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Posts tagged ‘Toxin’

Toxins Are Making You Fat…

Excess adipose tissue around a male's mid-section.

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It’s that time of the year again when people make New Year’s resolutions (that they can hopefully stick with until the motivation goes south). Perhaps, the best thing to do is to plan ahead but take things a day at a time. If things don’t go your way or to put it another way, if you blow it, just forget about it and go back on your merry way. No use crying over spilt milk, as the old saying goes.

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight. It’s not as easy as it used to be when simply cutting down caloric intake could do the trick. Nowadays, one has to consider the role that toxicity, stress, hormonal imbalance, inflammation, food sensitivities, and yes, even chronic pathogens, play in people’s health problems, including that of obesity.

Let’s first discuss the role of toxins in the obesity epidemic. Toxins are natural or man-made products that could wreak havoc on our physiology. With well-functioning organs of elimination, it’s not usually a problem. However, since we’re dealing with so many toxins in our food, air and water, it’s important that we assist these organs of detoxification and elimination in any way we can. Vitamins, minerals, herbs, essential oils, and homeopathic remedies are among the things we could use to facilitate that. Other activities that could help include exercise, fasting, massage, dry skin brushing, enemas/colon hydrotherapy, and Ayurverdic practices such as pranayama and abhyanga.

Toxins, if not metabolized and excreted, could accumulate and affect every system in the body. The once thought to be impenetrable blood-brain-barrier (protecting the brain) could actually be “infiltrated” by circulating toxins.

One popular theory behind the accumulation of fat in certain areas of the body is that these fat cells are actually trying to protect vital organs from these toxins. It’s a adaptive mechanism, if I may put it that way. Toxins are basically stored in fatty tissues. These toxins are subsequently released during a weight loss program. This explains why most people feel bad in an unsupervised, non-holistic weight management program. A holistic approach would consider adding a liver support protocol, among other things. It’s also wise to have someone’s baseline body composition measured prior to starting a program. Doing this initially and at regular intervals during the program guarantees that a person is losing fat and not muscle tissue.

Anyway, a natural result of detoxifying the body is fat loss. Therefore, anyone considering losing weight should begin with getting rid of junk internally (from their bodies) and from their environment (basic clean food, air and water).

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Autoimmune Diseases: Immune System Gone Loco?

Peppermint and Corsican mint plant (cropped) P...

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One of the most interesting concepts that I’ve learned is that so-called “autoimmune diseases” are caused by accumulation of toxins in the whole body (that means including the brain, which, we are led to believe is impermeable like an iron curtain because of the blood brain barrier). This is in contrast to the general belief that autoimmune diseases are caused by an “immune system gone haywire”. Standard treatments include the use of anti-inflammatories such as NSAID’s and steroids. If they don’t work, then the use of immuno-suppressive agents are next in line. Makes sense if you just want to address the symptoms of inflammation. However, doesn’t it make more sense to try to find out the cause of why the immune system’s gone haywire? Toxins from the environment including heavy metals, pesticides, synthetic hormones and microorganisms, as well as toxins produced from internal metabolism, all contribute to these toxic burden. Well-functioning detoxification organs help our bodies eliminate these toxic build up. However, there are those people who just aren’t able to keep up with the elimination of these wastes. Thus, symptoms of toxicity start to appear. These include allergies, asthma, digestive problems, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, joint pain, mood swings, skin problems and weight changes. Therefore, it makes sense to help rid the body of toxins and these can be done in different ways. Simple detoxification “procedures” that someone could easily incorporate include fasting, drinking more water, eating a plant-based diet, deep breathing and exercise. Other detox programs may need the guidance and support of a nutritionally-minded physician or other holistic practitioners. Nutritional supplements to support the organs of elimination and drainage such as kidneys, liver, lymphatics, lungs, colon and skin, all go a long way in improving someone’s over-all health. As far as auto-immune illnesses are concerned, natural anti-inflammatories can be used for symptomatic treatment while waiting for the “detox treatments” take effect. These include your essential fatty acids (from fish oil or krill oil or for vegetarians, flax seed oil), curcumin, and peppermint oil, among many others.

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Fall Changes

Organic vegetables at a farmers' market in Arg...

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Yup, it’s that time of the year. Things around us are changing. That includes the weather, the trees and leaves, our moods (because of impending winter when days are dark and gloomy), among many other things. It’s also that part of the year when I recommend a thorough detoxification or cleansing program. The process of “detox” or detoxification is not just something an alcoholic or drug addicted person needs to do. It’s actually something that all of us need to go through regularly. The main reason for this is due to the environmental pollution that we’re all exposed to. Toxins can be found in our food, air and water. Then, there’s also toxins produced in our bodies from regular metabolic processes. The world has changed a lot during the last 100 years and our bodies haven’t kept up with these changes. Therefore, it’s really important to support the organs of detoxification since our bodies are practically overwhelmed with these external and internal sources of toxins. Simple things that a person can do include avoidance of environmental toxins. Eating organic food, drinking pure water, installing a shower filter  and having an air filtration system at home could be a good start. Avoiding petrochemical-based personal care products and shifting to natural or better yet, organic ones is better for our bodies and the environment as well. Herbal/nutritional support of the major detoxification organs such as the liver include the use of cruciferous vegetables, green tea, milk thistle, NAC, ALA, glutathione, etc. Other simple things anyone can incorporate in their regular detox program include regular exercise, dry skin brushing, and occasional fasting (medically supervised if someone has chronic degenerative diseases or is on medications). Therapeutic grade essential oils of clove, peppermint and cumin have different cleansing properties. Stay tuned for more specific detoxification protocols.

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Waste in Your Waist

On overweight man's waistline.

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You got that right! There’s a lot of waste in your waist. And I don’t mean the waste products in your colon, however.  What I’m referring to are the toxic products that are in the fatty areas of the body, primarily the core or abdominal area. Toxins have a propensity to accumulate in fatty tissues because they are lipophilic or “fat-loving”. Other fatty areas in the body include the breast area in women and the neurological system in both sexes. The toxins found in these areas are primarily environmental toxins such herbicides, pesticides, heavy metals, VOC’s, and other dangerous chemicals. During the process of weight loss (fat loss, specifically), the body begins burning fat, in the process releasing all these toxic chemicals into the circulation. With poor detoxification mechanisms, these chemicals are just recirculated and deposited into other parts of the body where they interfere with function. That’s the reason why some people feel worse when they lose weight. It’s really important to enhance the detoxification pathways before embarking on such a program. Speaking of detoxification, one of the major organs responsible for this process is our liver. There are 2 phases of detoxification that goes on here. To simplify things, phase 1 primarily involves making toxic products less toxic and phase 2 involves preparing the toxin for excretion by conjugating it with certain nutrients. Deficiency of nutrients could interfere with either phase and lead to waste build up in the body. In summary, if one intends to lose weight, wait and do some research and then run to your nearest holistic health provider.

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