I attended the Inregrai symposium on Environmental Toxicity & Detoxification seminar for 2 days in Brisbane recently. I was shocked by the increasing data with how toxins have been shown to be primary drivers of chronic disease such as diabetes, dementia, infertility, autoimmunity, ADHD, obesity, alzheimer’s, cancer and many more.
This highlights again the vital importance of detoxification and I wanted to share with you what you can do to decrease your exposure and chemical load to so many of these environmental toxins in order to prevent dis-ease.
Did you know that over 100,000 chemicals are now registered for use in Australia (38,000 industrial chemicals) with 75% of these never having been tested for safety to human health and the environment?
According to the WHO ‘1/3 of the existing global burden of disease is caused by environmental factors’.
We are faced with toxins through the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink and the home we live in.
Toxins cause damage as they:
increase free radical production
are ‘endocrine disrupting chemicals’ that block or mimic the receptor sites within the body and disrupt human hormones such as thyroid, estrogen, testosterone and insulin
are neurotoxins
replace structural minerals such as zinc and calcium
damage DNA and cell membranes
Our bodies can take and detoxify a certain amount of toxins and contaminants, however our bodies were never designed to process and eliminate such high synthetic chemicals and when this toxic load gets too high and our body can no longer keep up with the load dis-ease manifests.
Toxins include:
*POPs – persistent organic pollutants which consist of organochlorine pesticides (insecticides, fungicides, herbicides) dioxins (such as PVCs, bleached paper, coal burning, fires and volcanoes) and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) used in commercial applications such as transformers, plasticisers, paints, plastics, rubber and carbonless copy paper. PCBs do not readily breakdown and are found cycling between air, water and soil and accumulate in food chains especially in fatty animal products such as meat, dairy and fish.
*Heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium from old paint, fish, amalgam fillings, old pipes and cigarette smoke
*Pthalates, sodium lauryl sulphate, formaldehyde, parabens and triclosan found in pharmaceuticals, solvents, personal care products such as make up, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, perfumes, soaps and hand sanitisers
*Arsenic found in water, chicken and rice.
*BPAs Bisphenols found in plastics and resins such as plastic bottles, containers and inner lining of canned foods and shopping receipts
*PDBEs brominated flame-retardants used in commercial products such as electronic equipment, building materials, carpet, clothing, bedding, mattresses and textiles. They are also used in car and aeroplane interiors.
It has been shown through studies that after 1 hour of exposure to chemicals they show up in the brain and many of these are neurotoxins. POPs are the worst neurotoxins whilst phthalates and bisphenols are the worst endocrine disruptors. There is a body of evidence that links pesticides to a range of cancers.
The WWFs list of “Australia’s most dangerous pesticides” contains 17 pesticides registered in Australia that are known, likely or probable carcinogens and another 42 that are suspected carcinogens. In addition to this, according to the online database of the Pesticide Action Network, of the 125 pesticides detected on Australian foods in the years 2000-2011, 21% could be possible carcinogens, 20% are carcinogens, 12% are developmental or reproductive toxins and 48% are suspected endocrine disruptors.
Things you can do:
Firstly
Decrease body load by decreasing exposure as much as possible
We do have a certain amount of control by choosing what food we eat, the environment we live and work in and what we put on our skin
Food
Aim to eat organic or pesticide free produce – follow the dirty dozen (most pesticides) and clean dozen (lower pesticides) guide
Dirty Dozen
Strawberries
Spinach
Nectarines
Apples
Grapes
Peaches
Cherries
Pears
Tomatoes
Celery
Potatoes
Sweet bell peppers plus kale, cucumbers and collard greens
Clean Dozen
Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Cabbage
Onions
Sweet Peas
Papayas
Asparagus
Mangoes
Eggplant
Honeydew
Kiwis
Rockmelon
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Choose sustainable seafood. Avoid farmed and imported seafood which are high in POPs (persistent organic pollutants). Farmed fish has shown to have 8 times higher POPs compared to wild.
Eat smaller fish such as sardines, whiting, flathead, mackerel and ocean trout. Avoid larger fish which have higher levels of mercury such as tuna, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy and catfish
Eat a rainbow of fresh pesticide free fruit and vegetables to ensure you get all the phytochemicals
Avoid canned foods which are high in BPA
Eat seasonal, local foods
Avoid plastic containers, plastic bottles and plastic toothbrushes etc – store your food in glass containers, use beeswax wraps for wrapping food and a bamboo toothbrush
Take your own shopping bags & avoid receipts where possible
Air
Avoid any insect sprays, air fresheners, artificial candles and cigarette smoke
Always open the windows at home to let fresh air in
If living in the city or close to roads – invest in an air purifier to filtrate air
Use microfibers for dusting and a vacuum with a HEPA filter
Fill your house with indoor plants such as peace lilies, bamboo palms, mother tongue and philodendron
Don’t wear shoes in the house to avoid bringing pollutants in
Make sure there is no mould in home or invest in a dehumidifier
Always open the car windows when you first get in to flush out any PDBEs
Try to use natural products in your home such as bamboo, timber flooring, and toxin free paints. Avoid vinyl flooring, carpets, plastic shower curtains and toxic paints.
Choose natural fabrics such as cotton, hemp and linen for clothing and bedding
Water
Invest in a good quality filtration system and drink filtered water to avoid chlorine, arsenic & fluoride
Use an activated carbon filter attached to your showerhead and bath to reduce exposure to chlorine
Avoid drinking unfiltered tank water
Avoid drinking bottled water – purchase your own glass bottle and use filtered water
Other ways to avoid toxicity is by opting for natural, organic cosmetics and personal care products as well as natural cleaning products including detergents, household cleaners and room fragrances.
We need to support detoxification of the body through the skin (sweating, sauna, dry skin brushing), kidneys (drinking filtered water), lungs (exercise, yoga, deep diaphragmatic breathing), bowels (high fibre diet, regular bowel movements, colonics). Foods to support detoxification include a diet of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage), green tea, phytochemicals and antioxidants of fresh fruit and vegetables especially turmeric, coriander, chlorella and lemon.
For a deeper safe and rapid cleanse/detox join us for an upcoming retreat where there will be cleansing and purification on a cellular level.
References:
“One bite at a time” – by Sarah Lantz (PHD) & Tabitha McIntosh (ND)
“The toxin solution” – Dr Joseph Pizzorno
“Environmental Toxicity & Detoxification “ Dr Joseph Pizzorno, Walter J Crinnion (ND) Integria Symposium