#eliminatetoxins #detox #reduceyourtoxicburden #ecofriendly #naturaldetox #cleanlifestyleformigraines #healthyliving
So last week we talked about how to identify environmental and internal sources of toxins that might affect your health. Now I promised you some tips to get you started on your journey to a cleaner lifestyle and reducing your toxic burden.
Your body has natural detoxification channels - the liver, kidneys, skin, lungs and gut that are constantly working to clear toxins from your body.
Most of us are constantly exposed to low-grade environmental toxins that can build up over time, leaving us feeling tired and sluggish.
Take out the bad stuff, put in the good stuff to relieve the burden on your body's natural detoxification channels!
Start by eliminating the environmental toxins that you are exposed to daily:
Drink plenty of clean water: Hydration is the foundation for the lymphatic system to function properly and flush out the toxic build-up in our bodies. AquaTru is the highest recommended pick for a counter-top water filter that removes up to 99% of all chemical toxins in your tap water. As a minimum, I recommend using a BRITA filter - and then don’t forget to add minerals to your water so you are able to absorb it too!
Adopt a whole foods diet: Food is the most powerful medicine on the planet. Choose organic (where possible to avoid pesticides), unprocessed whole foods and maintain a diet low in sugar, high in protein, healthy fats and fiber. Cut the sugar, alcohol, processed & refined foods, MSG, artificial sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup and processed vegetable oils. Supplements and targeted detox products can make detoxifying much easier, better and more effective. If you are interested in doing a self-paced detox program with targeted detox recommendations, recipe book, shopping list and meal plan, contact me for more details.
Ditch your chemical beauty products: What you put on your skin matters just as much as what you eat - our skin absorbs everything we put on it. Time to spring clean your bathroom cabinet and replace your toxic products with all-natural ones free from nasty chemicals, GMOs and endocrine disruptors. My favorite here in Europe is Bioflore. In the US, some good brands recommended by my colleagues are Beautycounter, Crunchi or Alitura Skin. Paula's Choice can also be a good option, but not all products are clean unfortunately.
Replace toxic household cleaners with non-toxic varieties or make your own. Not sure where to start? There’s plenty of videos you can find on youtube, but also books like Staying Alive In Toxic Times from Dr. Jenny Goodman you can check out for more guidance. Bioflore and DYI beauty sites often also provide recipes to make cosmetics and household products.
Clean up your cookware and storage containers and opt for non-plastic and non teflon like stainless steel, glass, cast iron or ceramic coated pans. I am using Greenpan ceramic coated pans for instance.
Get moving: Physical movement stimulates the lymphatic system and circulating lymph, encouraging the expulsion of toxins from the body. Don’t worry, activating your lymph system is as simple as doing 5 jumping jacks, using a skin dry brush each morning, daily walking and nose breathing.
Sweat out your toxins: Infrared saunas use infrared light waves to heat the body directly rather than heating the air in the sauna. The heat from an infrared sauna penetrates tissue more deeply, therefore supporting detoxification at a cellular level. I have invested in a sauna blanket in 2020 which makes it convenient to do at home. It does take a minimum of 40 minutes though (but you can watch TV or listen to your favorite podcast or take a nap at the same time ;-). Low EMF infrared saunas help to optimize the body’s most powerful processes for repair and relaxation. Exercise if of course another great way to sweat out your toxins!
Eliminating internal toxins is probably something you will need help with from an experienced practitioner. I recommend that you work with your practitioner or contact me if you want help with this.
Detoxing heavy metals for instance is really difficult as most supplements are not able to cross the blood-brain barrier and in-depth work on the vagus nerve and detoxing the GLYMPHATIC system is required to clear out the build up of amyloid plaques in your brain.
Also, detoxing mold is tough as it usually involves moving out of your house and getting rid of all your furniture while continuously detoxing from it. It’s estimated that 50% of homes and 80% of public buildings (churches, hospitals) in the US have water damage, which means they have mold. And 25% of people are genetically susceptible to being made sick by mold toxins (a much smaller percentage are extremely susceptible). So the “good” news is that you might be exposed to mold but not feel sick if you are not part of the 25%.
Eliminating bad bacteria overgrowth in your gut, healing leaky gut and balancing your hormones is typically something you would want to be accompanied by an experienced practitioner who is using the right tests to determine what exactly is your problem.