7 Toxins You Are Constantly Exposed To

Accumulated toxic chemical build up is one of the leading the contributing factors to ill health today.

Most medical treatment focuses on finding a cure to your symptoms without looking at what caused you to become ill in the first place. Toxins damage your body on a cellular level and affect every aspect of your health, damaging your immune system itself. This literally leaves your body unable to fight off pathogens.

Toxins are linked to cancer, diabetes, obesity, chronic headaches, infertility, and neurological brain damage. They have led to an increase in learning disabilities and higher instances of attention disorders. It’s not just the neurological damage that affects learning though.

The hormonal imbalances caused by chemicals in our food don’t only cause infertility and trans-gender characteristics; they also play a role in all important emotional health. Emotional health is essential to being able to function normally within society.

Because your skin is part of the excretory system, when your body tries to rid itself of toxins it can result in skin conditions and brittle hair and nails.

Toxic chemical build up also causes mutations, deformities and birth defects. Cancer cells are essentially mutated cells after all. And that is just based on scientific knowledge of what individual chemicals do to us. We haven’t even begun to investigate what happens to our bodies when a variety of these chemicals build up in our bodies and start to react with each other!

Take a look at some of the most common dangerous chemicals we are exposed to:

1. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) – this notoriously dangerous chemical has been produced since 1929. Even though PCBs were banned in the United States in late 1970s, PCBs still remain present in the environment today. It takes years to break down and can carry long distances. That is why PCB’s have been found in snow, sea water and vegetation far away from where they originated.We typically ingest PCB’s that have been absorbed by fish, dairy and meat. A study has also shown that children who spend longer time in school were exposed to more PCBs than mothers at home. This is because schools and other buildings of masonry construction are prone to PCB contamination, due to the presence of PCB-laden caulking and sealants.PCB’s are known to cause cancer, suppress the immune system and have negative effects on the reproductive system, nervous system and endocrine system.

2. Dioxins – This is another top dangerous toxic chemicals known to science. Dioxins are formed as unintentional byproducts of combustion emitted by waste incinerators, chemical manufacturing plants, paper and pulp mills and other facilities.Dioxins are fat soluble and actually bioaccumulate along the food chain. This means they are passed on up the food chain, with the highest risk of exposure being found in meat and then dairy products.According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans are exposed to 22 times the suggested maximum level of dioxin.Many studies have shown that it can contribute to cancer, skin conditions and a host of other illnesses.

3. Xylene – also called Dimethyl Benzene or Xylol. Although it is also found in some perfumes, dyes, floor polish, plastic toys and paint the most common way that it gets into our system is through water bottles and take away food containers where it leaches into the food and water we are putting into our bodies.Xylene is linked to skin irritations, kidney and liver problems, anaemia and depression. If that isn’t enough, continued exposure can also cause respiratory problems and loss of coordination. The more exposure you have the worse the symptoms become. Fortunately they are reversible.

 

4. Bisphanol A (BPA)– this horror chemical is found in plastic food containers, the lining of food cans and drink cans, and until recently even in baby bottles and pacifiers. Although most leading baby companies now boast that they are BPA-free, this substance isn’t banned by authorities and is still widely used by many manufacturers.Like with Xylene, it leaches across into the food inside these containers, especially when that food or drink is hot or heated. Be aware of the recycle code on the bottom of plastic containers. Anything with the number 7 on it is likely to contain BPA. BPA is associated with oestrogen related cancers such as breast and prostate cancer.It affects the body’s hormonal system and can be harmful to fertility and reproductive development. BPA causes decreased sperm count, endometriosis, chromosomal abnormalities, hyperactivity and ADD, to name a few. It is also linked with thyroid dysfunction, obesity, asthma and allergies.

 

5. Styrene – another nasty ingredient to be found in polystyrene coffee cups, food containers and egg boxes. The most obvious exposure we have to styrene is in “styrofoam” cups and food containers.When you drink from a styrofoam cup, styrene will leech into the liquids you drink. The cups apparently lose weight during the time they are in use. In a study, scientists discovered that the migration of styrene from a polystyrene cup containing cold or hot beverages has been observed to be as high as 0.025% for a single use.Like BPA, the container releases styrene even more when food is hot or heated. However it is not only in fast food. Some shelf bought foods such as instant noodles have also been found to have high concentrations of this chemical in them. Styrene is an animal mammary carcinogen, meaning it causes breast cancer in animals and probably in people too.

 

6. Aluminum – In 1988, a water treatment works in UK transferred by error 20 tonnes of aluminum sulphate into the water supply.People affected reported a range of health issues from brain damage and memory loss to joint problems. One of the residents even died from a rare and aggressive form of Alzheimer’s, and her brain was found to contain unusually high levels of aluminum.Since then, aluminum has been long known to be neurotoxin and high levels of exposure can lead to neurological diseases, including dementia, autism, and Parkinson’s disease.

   Your grandmother probably cooked her meals in aluminum cookware. But did you know that it is also in your deodorant, beer and soft drink cans, antacids, vaccines, aluminum foil, baking powder?

7. Mercury – this extremely toxic metal converts into methyl mercury which bio-accumulates up the food chain. It is especially found in certain fish (large ocean fish like tuna, swordfish, shark, and tilefish).Besides food, you can get predisposed to mercury toxicity by amalgam (a.k.a. mercury) fillings. The dental amalgam continue to lose trace amounts of mercury each day and you can end up ingesting or inhaling them into your blood stream.Mercury poisoning causes damage to the brain and nervous system. It also causes kidney and liver damage and is especially dangerous to the developing brains and bodies of children and unborn babies. The damage caused by Mercury poisoning on the developing brain can be permanent.

How can you reduce your toxin intake?

Here are a few basic tips to help you avoid putting toxins into your body:

• Cook from scratch. Avoid fast foods and pre-cooked meals as far as possible. If you do buy a pre-cooked meal look for labels that indicate that the packaging is eco-friendly, and then remove food from the packaging before you heat it up.
• Plan ahead – make your own snacks so that you won’t be tempted to buy fast foods.
• Buy good quality Stainless steel cookware. Never cook on scratched or chipped non-stick cook ware and avoid Aluminum cookware altogether.
• Don’t buy bottled water (or any other drink in a plastic bottle). Rather use glass or high quality Stainless Steel water bottles and drink water that has passed through a carbon water filter system.
• The National Institutes of Health advises against microwaving polycarbonate plastics, heating them up, or putting them in the dishwasher, because the plastic may break down over time and allow BPA to leach into foods.
• Shop consciously. Check that the foods you are buying and the packaging they come in are organic and don’t contain unknown chemicals.
• Buy unflavored, unsweetened and un-coloured foods as far as possible.
• Try to buy in bulk, the less packaging your food is exposed to the better.
• Reduce the amount of meat, dairy and trans-fat that you eat. Many toxins are fat soluble and the highest concentrations of these are found in animal fat and then dairy.
• When preparing meat or fish, remove the skin, trim the fat, and broil, bake, or grill them so that the fat drips away. This will reduce your exposure to PCBs and other toxic chemicals that have accumulated in fatty tissue.
• Only eat fish from reputable merchants and fish that you know is safe. Avoid fish, shell fish and sea food as far as possible during pregnancy to reduce the chance of Mercury Poisoning.

Your body is not designed to eliminate the number of toxins you are exposed to in modern life. You have to prevent toxins from building up in your system by reducing your exposure to chemical toxins and increasing your body’s ability to eliminate these chemicals.

How can you remove toxins already in your system? Start with a detox.

Your Detox Tips:

Three days per month of detoxifying your system of chemicals is certainly a good idea, but you might want to start with a longer, more intense detox the first few times.

When you are detoxing you should drink only clean water and plenty of it. You want to try for eight glasses a day of clean, filtered water, preferably served in glass. Avoid water bottled in plastic!

You should cut out all seasonings, sweeteners and processed foods. You will have to cut out caffeine for the duration of your detox too.

Do eat plenty of grapes or drink fresh grape juice as it assists with cleansing the blood. Eat at least one serving a day of unseasoned brown rice as it cleans the intestines and make sure to add fresh garlic to at least one meal a day. Garlic is an excellent blood cleanser.

You should try to eat as many raw vegetables and fruits as possible, making sure that they are organic and non-genetically modified (look for the non-GM labels). Including certain foods in your diet can really help your body to cleanse itself quickly and safely.

 

Powerful detox foods include Spirulina (green sea algae) which is 65% Amino acids and proteins. Spirulina contains GLA (gamma linoleic acid) which is a well-known anti-inflammatory. Spirulina is also high in chlorophyll, which removes toxins from the blood and boosts the immune system.

Wheatgrass is easy to sprout at home, perfect for salads and the juicer and is an excellent source of nutrients for your body. Not only that but wheatgrass is also believed to assist in red blood cell production, boosts the immune system and clears your skin by detoxing your liver and cleansing your blood. As if all that wasn’t enough, wheatgrass also balances your PH levels and blood sugar levels.

Ginseng root (especially when combined with Ginger) is known for inhibiting tumor growth! Ginseng is an excellent choice for combating any toxins already in your system as it balances and restores your body’s natural state while working as an effective cleansing and detoxing agent.The final super power in our detox box is

Green tea. Green Tea increases the metabolism, helping your body to rid itself of toxins much faster. It also protects nerve ending damage which is associated with Alzheimer’s.

A simple way to get the above 4 detox foods is to get Energize Greens. Energize Greens contain a number of ingredients that can help you to eliminate these environmental toxins from your body.

Remember that you might feel slightly nauseous or even experience a mild headache for the first day or two that you are detoxing. This is because the toxins are busy working their way out of your system. Good practical sense measures include voiding your bladder as frequently as you need to. This is one of your body’s natural ways of flushing itself, so don’t worry if you need to “go” more than usual.

Another way that your body eliminates toxins is through your skin through your sweat. So going for a jog or working up a sweat can definitely help the process along. It also raises your metabolism, helping your body to work those toxins out faster. Just be sure to have a good shower afterwards because you wouldn’t want all of those toxins sweating out only to sit on your skin and cause spots.

 

 

References:

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es5048039#tbl3

http://www.watoxics.org/chemicals-of-concern/pcbs-and-ddt

About the Author:

Emma Deangela is the best selling author of The Alkaline Diet Program and 80/20 Fat Loss. She has helped over tens of thousands of men and women to lose weight and transform their health with sound nutrition advice. Check out her 4 foods to never eat for breakfast video to lose more than 18 lbs in 3 weeks.

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