Our daily lives are filled with hidden toxins that are sabotaging our health. The problem is that not a lot of people are talking about it. Did you know manufactures use an estimated 80,000 different chemicals in a large variety consumer products? Only 25% of these chemicals are adequately tested for potential health effects!
What causes toxins in the body? Daily exposure is an important piece of the puzzle. I’m going to illustrate the toxins you might encounter in a day, and the importance of toxic load.
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What are Toxins?
A toxin is a synthetic chemical or poison known to have harmful effects on the body. In other words anything that causes damage to the body.
I am not talking about a poisonous snake bite or eating one of those laundry tablets that look like candy. These events have immediate consequences. What I want to talk about today are the small amounts of synthetic chemicals found in our food, air and water.
The Industrial revolution introduced tens of thousands of new chemicals. Some of these toxic chemicals still exist in our environment today. The majority were not tested for long-term impact on human health. There was no time to do human studies that lasted a decade or two. In essence this means we are the subjects of a science experiment.
What are the Sources of Toxins in Your Body?
A Day in the Life of Sally
Sally is your typical woman in her late 20’s. She lives in a suburban apartment, has a 9-5 job and a good social life.
Sally wakes up to her alarm at 6 AM. She gets up, drinks some coffee and checks her social media. Then she jumps in the shower where she uses lovely smelling shampoo and body wash. Once she gets out of the shower, she puts on some lotion, deodorant, and makeup before getting dressed for work.
For breakfast, she grabs her favorite cereal with skim milk. After eating, Sally heads to work. As she waits for the bus, some people walk by smoking and discussing the latest politics. After a short bus ride, she arrives at work and heads for her desk to get to work.
After a quick morning meeting there are plenty of doughnuts to be found in the break room. Lunch rolls around after a busy morning at her desk. For lunch Sally goes out with co-workers for hamburger and french fries. This includes some bottled water and m&m cookies for dessert.
Sally and her friends rotate weekdays cooking meals at different houses. Tonight is Sally’s night to cook. She gets home cleans the bathroom, kitchen and picks up the living room in no time at all. She even starts a load of laundry. Her cleaning routine consists of a generic all-purpose cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner and air freshener spray.
For dinner Sally cooks up a chicken dish using her Teflon coated frying pan. Sides include baked potatoes and canned vegetables.
The doorbell rings, she lets in her 3 girlfriends and they all enjoy dinner and girl-talk. Afterwards they watch some TV along with a few bowls of microwave popcorn until it starts to get late. The girlfriends head home. Sally brushes her teeth with toothpaste, uses mouthwash and crashes into bed.
Toxins You Might Encounter Daily
Now you might be wondering, what is so toxic about Sally’s day? Lets take a look at the invisible toxins that Sally encounters during her day.
- Toxins in the Shower
- Tap water contains fluoride and chlorine. The steam from the shower can carry these toxins right into your lungs.
- Shower curtain liners are usually made of harmful chemicals such as PVC. These chemicals release toxic volatile organic compounds or VOC’s into the air.
- Personal care products
- This includes shampoo, body wash, deodorant, toothpaste, makeup and more.
- Learn how to Ditch Toxic Personal Care Products
- Toxins in food
- Look at what Sally Eats – A typical American diet.
- Breakfast
- Air Pollution
- This includes any number of things some which are out of our control
- Smoking
- Car Exhaust
- Air fresheners used inside the house fill the air with toxins.
- This includes any number of things some which are out of our control
- Drinking Water
- Bottled water can leach small amounts of plastic which we then ingest.
- Bottled Water vs Tap Water. Why Neither is a Good Choice
- Cleaning Supplies
- Conventional cleaners contain dangerous chemicals.
- Have you noticed the warnings listed on the bottles?
- Non-Stick Pans
- The majority of non-stick pans are coated with Teflon which is toxic.
- Find a non-toxic pan
- Laundry detergent
- You might not think much about your clothes. But the most people use toxic laundry detergent.
- Fragrance can be a concern. Fragrance contains neurotoxins which stick to your clothes. These toxins then sit next to your skin, your largest organ 24/7.
- Toxins in Laundry Detergent: Finding a Safe and Healthy Alternative
- Food Storage Containers
- Plastic leaches into our food causing us to ingest hormone disrupting chemicals.
- This includes food packaging from the store/restaurants as well as what you use at home.
- Why I don’t use plastic food storage containers
- 6 Compelling Reasons to Ditch Canned Foods
- Ditch Plastic Ziplock Bags for These Popular Trends
- Which Is Better: Glass Straws, Metal Straws, Silicone Straws or Bamboo Straws
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What is Toxic Load?
The Sad Story of Bob
Bob retreats to his cottage on the lake. He rows out onto the still water on his old worn out row boat. After a while, he sees a bit of water gathering in the bottom of the boat. After inspecting the puddle Bob becomes concerned as it expands. He makes a mental note to get a new row boat patch during his next town visit.
All of a sudden the water starts coming in so fast that Bob starts to bail water with a bucket. But he can’t catch up enough to stop bailing and row to safety. There’s nobody in sight. For hours he bails water. He gets tired and can hardly move anymore. Exhaustion hits him and he gives up bailing water.
A few minutes later the boat sinks and Bob drowns.
The Analogie
I promise I did not make up this story to make you sad.
The leak in the boat is a metaphor for how toxins can sneak up on us and impact our health and our life.
The water filling the boat represents the toxins entering your body.
The bucket is your liver and detox organs struggling to keep up and get rid of them fast enough.
After a while the body can not get rid of toxins fast enough, so they overflow to rest of the body and cause symptoms. As Bob starts to notice the leak it might begin with some weight gain or a few headaches as he goes about his life. He will ignore these minor inconveniences and consider it a part of getting older. As the water gets deeper, his symptoms begin to include chronic pain and forgetfulness. Eventually his body can’t handle normal functions and he becomes a cancer victim.
What are Signs of Toxins in the Body?
- Seasonal Allergies
- Digestive issues
- Gas / Bloating
- Weak Immune System / getting sick easily
- Headaches
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Heartburn
- Acne
- Fatigue
- Brain Fog
- Food Allergies
- Chemical Sensitivities
- Sinus Issues
- Heartburn
- Sleep Issues
- Bad Breath
- Menstrual Issues
Over time and with constant overflowing of the bucket things can progress to diseases like
- Parkinson’s disease
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Dementia
- Autism
- ADD
- Depression and other mood disorders
- Cancer
- Autoimmune disease
The Weakest Link
When our bodies are operating optimally they can handle the toxins we encounter. The body will remove the toxins before they cause damage. When toxins cause symptoms they manifest at the weakest link.
The weakest link is different for each individual. Weakest link examples
Skin – Symptoms for this person may include eczema or psoriasis.
Digestion – This person may have issues with bowel movements or stomach pain.
Brain – symptoms might be brain fog, ADHD or dementia.
Things that can affect the weakest link
- Some people have a genetic predisposition to certain diseases.
- Some people have an overall higher load of toxins. Perhaps they encounter more toxins in their daily environment.
- Some people might have an overburdened system. If they can’t detox then they will show symptoms at the weakest link in their body.
How hard is Sally’s body working to detox each of her daily exposures? My intention is not to scare you into a panic. I don’t want you to think that your entire life and EVERYTHING in it is toxic.
Instead, broaden your insights about where you might encounter different toxins.
Avoiding toxins in some cases is quite simple. Find a different product, or change a daily habit.
The Epic Guide to Eczema Gut Health Solutions
Why Some People Don’t get Sick
Why do I get sick and my best friend is fine? Why do some people not appear to be affected. The answer is it’s complicated. Each persons body is different. Genetics, gene expressions and toxins exposure all contribute. Some people have the ability to detox more efficiently than others.
Another popular metaphor is that everyone has a built in sink (they can be different sizes). Your sink gets clogged and it starts to fill up. Once it fills to the top it overflows and that is when you start to get symptoms. In this case once you know the problem the solution is obvious.
- Turn off the water – stop the toxins from coming in.
- Unclog the sink – help the toxins out of the body.
How to Get Rid of Toxins
Now that you’re thinking about these toxins in your body, the question is how do you get them out? The first step is to quit putting them into your body. There are plenty of small things you can start doing right now.
Stop Exposing Yourself to Toxins
- Clean up your diet
- For produce on the dirty dozen choose organic.
- Avoid refined white flour and refined sugar.
- Super Simple Beginners Guide to Clean Eating
- How to Uncomplicate Healthy Eating.
- Top 8 Secrets to Healthy Eating in 2020
- 6 Worthwhile Reasons to Avoid Junk Food
- Clean up your personal care routine
- Search the EWG Skin Deep database.
- Learn how to find Less Toxic Personal Care Products
- Use less toxic cleaning products
- Search the EWG Guide to Healthy Cleaning database.
- Make a goal to use less plastic
- Get a reusable stainless steel or glass water bottle. Our favorite is Klean Kanteen.
- Get rid of invisible toxins in your home
Help Your Body Naturally Detox
Don’t go and think that you can go buy some expensive detox program and be fine.
When I say detox I’m referring the science of how our bodies get rid of waste. The body naturally detoxifies itself day after day, 24 hours a day. We have organs for this job. The kidneys, lymph system, liver, lungs, and skin all work to expel toxins.
Things we can do to help our bodies natural detox pathways:
- Make sure your Elimination Pathways are Working Correctly.
- Do you poop one to two times a day?
- Do you sweat?
- Drink Plenty of Clean Filtered Water.
- Increase your Intake of Produce.
- Eat more leafy greens and brassicas (Kale, Cauliflower and Brussels sprouts)
- Aim for 8-10 servings of vegetables a day.
- Idea – Challenge yourself to eat at least 2 different vegetables at every meal.
- Move More
- Movement and exercise helps get the detox pathways going
- Manage Stress
- Relax
- Get some ‘me’ time
BONUS – Optional but helpful routines
Oil Pulling
Skin Brushing
Take a detox Bath
Once a week sit in a hot bath for 20 minutes. This will help draw out toxins, and lower stress.
Before getting in add:
- 1 cup Epsom Salt
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil mixed with 10 drops of lavender essential oil
- 1/2 cup of baking soda
Conclusion
Today toxins are unavoidable. While we can’t avoid every toxins, we can take steps to reduce our exposure. Toxic load is an important concept in understanding the increase in chronic diseases. In the past decade diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer, ADHD have increased drastically.
Living with disease, allergies, digestive issues, chronic fatigue is NOT normal. Now that you realize what causes toxins in the body are you willing to make a few changes to reduce the toxic load on your body? Every small change can help. What do you say? Will you defy the odds against you and live a long and vibrant life?
More Reading and References
Staying Healthy In A Toxic World – Lara Adler – Better Belly Project 2017
2 thoughts on “How Hidden Toxins are Sabotaging Your Health”
Great post! I learned something new today. Thanks for sharing!