🧽 Don't be a dirty filter

I recently joined a gym that I was incredibly excited about—finally settling into a new routine after the upheaval of the LA fires. This gym checked all the boxes: a seven-stage advanced osmosis water filtration system (LOVE!), state-of-the-art equipment, and even an outdoor workout area in the sunshine. But my excitement quickly faded when I noticed something troubling.

On my first visit, I felt lightheaded after my workout. I chalked it up to exertion. The second time, I walked in and was hit with a strong "cleaning smell." That workout left me not only lightheaded but also struggling with labored breathing and a headache. That’s when I started investigating.

The culprit? The omnipresent sanitizing wipes, with dispensers placed about every 15 feet around the gym for wiping down equipment after use. When I took a wipe out and smelled it, it was clear this was the chemical cleaning smell that was pervasive in the gym. Today’s newsletter is going to unpack the digging I did to understand the (lack of) safety of these gym wipes, as a simple example of what we’re up against as inhabitants of a modern world driven by perverse incentives (profit over health) filled with over 350,000 synthetic chemicals. Most importantly, the point of this newsletter is to help us be inspired to be aware, do our own research, speak up, and create a healthier world together through actions in our own lives and communities. 

🕵️‍♀️ A little digging goes a long way   

As I dug in, I noticed that the gym was stocked with Zogics sanitizing wipes, which, according to their label, contain:

• Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride

• N-Alkyl ammonium chloride

• “Fragrance: A clean, fresh scent” (undisclosed proprietary chemicals)

The first two ingredients are classified as “quaternary ammonium compounds” (QACs) – much more on them below (it’s not good). And that leaves 99.72% of the ingredients completely unknown—hidden under vague terms like "other components below reportable levels." (WTF.)

A quick look at the official Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for the exact wipes in the gym was enough to confirm my concerns:

• Hazard statement: Wear protective gloves/eye protection/face protection.

• Ventilation: Wear appropriate personal protective equipment. Observe good industrial hygiene practices. Provide adequate ventilation. Avoid release to the environment. Do not empty into drains. Good general ventilation (typically 10 air changes per hour) should be used. Ventilation rates should be matched to conditions.

• Inhalation: If inhaled, move to fresh air. Prolonged inhalation may be harmful. Call a physician if symptoms develop or persist. 

• Health hazards:

  • Causes eye irritation.

  • Toxic to aquatic life.

• Skin contact: Wash off with soap and water. Get medical attention if irritation develops and persists.

• Respiratory protection: In case of insufficient ventilation, wear suitable respiratory equipment. If engineering controls do not maintain airborne concentrations below recommended exposure limits (where applicable) or to an acceptable level (in countries where exposure limits have not been established), an approved respirator must be worn.

• Ecotoxicity: Toxic to aquatic life. Harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects.

In other words, these wipes were never designed or approved for everyday human contact. They were formulated for hospital and industrial settings where workers wear gloves, respiratory protection, and protective clothing—not for casual use in a fitness center with no open windows or doors where people are breathing deeply, touching the wipes with bare hands, sweating, and touching surfaces.

Additionally, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) gives this product a D rating. 👇️ 

🧪 The dark history of many modern chemicals 

Like many of the most destructive chemicals plaguing our modern world—pesticides, herbicides, industrial solvents, forever chemicals—this class of disinfectants used in the gym wipes traces its origins back to 1930s Nazi Germany. Gerhard Domagk, a German bacteriologist with ties to the Third Reich, advanced the development of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), which are still widely used today.

✍️ Read more: Newsletter #24 - THE #1 thing we can do to improve health: Avoid pesticides

These chemicals were not designed with human safety in mind. They were designed for war, for industry, for sterilization at the cost of long-term health consequences. And yet, they are now embedded in our daily lives, from the wipes at your gym to the preservatives in your food. 

And it’s not just the smell of these chemicals that is getting us, it’s touching surfaces treated with them, as well: A paper in Environmental Science and Technology states that “if not wiped off after disinfection, QACs can stay on surfaces, which would lead to postapplication exposure. In the latter case, exposure routes include touching disinfected hard surfaces, unintended hand-to-mouth contact (e.g., ingestion of both surface residues and dust-bound QACs),and dermal absorption of chemicals present on hands after surface-to-hand contact. Li et al. modeled human exposure to 14 QACs after their application to indoor hard surfaces. Assuming the applied disinfectants are not wiped off after disinfection, hand-to-mouth contact was found to contribute most (>90%) to postapplication exposure.” 

Additionally, “children have 14–55 times higher daily uptake of these QACs compared to teenagers and adults due to their more frequent hand-to-mouth contact,” and, of course, their lower surface to volume ratio which concentrates the impact. 

Because QACs are found in cleaning products, it makes sense that “the total QAC concentrations in samples collected during the [COVID-19] pandemic were significantly higher than those measured in blood collected before the pandemic (medians 6.04 ng/mL vs 3.41 ng/mL, a 77% increase).”

These chemicals are now also being found in breastmilk. 🤦‍♀️ 

While the EPA says these quaternary ammonium compounds are A-okay, let’s see what the actual research shows, from “Quaternary Ammonium Compounds: A Chemical Class of Emerging Concern” 👇

1. 🫁 Respiratory effects: Chronic lung diseases at higher rates when exposed to QACs

• “In a prospective cohort study of female nurses in the US, high-level exposures to disinfectants and cleaning products, including QAC-containing items, were significantly associated with increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, independent of asthma and smoking status.”

• “Studies conducted among hospital staff, staff in other sectors, and case reports have found exposure to QAC-containing disinfectants and cleaning products to be linked to work-related asthma.”

2. 🦠 Immune effects: More QACs = more inflammatory molecules in circulation

• “A pilot study examining the immune response to QAC exposure in humans reported that 80% of participants had blood residues of [QACs] and a dose-dependent increase in inflammatory cytokine concentrations.” 

3. 🍆 Reproductive toxicity: QACs were once used to sterilize dogs! 🤯 

• “A 6 month breeding trial in mice exposed orally to a commercial cleaning product containing [QACs[ demonstrated infertility and decreased fecundity.”

• “The potential for reproductive toxicity of QACs is highlighted in a patent from 1975 titled “Method for the Control of Fertility’’ that presents studies demonstrating that dietary administration of QACs to dogs and rats is embryocidal, ovicidal, and/or spermicidal.”

• No human epidemiologic studies on reproduction or development have been identified. 

4. 😦 Skin problems

• Skin irritation, sensitization, and dermatitis associated with QAC exposure have been reported. 

5. 🤱 Developmental toxicity: QACs may lead to serious fetal malformation 

• “Exposure to a commercial cleaning product containing [QACs] impaired embryo development, caused neural tube defects (NTDs), and increased embryonic death in mice.”

6. 🔋 Mitochondrial issues: QAC damage metabolism and mitochondria

• “Chemically, most QACs can accumulate into a negatively charged mitochondrial matrix. Evidence of direct inhibition of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation comes from multiple in vitro studies involving several QACs.” 

Now, those who claim to be “evidence based” will say that none of this above mentioned data matters. “It’s in mice, rats, it’s small studies! It’s pseudoscience! Ignore it all!’ 

But I won’t! I can’t! Not with autism rates at 1 in 22. Not with cancer affecting nearly 50% of Americans. Not with early onset Alzheimer’s dementia skyrocketing. Not with autoimmune diseases increasing 12% per year in some studies. Not with over 50% of Americans having type 2 diabetes. We’re being poisoned. We have to put the pieces together, or humanity will become so sick, depressed, and infertile that we perish.

✍️ Read more: Newsletter #25: American health is getting destroyed (and it is simple to improve)

🧽 Our body is a filter! Don’t be a dirty one!

I can’t overstress this enough: Your body IS a filter. A big, wet, squishy biologic filter. If you don’t protect your body from excess synthetic chemical exposure, then it will need to spend an inordinate amount of its energy and resources on dealing with toxins rather than thriving. Every synthetic chemical you inhale, absorb through your skin, or ingest—your body must process. Your beautiful lungs, your respiratory lining, your kidney, your liver, your skin, your gut: all types of filters. Of course, the body can handle and process a certain amount of synthetic chemicals and toxins. But the onslaught of chemicals we now face in our modern world – with at least 350,000 chemical substances registered for production and large scale use over the past 30 to 40 years – is simply too much. We’re tipping the scales at overloading our cell biology, and it’s breaking. We know that so many of these chemicals are obesogens, meaning chemicals in the environment that disrupt our metabolism and lead to metabolic dysfunction and obesity. Respect the filter of the body by avoiding excess exposure AND speaking up to get toxins removed from public places, food, schools, etc!

📺 Watch more: Obesogenic chemicals 101 with Dr. Casey

Now, imagine this happening thousands of times a day. What might that lead to? 👇️ 

• Chronic fatigue (your cells are drowning in synthetic toxins, impairing energy production in our cells, aka metabolism)

• Inflammation (relentless immune activation against foreign compounds)

• Mitochondrial dysfunction (energy production gets hijacked by chemical stressors)

• Increased cancer risk (DNA damage from persistent exposure)

We didn’t evolve with these synthetic chemicals. And yet, we are surrounded by them:

• Pesticides on food (only 1% of US farmland is organic, and research shows 81% of us have detectable glyphosate in our urine)

• Toxic BPA in thermal paper chemicals in receipts

• Air fresheners, scented trash bags, and dryer sheets emitting VOCs (volatile organic compounds)

• Artificial flavors, dyes, & preservatives in processed foods

• VOCs released from furniture, paint, and household cleaners

• Microplastics in the water supply, foods, and drinks

• Toxic fame retardants in mattresses, couches, and electronics

• Heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic) in water, food, medications, soil, and cosmetics

• Formaldehyde and neurotoxic metals like aluminum in government-mandated vaccines

• Endocrine disruptors in canned foods, personal care products, and cleaning products

• PFAS (“forever chemicals”) in nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, and fast food packaging

• And so, so, so many more…

✍️ Read more: Newsletter #2 - Air fresheners are poison

Whether you like it or not, and whether you consciously know it or not, these synthetic chemicals are floating around our bloodstreams, interacting with our cells, all the time. Our bodies are confused and overwhelmed. 

👊 What we can do

We don’t have to accept this chemical onslaught as inevitable, even though trillions of dollars of global industry is fueling it. I’ve written about what you can do and choices you can make extensively in other articles (See Newsletter #24, Newsletter #50, and my non-toxic gift guide) and in my book Good Energy, but here are some simple ideas relevant to the specific gym setting, just to get ideas flowing: 

• Simpler, cheaper cleaning products: Use bamboo paper towels and a spray bottle with vinegar and water, hydrogen-peroxide based all purpose cleaner like Ecos (which also kills 99.9% of germs), or Branch Basics. 

• Open the doors!: Improve ventilation in any space, as indoor air pollution is often 2 to 5x worse than outdoor air pollution. 

• Get non-toxic wipes: There are plant-based unscented wipe options like Babyganics. If the gym were going to stick with the brand Zogics which makes the toxic wipes, at least get their “non-toxic” “eco-friendly” version which uses citric acid instead of Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and other QACs.

A while back, I surveyed my audience on Instagram about whether they would feel comfortable speaking up to share direct feedback with a company or brand if they wanted them to provide cleaner, non-toxic, scent-free products. Amazingly, 62% said “No,” either because they are “nervous to speak up” or “don’t think it will make a difference.” So, for companies or gyms that might reply, “we’ve never heard this feedback before!”... It might not be because there isn’t a problem. It might just be because of customers’ anxiety about ruffling feathers.

🏋️ Next steps for me and the gym 

I have been going back and forth on how to approach the gym about the toxic wipes. It’s a tough one, because everyone is doing their best, and certainly these gym owners care about health. It can feel like an attack to get critical feedback from a new client. I plan to write to the owners a kind note and see if they are up for a conversation about a more natural cleaning solution for the gym, and offer to help them in implementing this.

❓️ How would you approach this? 

Sending you good wishes for a good energy week!

💗 , Dr. Casey

Newsletter Sponsor: Momentous!

A little more 👇️ 

☣️ The bigger chemical fight taking place RIGHT NOW… Bayer’s paying politicians to implement legal immunity for pesticide manufacturers

Meanwhile, on the national level a major legislative battle around chemical exposure is unfolding that you should be aware of! Bayer-Monsanto (the maker of Roundup) and other pesticide giants are lobbying for sweeping legal immunity, which would prevent them from being sued for the harm their chemicals cause. If passed, this will be terrible for humanity and nature, because these chemicals are known to cause cancer and biodiversity loss, and these liability shields will cause more pesticides to be used. Recall, Bayer-Monsanto has had to pay out tens of billions of dollars of fines to cancer victims for jury verdicts against Roundup.

In several American states, including Iowa and Missouri, legislation to help conventional (non-organic) farmers is being proposed that would protect pesticide companies from claims that they failed to warn consumers about cancer risks if their product labels comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. According to Moms Across America:

“Bayer/Monsanto has just hired 20 agrochemical lobbyists to convince your Senators and Congressmembers that they should enjoy complete immunity from lawsuits, just like the vaccine companies. In other words, they should be able to produce pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, and as long as the EPA gives them a license to do so (which does not establish safety for human exposure), then they could never be sued for cancer or other harmful impacts due to exposure to their products.” 

Moreover, organizations like “Modern Ag Alliance” – presenting themselves as a grassroots initiative, but actually created and funded by Bayer-Monsanto–  have been promoting the safety of glyphosate and calling naysayers of these new proposed laws as “anti-farmer.”

‼️ CALL TO ACTION: Go to THIS WEBSITE and find out how to ask your Senator or Congressman to say no - a simple email to their office makes a HUGE difference! Especially relevant for people living in North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Missouri, Florida, Georgia, Georgia, Montana, Tennessee, and Idaho. You can simply google the email address for the Senator or Congressman and tell them you do not want these bills passed. 

And of course, you can stop the support of the pesticide industry by buying organic food, supporting organic farmer’s markets, NEVER buying or using synthetic weed killers in your home or yard, and talking to your schools, parks, golf courses, etc to ensure that they are not using synthetic pesticides on grass.

And if you need a reminder of the health impacts of pesticides, or know someone who still thinks “organic doesn’t really matter,” take a look at this graphic I made (and share it!).

💫 Hopeful progress on the chemical front

As of yesterday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has directed the FDA to explore rulemaking to eliminate the self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) pathway, which currently allows companies to self-declare food ingredients safe without robust research or safety data. This move aims to enhance transparency, ensure FDA oversight of new ingredients, and close a loophole that has allowed potentially unsafe substances into the food supply. The FDA and HHS also plan to work with Congress on legislative measures to reinforce this reform, aligning with their broader commitment to consumer health and transparency. This would be great news, as it might hold industry to a higher standard to proving safety of food chemicals before they enter our food supply. Currently, there are around 4,000 chemicals allowed in our food supply (see the FDAs official list here). Most are not studied for safety, and, of course, the synergistic effect of all these chemicals is impossible to study. 

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