TOXINS & DETOXIFICATION

THE FACTS ABOUT TOXINS

Have you ever stopped to think what toxins you may be exposed to on a daily basis?  Do you care?  Well read on because you may be appalled to realize just how many thousands we are exposed to on a regular basis, at work, in our homes, through the air that we breathe, the food we eat, through our water supply and through the use of pharmaceutical drugs – and more importantly, how they can affect your health.  Below are just some (but not all) of the toxins that you may be exposed to.

Toxins from food – hormones and antibiotics that are now widely used in the food chain, pesticides, genetically modified food, soy, MSG, hydrogenated foods, processed foods which use a high amount of salt and sugar as well as chemical preservatives/colourings/food enhancers.  These include boxed, canned, ‘treated’ foods such as white flour and fast foods. 

Toxins from beverages – Pasteurized milk, soft drinks, diet colas, ‘energy’ drinks, juice concentrates, coffee, alcohol, refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, artificial colourings etc.

Toxins from the air – Fossil fuels, benzene, smoke, chemtrail residue, paint fumes, carpet out-gassing, pet dander, mold and mildew, dust mites, air fresheners, cleaning products, fall-out from industrial sites, pesticides, etc.

Toxins from the water – Arsenic, fluoride, chlorine, prescription drug residue, pesticides, rocket fuel (perchlorate), Biphenyl-A (toxin used in making plastic bottles), C8 (the chemical used to make Teflon*11), bacteria, parasites, etc.

Toxins from prescription drugs – Aluminium, mercury, chemotherapy, synthetic chemicals, liver toxin glues, fillers, binders, artificial colourings, spermicides, synthetic hormones, vaccines, etc.

Toxins from microbes (parasites) – Bacteria, yeast, fungus, worms, amoebas and viruses all feed off a host organism (you in this case).  These organisms consume your vital nutrients and then deposit waste matter (massive amounts of harmful acids and toxins) in your system.

Toxins from heavy metals – Cookware, deodorant, chemically poisoned fish, mercury dental fillings, cosmetics, toiletries, aluminium cans, food, water, light bulbs, toothpaste, vaccines, household and car paints, etc.

Toxins from radiation – Microwave cooking, X-rays, fault lines (geopathic stress), power lines, mobile phones, computers, household appliances, florescent lighting, hair dryers, irradiated foods, etc.

Toxins from physical & emotional stress – Depression, anxiety, fear and other negative emotions cause the body to over-produce stress hormones and other compounds to fight these conditions.  This is dangerous, because the body damages itself in the process.

For decades scientists have been studying the pollutants in our air, water, food and soil.  Industries in the UK and Europe release billions of pounds of industrial waste into our air and water each year.  More recently scientists have been concerned with the amount of toxins levels in people and the research that they have carried out has produced some profoundly disturbing results.

Research clearly shows that our bodies are not able to eliminate all the different toxins and chemicals that we inhale and ingest day-after-day.  They simply build up in our cells (especially in fat cells), tissues, blood and organs (such as the colon, liver and brain) and remain stored indefinitely, causing all kinds of health challenges.

How do you know when it is time to purge your body of built-up toxins and other waste materials?  If you experience one or more of the following, then the time has come to detoxify:

THE FACTS ABOUT DETOXIFICATION

What does detox actually mean? Detoxification is a bodily process that transforms health threatening toxic substances from our environment, diets, as well as our own bodies into something harmless or excreted.

Our body’s main detoxification organs and systems are liver, colon, kidneys, gallbladder, lungs, skin, lymph, and blood. They help rid your body of wastes and toxins. However, our bodily functions were designed when the world were less polluted.  But because we are exposed to many more toxins and pollution, our body organs and systems have to work a lot harder to rid the exponentially increased waste and toxins.

One of the most complex detoxification functions is against heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, nickel, arsenic, and aluminum.

Unfortunately, we are not providing the body organs and systems with proper nutrition to function and perform at their best, even though they are working much harder than before.

Great Benefits of Detox:

• Improve our Immune Function
• Scavenge free radicals and eliminate toxins
• Strengthen our body’s fight against cancer cells and generate healthy cells in our body
• Cleanse mucous, congestion, fermentation, inflammation in our digestive tract
• Purify our blood
• Reform our lifestyle addictions for sugar, salt, high glycaemic carbohydrates, alcohol, junk foods, nicotine, etc

An effective detox programme can strengthen our body to further cleanse out waste we have accumulated since childhood, and which may have resulted in our body being congested, inflamed, and damaged.

Once our body is more effective at dealing with all these cleansing processes, it can focus on doing the more important things like fighting back cancer and chronic degenerative diseases, restoring our health, and repairing the damage in our body.

THE LIVER:  Enzymes within the liver cells convert toxins from its fat-soluble state (which means that the body would find it difficult to excrete out) into water soluble chemicals.  If toxins remain as fat soluble then they would be stored inside the fat tissues and fat cells, where they are going to stay for a long time. The only way that we excrete such fat-soluble toxins are either through energetic exercise or fasting.  The large part of our fatty cells are found in our brain and endocrine glands. These can lead to future problems like infertility, menstrual problems, and brain dysfunction

Toxin overload and the compromise of the liver functions can result in a lot of damage to our liver cells. It can sometimes even convert less harmful substances into carcinogenic chemicals.  Therefore, we have to take note of toxic overloading in our liver.

Liver flushes, herbal medicine, eating a diet rich in liver-cleansing foods and avoiding substances that damage the liver (such as alcohol) and colonic hydrotherapy, all help to keep the liver healthy.

THE GALLBLADDER:  Another important part of our body is the gallbladder which is a small pear-shaped sac that is on the lower side of the liver. Its main function is storing and concentrating bile. Bile is made by the liver and used in the small intestine to emulsify fats.  It also lubricates the intestines, and makes our stool a brownish color. Light coloured stools would indicate that there is a lack of bile in our body.

Toxins which are eliminated by the liver pass via the bile into the gallbladder where they are concentrated and are later excreted from the body through the stool.

However, the gallbladder detox system can be congested if we do not maintain a proper diet or keep the gallbladder healthy. This may lead to gallstones which are formed when bile hardens into stone-like material. There are two types of gallstones: the cholesterol stones caused by hardened cholesterol (yellowish-green) and pigment stones due to hardening of bilirubin (dark brown color).

Cholesterol stones have been correlated with high-calorie, high-protein, and high-fat diet. Pigment stones are, however, due mainly to liver disease problems like cirrhosis or biliary tract infections where bilirubin is produced excessively.  Gallstones are extremely painful and should be avoided if possible.

Therefore, it would be beneficial to perform consistent gallbladder flushing to ensure that the gallbladder is not congested and free from stones.

THE COLON:  The food that we eat should (in a healthy digestive system) reach our colon in 10 to 12 hours time. At this point, millions of microorganisms residing in the colon will begin their process of digestion. Within these microorganisms are ‘the friendly’ and harmful bacteria. These friendly bacteria are also known as gut flora.  The friendly bacteria help by synthesizing some vitamins and breaking down remaining proteins in the chime.  The gut flora also helps in repressing the harmful bacteria growth. It also helps in building the gut’s mucosal immune system and stimulates lymphoid tissue in the gut to produce antibodies to infectious agents.

During this process, there are some byproducts being created which are toxic and has to be cleared from our body. Therefore, it is very important to have a bowel movement every 8 to 12 hours.

To achieve this we need good dietary habits like eating wholegrains and vegetables that have plenty of fibre and drinking at least a litre of water each day. Without enough fibre, the stool will not be able to pass through the colon easily. The slower it gets the more water is being reabsorbed by the colon, making the stool larger and harder and very difficult (and painful) to excrete.  As these stools stay longer in our body, the gut flora functions less efficiently and they eventually get overtaken by the harmful bacteria (putrefactive bacteria).  The result will be a strong odour when passing our bowel movement and a lot more intestinal gasses.

If we consistently have a poor diet, it can introduce many toxic byproducts that attach to the intestinal tract lining and eventually enter our bloodstream.  This may lead to fatigue, drowsiness, and in certain worse cases, cause inflammation of our body tissues.

Toxin build-up in the colon encourages the growth of other bacteria. These may in extreme cases, change the growth of our epithelial cells and lead to cancer.  The build-up can also set up an environment conducive for parasitic growth.

A healthy colon avoids an overload of toxins and it is therefore very important to ensure that this waste disposal channel is cleared all the time and prevent the build up of toxins and carcinogenic materials.  This can be achieved through a healthy diet and the use of certain supplements, herbal medicine and/or colon hydrotherapy.

THE KIDNEYS:  The kidney system of detoxification is very important as it is the filtration for clearing water and solutes, provides hormones to regulate blood cell production, regulates blood pH and removes waste and toxins from our blood and subsequently they are excreted.  (Food produces a lot of waste products when metabolized, especially proteins.)  A high consumption of animal food products can lead to the release of toxic waste materials like ammonia and urea, and if these are not dealt with and excreted, can lead to harmful health problems.

The kidney detox system also helps to regulate the amount of sodium, chloride, sulphate, phosphate and hydrogen substances in our body.  It prevents them from accumulating and excretes them in our urine.  It is therefore very important to look after our kidneys and ensure that they are functioning at optimal levels.  Overloading our systems with too many animal products, sodium, refined sugar, processed foods and alcohol, can cause stress to our kidney function.  It is particularly sensitive to the introduction of heavy metals like lead and mercury, which can cause damage.

Dehydration will naturally lead to other kidney problems such as urine infections and a more pungent odour to our urine, so it is very important to drink at least a litre of water each day (not in the form of tea, coffee or juices).  There are so many problems that can develop from a compromised kidney, such as inflammation, slow urine flow or excess and urgency, accumulation of uric acid and crystal formation.  However, a lot of this can be avoided or alleviated by certain foods, supplements and herbs, to strengthen our kidneys.

THE LUNGS:  Our lung functions by bringing in blood supply from two sources, pulmonary vessels (support non-respiratory tissue) and bronchial vessels (support respiratory tissue). Deoxygenated blood is carried through the pulmonary arteries so that the lung can re-oxygenate it and remove the toxic waste like carbon dioxide. Then the pulmonary veins carry the oxygenated blood to the heart and on through the arterial system.

The lungs have a critical role since it is the first detox organ to be in contact with airborne toxins, chemicals, viruses, bacteria, and allergens. We can improve our lung detoxification processes by simple breathing techniques and getting as much exposure to fresh, clean air as possible.  Deep breathing that makes use of our diaphragm allows air to penetrate deeper into our lungs.  Through this simple process we are actually providing our lungs with a more intense cleansing breath. We should practice this as often  as possible to purify our lungs, but obviously avoiding areas of pollution, and preferably in areas where there are plants and trees which help to clean oxygen. In certain cases, herbs prescribed by a fully qualified medical herbalist can be used to improve lung function and to clear out toxins.

If you would like help identifying your toxins and facilitating a Detox Programme, (which can include diet and lifestyle advise, diet sheets, a liver and gallbladder flush, the correct use of supplements, prescribed medicinal herbs or colonic hydrotherapy) then please contact :

Jan Cassells BSc (Hons) MNIMH, Cert CH MI-ACT

Email - herbal.jan1@tiscali .co.uk or telephone the clinic on 01724 – 853810.