Its officially Spring and traditionally spring has bee one of the cleansing seasons, to let's continue the conversation of cleansing and doing a detox...
If you missed part one, you can find it at this link.
Let's take look at our toxic burden (the number of accumulated poisons like heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, herbicides, fluoride, chlorine, preservatives, and xenoestrogens in our tissue).
There are many protocols and approaches to cleansing and detoxifying our bodies. You might wonder which one is the best cleanse or the best detox….Should I use herbs? What about Saunas? Juice Fast? Water Fast? Epsom Salt Baths? Intermittent Fasting? Coffee enemas? Colonics? Lymphatic Drainage?
These are all great ideas to complement any cleansing and detoxification efforts. That being said, let us look at the main external culprits of toxicity in the body – food and personal care products.
Our health and the amount of toxins in our bodies starts in our own kitchen with all of our food choices. The right foods will support the body and facilitate the natural detoxication process. Foods can even actively detoxify the body. So, the questions I ask my clients seeking advice on cleansing and detoxification are: How natural is your food? How is your food grown? Where is your food grown? How do you prepare your food? How do you store your food? What are the ingredients in your food?
Conventionally grown foods are more often than not grown with the use of pesticides and herbicides. The plants absorb these chemicals into their system and pass them off to the parts we eat. In addition, many conventionally grown vegetables and fruits are genetically modified (GMO), that means, aside from treated with a lot of herbicides and pesticides, their genes have been altered to either produce the pesticides themselves or to be “immune” to them. They are no longer natural.
Packaged food often contains GMO crops and are laden with additives and preservatives. Many of these additives are highly toxic and very disruptive to the chemical balance in our bodies and to our endocrine system. A number of the toxins found in our foods are xenoestrogens – they mimic the natural estrogens made in the body, but the body cannot assimilate or process them properly which then prevents the body from maintaining proper hormonal balance. Many of these additives and preservatives are declared safe without ever being thoroughly tested. Even if the amount of any additive is negligible in one product, between all the products and over a span of time, it adds up!
Over time, our elimination system has to work overtime to process and safely remove these toxins, and whatever doesn’t get processed remains and accumulates in the body, mostly encapsulated in our fat cells. The heavier the toxic burden, the harder it is for our body to work efficiently. We are not just talking about one or two additives – there are hundreds. Now add the pesticides and herbicide residue on the produce and in the processed foods. More toxic chemicals for the liver to process and for the body to eliminate.
If we don’t stop putting toxins into the body, we can’t effectively cleanse the body. It’s like taking your car to a car wash that is located in a mud pit or like mopping your floors in muddy boots. We have to think prevention!! We have to think of detox and cleansing not as an annual event. The closer we live to nature the easier it is for the body to detoxify. Each natural food intended for human consumption by Mother Nature has a purpose and specific properties. That means the food on our plates should always be wholesome, unprocessed, unadulterated organic foods to provide the minerals, vitamins, and enzymes for the various functions. Our diet should be comprised of fresh, organic, raw, and lightly cooked vegetables and fruits and some pasture raised meat which will provide us with the necessary minerals, vitamins, enzymes, proteins, fats, and probiotics that are required for the body’s natural functioning, including cleansing processes. If we expect good health, then we must provide the body with the materials / nutrients it needs to do its various jobs.
The second preventative actions we should make a daily habit is to ensure that the personal care products we use are free of toxins. The majority of personal care products on the supermarket shelves contain ingredients that are toxic and dangerous to our health.
An article in the Harvard Health Publishing states that many products are tested for short term safety e.g., skin irritations. They are not tested for long term safety and health impact. (Toxic beauty - Harvard Health). The toxic chemicals we put on our skin get absorbed into the body and have to be processed by the liver and eliminated in one way or another. This is adding to the body’s toxic burden.
Reading labels and understanding the ingredients is a great start. There is an app by the Environmental Working Group called EWG Healthy Living that can be used to scan a product and get a quick safety rating of the product and its ingredients. Going natural and maybe even making some of your own natural care products is a great alternative to commercial chemical filled products.
If you would like to discuss cleansing and detoxification in more detail or get help with developing a personalized plan for you, consider a consultation with Dr. Evelin.
To book an appointment with Dr. Evelyn Valdez, ND, visit: https://booking.appointy.com/LotusWellness.
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