Today, there are more toxins in our environment than ever before. This is, therefore, a critical time period to detox regularly.
It is also crucial to know your environmental toxin, heavy metal and mold mycotoxin levels in order to prevent and heal from chronic disease. The most advanced toxin combo test we recommend can be found here.
Detoxification is all about ridding the body of toxins. The goal is to lower toxic burden. Most of us have an elevated total toxic body burden. You can think of the concept of “toxic body burden” as a bucket. When the bucket we are given fills up and overflows, disease results.
Cardiovascular disease, cancer, autoimmune disease, neurodegeneration can all result from a high toxin level in the body. If your bucket has overfilled, it is time to detox.
Detoxifying practices can assist the body’s natural cleansing process. These practices assist the elimination and excretion of toxins through key organs.
Engaging in regular detoxifying habits can prevent chronic disease and help your body maintain optimal health and cellular function.
We rely on advanced toxin testing first and foremost. What is the level of environmental toxins (like pesticides and plastics), heavy metals and mold mycotoxins in your body? How full is your “bucket”? Getting the data from these tests allows for a very individualized detox protocol that will accelerate toxin release and healing.
When it comes to toxins, you have to understand that the dose is not always the poison. It’s a cumulative impact. This means that in today’s chemical-laden world, it is very easy for your allotted bucket to overfill very quickly.
There are over 80,000 chemicals in our air, water and food alone. Interestingly, of the 80,000+ chemicals permitted in the U.S., only 500 of these are “tested” (a loosely used term here) by the EPA. Therefore, it can be argued that we are currently the subjects in one of the greatest chemistry experiments of all time.
Toxin exposure starts prior to birth. Toxin burden of the mother, heavy metals and glyphosate in vaccines, pesticides and herbicides sprayed on crops, heavy metals in water, mold mycotoxins in the air…the list goes on and on.
When it comes to assessing toxin risk, one must always consider both external and internal toxin exposures. The exposome is the combined source of all internal and external exposures.
Research has shown there are many factors including individual physiology, an individual’s unique characteristics, endogenous/ exogenous exposures, epigenetics/ genetics, environmental exposures, other exposures, socioeconomic status and lifestyle that can all impact the exposome and health status of an individual.
Analysis of the exposome sheds light on the fact that most all of us have a high toxic body burden and are subject to many other factors that influence this burden. When it comes to optimizing health, this is one of the first things that must be addressed for true healing to take place.
Fasting has been shown to have potent detox effects. A study found that fasting could lead to increased upregulation of several key detox enzymes. Furthermore, the study showed that fasting has the ability to alter drug metabolism by increasing all of the phases of liver detoxification leading to a decreased risk of toxic side effects. Depending on your unique toxin level, you can alter your fasting time. Some individuals like intermittent fasting while others require extended water fasts.
Cleanse and protect your liver with key detox nutrients such as resveratrol, ginger, turmeric, green tea, berberine and milk thistle seed extract. These nutrients are found in therapeutic doses in our Optilipid. Take 1 cap twice per day for optimal detoxification support. While Optilipid is aptly named for its role in optimizing cholesterol levels, it also an essential detox supplement.
Fiber-rich foods such as chia seeds, psyllium husk, and organic fruits and veggies are great detoxifying foods. Increasing fiber intake naturally helps to bind and remove toxins from the body. One of the most important processes in detoxification is the final step: the elimination phase. Fiber is critical for this step and one of its key known roles is detoxification of toxins. For example, 2017 research has shown that consuming fiber-rich foods helps to reduce exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Work on varying your fiber intake including consumption of both soluble and insoluble forms of fiber.
N-acetyl cysteine, or NAC, is the sulfur containing amino acid that is a precursor to glutathione. As a rich source of sulfur, it stimulates the formation and activity of glutathione. Glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant. Evidence has shown that NAC has potent antioxidant activity. NAC is able to promote liver detoxification as well as protect the liver from toxin damage. Take 1 capsule twice per day of our Gluta Boost for potent antioxidant support.
You should drink a minimum of 64 ounces of water per day. Pure, high-quality water that is free from environmental and chemical toxins is key. Our favorite water is Pristine Hydro. Pristine Hydro takes water through ten advanced stages of filtration to remove even the smallest contaminants. It then re-mineralizes it and re-energizes it to provide the best quality drinking water there is. Water is one of the main sources of hazardous toxins for most people. The focus for health should be on sourcing only pure drinking water. Furthermore, water is essential to detoxing as it can aid in flushing toxins out of the body through urine output.
Chronic stress impedes the body’s natural ability to detox. This is because chronic stress inhibits proper circulation of key nutrients and oxygen through the body. Stress is an internal toxin. Focus on regular, deep breathing techniques. Exercise the mind like you would your body. This helps to boost oxygen flow and circulation, allowing for better transport and excretion of toxins. Furthermore, regular mediation helps keep the body in parasympathetic mode, which is key for supporting optimal levels of detoxification. Detoxification is turned on fully when you’re in a parasympathetic state. The vagus nerve, a vital part of the parasympathetic response, is connected to the key detox organs (liver, kidney, spleen, lungs, small intestine, large intestine and gallbladder).
Sweating is another great way to push toxins out of the body and remove harmful waste. The act of sweating is a natural detoxification mechanism of our bodies. Infrared saunas, like those from Sunlighten, are the best option for therapeutic detoxification. The more you safely sweat by heating your core, the more toxins you expel. Sunlighten sauna’s provide research-backed benefits. And it’s thought that Sunlighten sauna use is seven times more effective than a traditional sauna due to far infrared technology being able to mobilize toxins deeper in tissues.
You can kickstart your daily detox by purifying the air you breathe. When you are detoxing your body, it is crucial to purify the air you breathe as this is a common source of toxins for most people. Our favorite air purifier comes from Austin air. This system has advanced HEPA filters which capture small particles such as mold mycotoxins and allergenic materials. Air purifiers work to extract some of the toxins that can be found in circulating indoor air and thus are a necessary component to any detox regimen. The Austin Air models have several stages of filtration and are able to extract 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns and greater, which means they are extremely effective at extracting even the smallest particles such as allergens and mold spores. Our favorite go-to model is called The Healthmate Plus.
Binders are used to bind toxins in the body and help expel them out. Some bind toxins by trapping them while others bind toxins through electrical charge. Binders can be used on a daily basis (everyone is exposed to toxins daily) or in the recovery from chronic diseases. One of our favorite binders is GI Detox. GI Detox contains several toxin binders to allow for the binding of multiple toxins. It’s kind of like a one binder does it all approach with this product. Binders in GI Detox include zeolite, apple pectin, silica, activated charcoal and humic and fulvic acids. This array of binders allows for trapping of heavy metals, mycotoxins and other metabolites. Another benefit of taking binders is that they help to transport toxins out of the body as quickly as possible and prevents them from re-circulating, which helps to mitigate some of the detox reactions that a lot of people experience.
Regular movement is key to stimulating detoxification of the body. While all the mechanisms aren’t entirely clear, there are a few evidence-backed reasons why you should commit to exercising for your detox. Exercise helps to stimulate the lymphatic system, which unlike the circulatory system, doesn’t have a pump. Therefore, movement (or massage) is needed to flush lymph through. Exercise boosts circulation, which is key for healthy organ functioning and transport of toxins out of the body. Additionally, the sweat generated during a workout is incredibly detoxing. Again, while the liver and the kidneys are the major players in detoxification, the skin is still a key organ where toxins are released. Research has validated this concept of “sweat cleansing”. A 2012 study published in the Journal of Environmental Public Health found that heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic and lead were found to be released in significant quantities from the skin and that sweating (through exercise or sauna) should be a detox modality used to prevent disease.
Check out our Detox Starter Kit. It includes one Optilipid, one Daily Defense, one Gluta Boost and one GI Detox.
There are many other daily detoxifying habits you could include in your health regimen. If you have questions about toxin testing or are interested in developing your own bio-individual detox protocol, you can schedule a free, 20-minute health coaching call here.
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