What does Toxicity mean? Everyone seems to agree these days that we live in a toxic world. We are bombarded daily by pollutants in our water, our air and our food. Even our body care products, haircare and cosmetic products contain toxins. Toxicity can mean a number of things, but the common denominator for all toxins is that they have a harmful effect on your body. Some toxins are immediately noticeable, like food poisoning. Sometimes toxins may show up in your body as inflammation and pain. Some toxins never give you any obvious indications but they disrupt your hormones, which will cause a myriad of symptoms in your body. These pollutants, i.e. Heavy Metals, Petrochemicals, Chlorine, Hydrogenated Fats, Aspartame, MSG, etc. POISON your body, DAMAGE your organs, LOWER your energy, AGE your body and CREATE PAIN and DISEASE. I included certain food additives because they POLLUTE OUR FOOD! Toxins like Mercury and Aluminum, along with Hydrogenated Fats collect in your arteries and brain and are large contributors to diseases like Alzheimers, Heart Disease and Cancer.
Your body is constantly detoxing. Your kidneys, your liver, your colon and intestines are hard at work 24/7 trying to keep you whole and healthy, but the amount of toxins we’re exposed to today overloads our natural cleansing ability and we end up storing toxins all over the body. Muscles, fat, arteries, joints, our brain… When you detox periodically you help your body “clean your house”. It’s kind of like spring cleaning. You know, get the clutter out! Clutter is anything that keeps your body from functioning at optimum levels. Then your body can do what it’s designed to do – HEAL whatever is out of balance or in Disease.
It’s time to change your oil! Think about purchasing a brand new Lexus convertible. It’s gorgeous, runs great and will last several hundred thousand miles… If you change the oil. How would that car run if you never changed the oil, EVER? Even after 20,000 miles it would start to run slower. Think about 50,000 – even slower. Eventually that beautiful, powerful car would grind to a halt…dead. The engine, so full of sludge it can no longer function. Detoxing your liver is like changing the oil in your car. Your liver gets full of sludge too! People think when they have less energy that “they’re just getting older.” No…just like your car, you need to “change your oil” so that you can function at peak capacity. YOU’RE NOT GETTING OLDER… YOU’RE GETTING TOXIC!!! WE TAKE BETTER CARE OF OUR CARS THAN OUR BODIES! The good news is that it’s pretty easy to detox. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Swap your soda’s and coffee for lemon water – your liver LOVES lemon!
- Eat a huge salad everyday – lot’s of veggies – easy on the dressing.
- Eliminate Aspartame, hydrogenated fats and MSG from your diet – this means you have to be diligent about reading labels. You’ll be shocked when you do.
- Only drink on the weekends – I know…party pooper!
- Step away from fast food restaurants! Plan ahead – you can do it!
- Have a raw smoothie or green drink everyday. It gives you energy and detox’s you.
- Drink lots of FILTERED or spring water – avoid plastic bottled water.
- Install a water filter on your shower head – we ingest tons of chlorine when we take hot showers and chlorine has been linked to heart disease and cancer.
- Cut out ALL sugar – even if it’s just for a couple of weeks – and see how you feel.
The key here is BABY STEPS. Start with something that you know you can do without failing and just do it! After you’ve done it a week or two, add something else. You want to incorporate as many DETOX HABITS into your life as possible. Let them become second nature. YOUR BODY WILL LOVE YOU for it!
There are plenty of herbal detoxifiers and colon cleansing kits on the market these days but I suggest that you start detoxing with food and water first. It’s easier on your body and you’re less likely to feel bad. You can always add detox teas, herbs, etc. after you have applied some
of the detox strategies listed above for a couple of weeks.
If you’re REALLY TOXIC you may go through what is called a “HEALING CRISIS.” It kind of feels like the flu. You ache, some people get chills and fever, your energy is low and you may even break out in acne or a rash. Don’t get discouraged, it’s actually good news! Your body is cleansing and it’s ridding itself of nasty toxins. HANG IN THERE…you’re going to feel soooo much better in a day or two. Your prize for going through this is BETTER HEALTH, MORE ENERGY, LESS PAIN, clearer skin and better food assimilation. You may even lose a little weight!
