One step in helping our bodies achieve their optimal health is working to remove our incoming burden of toxins.
Our livers are our primary detox organs responsible for handling what’s incoming and getting rid of toxins so they don’t become stored in the body and accumulate.
Let’s first define toxins. They are any substance that has harmful effects on the body.
Toxins are “fat soluble” – they are attracted to the fatty portion of cells throughout the body. What is your brain made out of? Fat? Think about that. Do you want toxins getting stored in your fatty brain? No way! Right?
The liver has the ability to handle a certain amount of toxins, and each of our livers may be a little different. Likewise, each of us may be exposed to a different amount of toxins daily. Think of a glass of water half full. If we keep on pouring in the toxins, the glass will eventually get full. Our livers over our lifetime may accumulate a large amount of toxins and they may need some assistance to clear these out.
Where do toxins come from? You may think you aren’t exposed, but I would beg to differ that you are. We live in a very toxic world.
There are quite a few interesting movies/documentaries on how toxic our world really is. If you haven’t already, check out Stink, Living Downstream, and The Human Experiment on Netflix.
If you walk outside you are breathing in air and thus you are exposed to chemicals. If you are sitting in traffic and roll down your windows, the air around you is filled with auto exhaust.
Even the water we drink may be toxic. Is yours filtered?
You may not realize you are cleaning with products full of chemicals.
Your place of work may expose you to solvents. I often think of my friends who are hair stylists, who are exposed to so many chemicals. Or the chemicals I previously have put on my head… when I was using not safe products….
We are exposed to heavy metals in products we use, in medications we take, in the foods we consume, fillings in our mouths, and even vaccinations.
Other places we are exposed include…… our lifestyle toxins.
Even our cosmetics and skin care products can be contaminated.
It’s important that you don’t lather toxins daily on your largest organ, your skin.
We may choose to smoke, drink, or visit Starbucks. We may also use recreational, prescription, and OTC drugs, and consume artificial food additives and preservatives, genetically modified foods, as well as foods that are injected with hormones and antibiotics which herbicides and pesticides are used.
Believe it or not, each year, the average person is exposed to 14 pounds of pesticides, herbicides, food additives, and preservatives.
Atrazine, specifically, has a high concentration in Iowa. I’m in farming country here. Atrazine has been linked to insulin resistance and diabetes! These chemicals impair our bodies ability to function.
Also, U.S. EPA biopsy studies of chemicals stored in the fat of human beings show 100% of people studied had dioxins, PCB’s, dichlorobenzene, and xylene.
- Dioxins and PCB’s outgas from carbonless copy paper, plastics, inks, paints, furnishings, and construction glues.
- Xylene outgases from plastics, carpeting, furnishings, construction materials, industrial traffic exhaust, and more.
Other EPA studies of hundreds of Americans show 100% of human fat samples contain styrene.
- Styrene outgases from our computers and many everyday plastics that hold our juices, water, sodas, ketchup, peanut butter, milk, and even baby formula.
Why does this matter?
Styrene is a known carcinogen. These chemicals aren’t good for our bodies.
No one is immune to these chemicals.
CDC’s report in 2006 found that the average American has 116 of 148 synthetic compounds in the body.
Compounds tested included dioxin, polycyclic hydrocarbons, and organochlorine pesticides
Further studies revealed that these same substances were also found in human milk, placenta, umbilical cord blood, and the blood and body fat of newborns.
The average umbilical cord blood contains 217 neurotoxins, 208 are known to cause birth defects.
- Columbia University School of Public Health reports that 95% of cancer is caused by diet and environment.
We can change our diet but not necessarily the environment.
This is evidence of how burdened our detoxification capacities have become resulting in storage of toxins.
We can control working to revitalize our liver to help it be able to handle the toxins we ALL WILL be exposed to.
Tune in for the next three parts in this detox blog series. In Part 2, I’ll share how you can start to change your food and water to lessen your toxic load and in part three we’ll discuss ways to revitalize our liver through supplements and sauna use!
Learn more about detoxing the body in Chapter 5 of my book Your Longevity Blueprint.
Thank you for tuning in. Please share this knowledge with a friend.
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