10 ways to reduce toxins in your life
Every day, we're exposed to toxins, from our food, water and air, and as modern life becomes more and more toxic, what we demand of our liver becomes more and more intense. Our body has a built in detoxification system which works 24/7, through our liver, gut, skin, kidneys and lungs. The liver, our main filtration system, has two detoxification phases, each which is very important. The 'phase 1' pathway is being responsible for breaking things down into smaller raw materials meaning that it converts a toxic chemical into a less harmful chemical. However, the byproducts of 'phase 1' can still be a toxic threat to the body, if the toxins are allowed to build up and stay in the liver which is where 'phase 2' comes in. 'Phase 2' provides a final neutralization of the toxins so that they can be removed from the body in which are done by adding on another substance (cysteine, glycine or a sulphur molecule) to the toxic chemical. This makes the toxin water-soluble so that they can be excreted from the body.
Over millions of years, our liver has evolved to handle an increasing number of demands, metabolizing toxins found in food and the environment. Every drug, artificial chemical, pesticide and hormone, is broken down (metabolised) by this pathways inside the liver. Exposure to too many toxins causes your liver to become overwhelmed, and both that, as well as not getting the proper nutrients needed to process toxins effectively, will slow down the liver's functioning, leading to an increase of toxins within the body. The brain, breast and adrenal glands are organs with higher levels of fatty tissue, making these favorite places for toxin stores. Unfortunately, this can lead to brain toxicity (alzheimer) and hormonal imbalances and other damaging side effects. By eating right and supporting phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification of your liver, you will promote good health and vitality.
Hormonal imbalances and their relationship to toxins
First things first, hormonal imbalance is an uneven distribution of hormone levels throughout the body. While some are too high, others are too low. Hormone imbalance could also mean that the ratio, or comparison, between hormones is out of balance, which causes an imbalance.
A sluggish liver (caused by for example toxic overload) can by itself create an hormonal imbalance, as the liver can no longer metabolize and break down excess hormones. But it's also important, when talking about the relationship between toxins and hormonal imbalance, to address what are called “endocrine disrupting” toxins. Because not only does these toxins create a strain on the liver, this chemicals also influence how the glands in our body make and respond to hormones. In fact, once they get inside your body, some of these chemicals actually mimic the hormone estrogen. These are called “xenoestrogens” and BPA is a good example. Short for Bisphenol-A, BPA is a plastic compound considered to be an endocrine-disrupting “xenoestrogen”. Your body treats it just like the hormone estrogen and uses it in the same way that it uses your own estrogen. The problem is, that chemical xenoestrogens like this are very strong, much stronger than our own hormones, causing our hormonal levels to become imbalanced. So if the liver, which helps to filter out these excess hormones, including xenoestrogens, and other toxins, is constantly being bombarded with more and more toxins, the hormones are not able to exit the body properly and are therefore forced to recirculate throughout the body. When this happens, you are faced with an imbalance of the hormones and then begin experiencing symptoms of hormonal imbalance, such as fatigue, PMS, weight gain, brain fog, bloating, acne, mood swings, headaches, infertility, muscle aches and pains and low sex drive.
Some simple strategies to reduce your toxic exposure
1. Use glass instead of plastic. Beyond an environmental concern, plastics can also be hazardous to your body's environment as they are filled with harmful chemicals like Bisphenol A, or BPA which is a hormone disrupting compound considered a "xenoestrogen" which means it can mimic the effect of estrogen in the body. This compound can leach into our water and food, making us ingest it when we eat and drink. You drank from BPA bottles as an infant, played with BPA toys as a child, you drank from BPA water bottles as an adult, you eat food from BPA in cans, and you eat on BPA plastic plates. Needless to say, all of us have been and continue to be exposed to BPA. Start using a glass water bottle, replace plastic bags and plastic food storage containers and stop buying processed foods that are packaged in plastics. Use glass, stainless steel, or reuse jars, to store food and drink out of. Same with plastic bags, use cotton bags as shopping bags, and small ones like this or this instead of using single use plastic in the supermarket.
2. Eat local and organic when possible. One easy way to minimize toxins is to eat food that hasn't been sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. If you can't get an organic option, make sure to thoroughly wash your conventional produce.
3. Clean up your beauty products and start using natural alternatives. This includes everything from soaps, shampoos, deodorants, lotions, perfumes, cosmetics to haircare products. Check labels, and aim for paraben and fragrance free products. As natural as possible. Conventional beauty products are loaded with toxins and harmful chemicals that our bodies absorb through our skin. Where do you think that face cream is, when the bottle is empty? It's in your body (liver). Everything we apply to our skin is directly absorbed into our bodies and is just as, if not more, important as what you are eating. In average, women come into contact with 168 chemicals each day, and the women of today are exposed to more xenoestrogenic toxins in a thirty-day period than our grandmother’s generation was exposed to over the course of their entire lives. Xenoestrogens acts as an estrogen in the body, so it disrupts your hormonal balance.
4. Stop using conventional menstrual products. Which are made from cotton that is sprayed with pesticides, before being bleached and treated with all sorts of chemicals that disrupts our hormones. Read more here.
5. Use only natural household cleaners: Toss the chemical house cleaners, and start making your own cleaner with vinegar, water and one of your favorite essential oils. Saves money, is better for you and the environment. Conventional dish soaps, laundry detergents and softeners and household cleaners contain harmful chemicals for your health. Recipe on homemade cleaning spray here and laundry softener here.
6. Swap out your regular toothpaste for fluoride free. My favorites are this and this.
7. Get regular. Pooping that is. Pooping is considered a “Phase 3” detoxification pathway, which means that once the liver has completed "phase 1" and "phase 2" detoxification and its job of converting the fat soluble toxins into water soluble compounds, the toxic waste can easily and rapidly be eliminated in the stool. If you don't poop at least once a day some would consider you constipated. Constipation isn't just uncomfortable for you, but it is also dangerous as the stool sits in your bowels and the toxins that you are supposed to eliminate can be reabsorbed.
8. Sweat more. Sweating it a great way to start cleaning toxins out of your body, and using an infrared sauna (or a regular one) or doing hot yoga are great ways to get your sweat on! Dry brushing can also help get your lymphatic system moving and remove stagnant toxins.
9. Ditch the conventional scented candles and air fresheners. These contain many harsh chemicals that disrupt hormones. Using a diffuser and essential oils is the safest way to have some beautiful scents floating throughout your house.
10. Reduce your alcohol and caffeine consumption. Excessive consumption puts a strain on the liver to detox and can disrupt many different organ systems.