Let’s start with an analogy using your vehicle as your body. A vehicle, like any other machine, must be serviced and repaired in order to maintain its functionality. Every few thousand kilometres we know to bring the vehicle in for an oil and filter change. The oil becomes black from the carbon deposits due to the combustion of the gasoline (toxins) and even though the filter is supposed to trap those particles (your detoxification system), over time they make it through into the oil causing it to go black and viscous (damage to your body) – and thus they need to be changed (support your detoxification system). If your oil and filter don’t get changed regularly, overtime your vehicle will stop functioning properly and more extensive repairs will be needed. Your body is also a machine, just like your vehicle, and over time through the continuous exposure to toxins, without proper support of our detoxification systems, we also can suffer from the negative effects of toxin build-up leading to multiple chronic diseases, accelerated aging, and weight gain.
So where do these toxins come from in the first place? Well there are two categories of toxins: endotoxins and exotoxins. Endotoxins (meaning toxins coming from the inside) include end-products of metabolism (as your body functions it makes toxins), some hormones (some versions of hormones are considered toxic), and emotional stress which affects your own physiology to produce toxins. Exotoxins (meaning toxins coming from the outside) are drugs (pharmaceutical, over-the-counter, recreational, etc), chemicals (agricultural, food additives, household, pollutants/contaminants, toxic metals), and microbes. We are living in an increasingly toxic world and correspondingly we are seeing in increase in obesity, accelerated aging, chronic disease which primarily affect our nervous, immune, and endocrine systems and cancer.
The human body is truly a remarkable machine in that it has mechanisms in place to help us remove these toxins on a daily basis through the liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract primarily, but also through the lymph, skin, and lungs. The issue becomes when the toxic burden overpowers our own innate ability to detoxify effectively, which with the increase in toxic exposures is not too surprising that our bodies become compromised due to toxic overload.
How do you know if you’re toxic? Your past and current exposure is definitely key to suspect toxin overload, such as use of drugs (pharmaceutical and recreational), occupation (painter, welder, construction worker, artist, hairdresser, etc), pesticide use, non-organic dairy or meat consumption as well as eating convenient/packaged foods, having an attached garage, living in a high pollution area, using toxic cleaners, among many others. If you suffer from neurological and/or mental disease, immune dysfunction (autoimmune conditions, allergies, asthma), endocrine (hormone) disorders, cancer, dermatological conditions can all point to an overburdened toxin load as well as suffering from digestive issues, headaches, fatigue/low energy, excess weight, musculoskeletal pain and inflammatory conditions.
So what can you do about decreasing your toxic burden? First things first, decrease your exposure! Eat organic foods, avoid known allergenic foods (remove all your food sensitivities), avoid storing and heating foods in plastic containers, use natural cosmetics and cleaning products, if you can avoid living by pesticide using farms or change your occupation (if you can) it would also be ideal. You can start drinking more water to aid in the flushing of toxins and increasing your fibre intake to help move the toxins out through the bowels (make sure you drink more water to compensate – we need to make sure you have a daily healthy bowel movement). You can also add some dry skin brushing with a loofa (brushing from the extremities towards the heart) to aid in lymphatic circulation (the waste removal system), castor oil packs to the abdomen (careful castor oil stains everything in comes into contact), infrared saunas, and even meditation or yoga as an emotional detox. Outside of the basics, adding a liver and kidney specific program can be beneficial to really kick start your detoxification pathways. But be careful here, not all programs are safe especially if you’re on any medication, make sure that you consult with your naturopathic doctor to determine the safety of any detoxification or cleansing program prior to starting. If you suspect toxic metal involvement then a chelation program would be required to remove these types of toxins – speak to your naturopathic doctor for more information.
Over accumulation of toxins can really be the source of many health related issues, but by using the above tips you can start decreasing your toxic burden and thus start losing weight, prevent/treat chronic disease and slow down aging. I personally recommend doing at least one yearly detoxification program (usually in Spring) to keep your body (machine) running at peak efficiency. For more information on detoxification and to choose a program that’s right for you contact Dr. V for an appointment today.
