Detoxification

 We Are Living in a Toxic World

No matter how much we try, we can't escape the surrounding toxins that are the unfortunate byproduct of today's society. The key to health and well-being is to get rid of stored toxins and lower the toxin intake to a level at which our body - with some help - can quickly process and eliminate them before they can do any harm. This dramatically contributes to our short and long-term health, reverses chronic diseases, and slows aging processes.

Intoxication can lead to numerous symptoms, chronic diseases, and premature aging. It can cause or contribute to most of the gruesome consequences of unhealthy nutrition. Unfortunately, there is no direct reverse one-to-one relationship between a particular symptom or chronic disease and a specific intoxication or intoxication in general. Therefore, intoxication as a cause of a disease is often overlooked and not considered by conventional doctors. This is particularly true for Heavy Metal Intoxication. We think it is no use trying to treat any chronic disease without implementing proper nutrition and detoxifying the body first.

Detoxifying Our Food

One of the primary ways toxins and other substances that are detrimental to our health enter our body is through the food we consume.

Food Types that are Detrimental to Our Health

Some types of food are, even when produced organic, quite harmful to our health due to the compounds they contain (e.g., sugar, gluten, lectins, phytates, lactose, and casein). This is covered in the nutrition section. If we eat an evolutionary diet, we are safe from them.

Processed Food and Toxic Food Additives

Processed food and ready-made meals often contain compounds detrimental to our health. Either because they include items from the section above, like sugar and wheat (commonly used to stimulate appetite and hunger), or other undesired ingredients, such as high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and trans-fats. Or, due to processing itself, unwanted byproducts like carcinogens and glycated proteins. Unfortunately, this is true for items brought in organic shops as well. If we buy any processed food (which we usually don't), we ensure it's organic, and we carefully read the labels to ensure it has no unwanted additives.

Soft Drinks

Virtually all soft drinks on the market are unhealthy. They contain high fructose corn syrup, other sugars, or artificial sweeteners, and their low pH burdens our bodies. We cover this in-depth in the Nutrition section.

Alcohol

Alcohol is a neurotoxin. There is no study proving the consumption of alcohol is beneficial for our health. Some studies see a slight positive effect of moderate alcohol consumption, but this might as well be attributed to the fact that people with moderate alcohol consumption do this in a social environment - and being social contributes to positive well-being. A glass of red wine daily seems to be ok, but anything in excess probably damages our health.

Toxins in Our Food

Modern agriculture and industrial farming employ many fertilizers and pesticides, and for animal farming, antibiotics, hormones, and cheap, non-organic animal food (like hexane containing non-organic soy). These compounds end up in smaller and sometimes not-so-small amounts in the final product. All of this is to maximize production yields and lower overall costs. The long-term healthiness of their end-products is of no concern to the producers since it does not influence their bottom line.

By buying only organic and, if possible, local produce from known and trusted sources, we minimize the risk of the toxic load in our food. Meat should come from free-range, grass-fed, organic animals. Poultry should be free-range and organic. Fish should not be farm-raised but caught in the wild.

Detoxifying Our Household

Toxic Cleaners

In our household, we employ a significant number of cleaners, most of them entirely untested for long-term human health. These products contain carcinogens, solvents, and other poisonous substances that help to get the job done for which the product was designed. The sad truth is that the long-term implications of these products are of no concern to the manufacturers. Only the short-term efficiency and production cost affect the marketability and the bottom line.

Fortunately, organic replacement products exist for almost every conventional cleaner we employ today.

Toxic Body Care & Cosmetics

More than 10.000 substances are used in modern body care and cosmetics today — almost all untested for long-term human usage. Some of them are even known to be harmful or cause cancer. There is no need for the manufacturers to list the used compounds on the label. Most of them don't, to keep their manufacturing secrets. We don't know what we put on our skin whenever we use one of these products. Most of these substances can quickly enter our bodies through our skin at an alarming rate. For example, when using a non-organic shower gel, we absorb about ten times as much of its toxic content by applying it to our skin compared to drinking it!

In light of this, we must be extra cautious since some products (even organic ones) contain wheat or other grains, thus gluten. This might not be listed on the label or named misleadingly (e.g., as amino acids). If a product is not explicitly labeled as "gluten-free," it probably is not.

Buying only organic, additive-free, gluten-free body care and cosmetics is paramount for us. Fortunately, these already exist.

Toxic Cookware

Ordinary cookware can contain toxic substances that are released into the food during the cooking process.

Nonstick, Teflon-coated cookware is one of the most dangerous. The common perception that Teflon is harmless unless scratched is not valid, and even if it were that way, it is highly improbable that any kitchen utensil remains unscratched after prolonged use. Teflon-coated cookware outgasses while heated, releasing extremely unhealthy toxins into our food.

Aluminum cookware releases aluminum into the food, known for causing Alzheimer's disease.

The best choice that we can currently use is ceramic-coated stainless-steel cookware. The ceramic coating is hugely temperature stable up and durable.

Toxic Plastic Bottles & Bags

Most plastics contain BPA, a potent hormone disruptor. BPA leaches out of plastics with time. This increases exponentially when heat or corrosive substances are applied. Acidic foods such as tomato juice, mixed with sun exposure, can lead to an extremely high level of BPA. 

Phthalate is a chemical used to make plastic soft and flexible. It is found in soft plastics such as containers, sandwich bags, bottles, and styrofoam cups. Phthalates are a potent hormone disruptor and can cause developmental issues, male infertility, premature breast development, cancer, and miscarriage.

We avoid plastic bottles and bags wherever possible, especially to store foods and drinks. If we have to use a plastic bottle (such as a shaker for a sports shake), we only use BPA-free and avoid long-term storage.

Toxic Floor Oils & Paint

When we treat wooden floors in our homes or paint something used indoors, we must be aware that conventional products' toxic components and solvents are released from the surfaces even months after the application, thus causing a permanent poisonous load in our homes. This is particularly true for floor oils due to the large surface that is usually treated.

We ensure we employ non-toxic, water-solvent products that don't release toxins over time.

Cleaning Out the House

We found the easiest way to get rid of the toxic sources in our homes is to completely clean out all of the above in one considerable effort: throw away all food that is not suited for an evolutionary diet, all processed food, and everything that is not organic, all conventional cleaners and all conventional non-organic, gluten loaded body care.

Then we restock only with healthy, organic produce, organic household cleaners, and organic, gluten-free body care. Thus, we can switch to a toxin-free home in just one day.

More Detox

Getting Rid of Amalgam Fillings

Amalgam consists mainly of mercury and continuously releases heavy metals into our bodies. Dentists have stopped using amalgam for that reason a long time ago. However, if we happen to have such fillings, they must be removed as soon as possible. The removal process has to be done carefully so as not to let us swallow any mercury-ridden debris and thus even increase the intoxication.

Smoking

The smoke of a single cigarette contains about 3.000 (!!) different poisons and carcinogens. Smoking is a non-strategy to extend our healthy lifespan. We have to be aware that passive smoking exposes us to these poisons, almost as if we would smoke ourselves.

Dry cleaning

In dry cleaning, various chemicals are used. These toxins are readily absorbed through the skin while wearing the cleaned clothes, leading to headaches, nausea, dizziness, and memory problems. Some substances used are known carcinogens or toxic to our liver. We think it is best to avoid dry cleaning. If we can't, we let the clean items outgas by hanging them outside for some time before storing or wearing them.

Toxins in the Air

Almost all things that make up our household, from furniture to wooden floors, more or less evaporate chemicals into the air. We can limit our exposure to those chemicals by buying products known to be free of the most dangerous and carcinogenic substances, like formaldehyde. We take care of proper ventilation in our household by opening the windows regularly to ensure an exchange of fresh air.

Toxins in our Water

Unfortunately, our tap water nowadays consists of much more than water. Everything that modern society deploys on a large scale can be found in it, including chlorine, pesticides, hormones, medication, PCBs, heavy metals, and numerous other substances. It is best to use bottled natural water from a trusted source or filter the tap water for cooking or drinking.

A filter pitcher or a faucet-mounted filter should at least filter tap water. The best would be a carbon-based under-sink water filter. When buying bottled water, we prefer glass bottles since plastic bottles tend to release chemicals into the water.

If possible, the whole household water should be filtered, too, since we take in toxins with our drinking water and an astonishingly large amount through our skin while taking a shower or a bath. Several vendors are offering whole-house filtration systems. 

Cell Phone Radiation

Although the mobile phone industry strongly refutes the influence of cell phone radiation on our health, there are studies linking cell phone radiation to the development of brain tumors, genetic damage, and other exposure-related conditions.

We opt for acting on the safe side wherever possible—not carrying our phone in our trousers, limiting our talk time without a low-energy blue-tooth headset, and putting our mobiles into flight mode if we leave them near us at night, e.g., for sleep tracking.

Eliminating Toxins from Our Body

Our body has several built-in processes to neutralize, eliminate, and excrete toxins. It does this by converting toxins into a water-solvable form and then disposing of the dissolved toxins through urination, feces, or sweat. Unprocessed toxins either attach themselves to tissue or are stored in fat tissue.

Our body was not designed for our modern toxic environment - it struggles to keep up with the constant onslaught of poisonous compounds around us. We have to do our best to assist it in getting rid of toxins by aiding these processes as much as possible. Unprocessed toxins stay in our bodies and cause short and long-term harm.

Increased Toxic Burden While Losing Weight

While losing weight, e.g., when starting a healthy diet, we must be aware that the body stores all the toxins it cannot instantly eliminate in fat tissue. Fat tissue is dismantled during weight loss, and the accumulated toxins are released into the bloodstream (This is one reason why crash dieting is unhealthy). Particularly in this situation, we must support our detoxification processes by providing enough water and the measures described below.

Picking a Supplier for our Detox Supplements

When we researched detoxification and suppliers for detox products, we found that ReNew Life has an in-depth offering of what we needed. We are not connected to ReNew Life. We like their products and consider them a trusted source for our detox supplement needs. ReNew Life's CEO has written a comprehensive guide to herbal detoxification that we feature on our reading list. 

Supporting Daily Detoxification

We can aid the body in several ways by eating a healthy diet that allows for healthy digestion and excretion, drinking enough healthy fluids like water or tea that will enable sufficient elimination by urination, and sweating, allowing the toxins to be excreted through the skin.

Additionally, we can supplement a variety of herbs that stimulate and aid the body to detoxify daily. ReNew Life offers products for daily detox support.

Cleansing the whole body

We employ a dedicated full-body cleanse two to three times a year to release stored toxins from our bodies. The full-body cleanse is done instead of the daily detox support. For first-time cleansing, there is a unique starter product. 

Cleansing the Liver

The liver is the main chemical factory and detox organ of the body. Thus, it can accumulate a high load of toxins. We employ a dedicated liver cleansing to release and eliminate the stored toxins from the liver two to three times a year. The liver cleanse is done instead of the daily detox support. We alternate daily detox support: full-body and liver washes on a rolling basis, with at least four weeks of daily detox between full-body and liver cleanses.