By Richard Mesquita, AquaMD

(AquaMD is the water testing division of the American Water Council, a nationally respected provider of water education and testing services. AquaMD has teamed with Dr. Mercola to provide you with diagnostic services and the Dr. Mercola water testing packages at http://www.aquamd.com/mercola/labtests.cfm.)

Did you catch the recent findings coming out of Washington State University and published in Science magazine? It showed how exposure to environmental toxins affects your health more than anyone ever imagined. Researchers found exposure to toxins in the environment by your parents or grandparents may have caused you to inherit some of your ailments.

And, if you are exposed to environmental contaminants, you could pass on your exposure to generation after generation of your offspring.

For 60 years, scientists have known parents pass on genes to their children and grandchildren. Science has known, if parents passed on bad genes, their children and grandchildren would be more likely to suffer from diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Now, scientists have found that disease may be caused not only because of your parents or grandparents passing on bad genes, but also because they were exposed to toxins 70 years earlier. And even though their cells weren't affected by that exposure, yours are.

In fact, Dr. Michael Skinner, one of the researchers involved with the study at Washington State University, said toxins may even chemically modify the person's DNA!

The Experiment

The experiment started four years ago by accident when one scientist was studying testes development in rats when they come into contact with environmental toxins. Hence, he exposed them to a common fungicide and a common pesticide. Another researcher accidentally allowed two of the exposed rats to breed. But instead of restarting the experiment, the scientists decided to let some time pass to see what happened.

They found the male developed genetic disorders, because of his exposure to the pesticide and fungicide, which was no big surprise. What did shock them: The next three generations of male rats also had the same ailment as the very first one who was exposed to these toxins. The study proved the toxins the rats were exposed to in the first generation were still detected four generations later.

Just as shocking was that the impact was not reduced in each of the four following generations, even though only the first generation was exposed to the contaminants.

The scientists didn't tell anyone about their findings and continued their study for the next two years to confirm their findings. They eventually came to the conclusion the evidence was irrefutable. And, Dr. Skinner also believed the study implies cancer and other diseases can be passed on in the same way -- from generation-to-generation.

What Does This Mean For You?

It means that it is more important than ever to guard against exposure to environmental toxins.

There are 6 million to 7 million chemical substances known in industry and scientific research, and close to 70,000 of them are regularly used in the industrial, agriculture and service sectors. The EPA also reports that 4.3 billion pounds of toxic substances are legally dumped annually into our nation's environment.

Recent studies have shown that even low doses of toxins have a much greater impact than was once thought.

This study also suggests that even those studies underestimated the impact. Why? Because the way in which damage caused by exposure to toxins has been measured may be wrong. As Dr. Skinner said, they didn't find "a change in the DNA sequence," but a "chemical modification of the DNA."

That's why it is so important to find out if your water supply contains even low levels of toxins that you are exposed to when doing things you'd typically take for granted, like showering, bathing and cleaning dishes. If it does, you can install the right treatment system to remove those contaminants. And you can also get help from your health practitioner to treat the damage done to your body.