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The chemical brothers

(article, Caroline Cummins)

So this probably isn't much of a shocker, but a group of Spanish scientists finally sat down and did the research to back up the obvious: In our post-industrial age, everybody harbors chemicals in their bodies.

The Spanish study, which looked at nearly 400 Spaniards from different parts of Spain, found that 100 percent of the study subjects had "at least one kind of persistent organic compound — substances internationally classified as potentially harmful to one's health — in their bodies."

The chemicals entered the body through food, water, or air, and were stashed in human adipose tissue (i.e., fat cells). Nearly everyone in the study was host to some sort of industrial chemical, including pesticides, fungicides, PCBs, and insecticides. 

Women had higher levels of toxicity than men, and older study subjects had more than younger subjects. So perhaps young men are healthier than most — for now.