Understanding and Reducing Toxicity.
Our body’s work hard to keep us healthy but every day factors such as diet, stress and medicines can throw off the delicate balance needed to keep everything working as it should.
The build up of toxins within the body can cause both short term and long term health issues. We’ve put together a list of the seven most common causes and signs of toxicity build up and ways you can counteract them.
1.Poor Diet
In our current era of fast-food, excessive salt and sugar, additives, preservatives, and chemical-based fertilizer, pesticides, and crop enhancers, what we consume has lasting effects on our body.
Solution: When possible eat organic produce, ensure you’re consuming foods high in dietary fibre, vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Herbs and spices are also great in aiding in detoxification. ‘Let food be thy medicine’.
2.Lack of Water
Second only to oxygen, in order of importance to sustain life, the amount of water we consume has huge effects on our body’s ability to function. Water is need for digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature. If we don’t drink enough water these functions become sluggish, thus allowing toxins to build up.
Solution: Drink more water, if possible 2L per day is ideal, more if you’re exercising or have a manual job.
3.Stress
Stress is a toxin, especially when chronic. Our body cannot differentiate between emotional and physical stress, and reacts similarly to both, by producing generous amounts of the stress hormone cortisol.
Solution: There are many ways people find stress relief. Whether it’s going for a walk, doing yoga, meditating, swimming, having a bath or reading. Find something that helps you stay grounded and brings you calm.
4.Antibiotics
Despite their benefits in fighting certain bacterial infections, antibiotics have a damaging effect on our gut health. Their prescribed purpose is to eliminate unhealthy bacteria in the body, unfortunately they can’t distinguish between bad and good bacteria.
Solution: If you’re on a course of antibiotics its recommended to also be taking a probiotic. Probiotics help balance our intestinal flora thus ensuring the intestines and immune system are working as they should.
5.Excess Fat & Lack of Exercise
Our body’s intelligence believes that the solution to pollution is dilution, and since most toxins are fat soluble, it tries to dilute the blood content of these by pushing them into the fat cells.
Solution: Exercising regularly helps gently release toxins through the skin via sweat. The increase in heart rate, body temperature and deep breathing also aids in moving and releasing toxins. With less body fat, there is less places for your body to ‘hide’ toxins.
6.Lack of Quality Sleep
The body uses sleep to repair, rebuild and restore itself. In essence, our body’s use the sleeping hours to cleanse and detoxify, and to build strength and immunity. If we’re not sleeping enough, every single one of our bodily functions becomes sluggish which in turn, allows toxins to build up.
Solution : Some recommended steps to improve your sleep patterns including; sticking to a sleep schedule, develop a relaxing bedtime routine, switching off the electronics (phone, tablet, television), including a Magnesium supplement into your routine, and avoiding daytime naps longer than 20 minutes.
7.Constipation
In short, the colon is your body’s sewage system. If the sewage system backs up, toxins become trapped.
Solution: All of the above solutions can aid in reducing constipation. If not, consult a healthcare professional as this may be a sign of a more serious health issue.
Please note: This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Results may vary from individual to individual.
