is treated by the body as a poison then it is poisoning the body at any dose and it may be doing harm we are unaware of.
The liver has the role of breaking down most poisons, rendering them harmless. But any poison ingested will put an additional strain on it and other organs, at any dose. It's just a matter of degree.
We can't escape poisons in the modern world, with so many toxic things being used in the food supply and being released into the atmosphere and water, but it is important for us to try to reduce our intake as much as possible, in the effort to establish and maintain good health and to live a long life.
No comments:
Post a Comment