Toxins are all around us! They lurk in the food we eat, the products we use, the clothes we wear and even the home we live in. No wonder many of us are experiencing toxic overload!
Today, we have around 80,000 new toxins that our parents and grandparents didn’t have before. Will they affect us? Big time!
We can blame menopause and midlife for slowing the body down, but we are partly to blame. We are in the driver’s seat of our life; our food and lifestyle can all cause toxic overload.
Our responsibility is to cleanse the body by supporting our natural detoxification pathways! When our system is free from toxins, we will be able to effectively relieve menopause symptoms and have vibrant health! Not to mention we will age gracefully too!
Ready to clean your body from toxins? I’m sharing with you this eye-opening article that will help you understand what and how certain toxins can affect your health!
What is Toxic Overload?
We are exposed to toxic substances every day and everywhere. They are all around us, even in the comforts of our own home. They’re in our food and water. Crops are sprayed with pesticides, leaving our fruits and veggies with pesticide residues. These toxic chemicals can even remain for years in soil and water. Animals are fed with growth-promoting drugs to fatten them up fast. Farmed fish are exposed to mercury, antibiotics and contaminants. Our drinking water may also contain unsafe levels of toxins, like lead, copper and arsenic. Even the air we breathe can be dangerous if we are in the wrong place.
Common household items, like cleaners and detergents, are loaded with harmful chemicals. Some of our personal care products aren’t totally safe either. Some poisonous substances in makeup include paraben, lead and phthalates.
Toxic substances can:
- alter cells and genes
- slow down body functions
- hasten the aging of organs
- disturb hormone balance
- increase the risk of diseases and cancers
- accelerate the aging process
- disrupt body balance
Toxic overload is a condition when our body is overpowered by toxic substances. No wonder why we get a whole bunch of symptoms! While we can’t completely avoid these chemicals, there are plenty of things we can do to reduce our exposure to them. The first step is to buy the best and freshest produce!
Thanks to our ever-reliable body, these toxins don’t live long inside because they are killed off and flushed out. Almost all our organs have natural detoxifying abilities. The most important detox centers include the liver, kidneys, lungs, lymph, colon and skin. These organs work 24/7 to make sure our bodies lessen the damages from toxins.
However, if we continue with our bad habits, such as being always stressed out, eating unhealthy foods all the time and not exercising regularly, our body won’t be able to keep up with cleansing impurities and toxic overload may happen.
Dr. Sara Gottfried has a powerful message on why you need to give your body a break from toxic overload (7:35):
How to Detox Your Body in 9 Natural Ways!
Doing a detox will help you rebuild and strengthen your immune system, lose weight naturally, boost your energy, improve your mood, increase mental focus, give you a glow and so much more!
1. Eat toxin-free food!
Food toxins are the biggest culprit of toxic overload. Fruits and vegetables from supermarkets may contain pesticides, herbicides or preservatives which can cause toxicity.
Like hogs and chickens, livestock are given growth-enhancing feeds, so they mature faster. Everybody knows about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as they are one of the biggest threats to our health!
GMOs are plants and animals whose genes have been changed to produce specific properties. More than 70% of processed foods sold in retail stores and restaurants come from genetically modified corn, soybeans, canola and cotton. Half the sugar in food products comes from genetically altered sugar beets.
Toxins offset hormone balance and disrupt our body’s functions. As a result, we experience symptoms such as brain fog, weight gain, headaches, bloating, body odor and many others.
Get rid of these symptoms by detoxifying – start by cleaning your pantry!
- Shop organic and avoid GMOs by checking for food labels such as “Non-GMO Project Verified” or “Organic” labels.
- Eat locally grown fruits and veggies, especially leafy and cruciferous greens, berries and citrus fruits, because they have high antioxidant properties.
- Buy foods that are in season. Seasonal foods are naturally ripened and harvested at the right time. They haven’t been processed or transported in long distances.
- If you eat meat, choose quality, grass-fed and pasteurized meat and poultry. Consume more wild-caught fish like salmon, tuna, herring and halibut, because they are rich in Omega-3 which is a great antioxidant, and shellfish because they are rich in iodine which can purify the blood.
- Eliminate processed foods in your diet.
- Avoid sugars and artificial sweeteners.
- Add probiotics and fermented foods like kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi and sea vegetables to your meals. These food items not only keep your gut healthy, they also boost digestion and improve bowel movement to flush out toxins.
- Catch up on vitamins and minerals! Zinc, calcium, magnesium and selenium helps in excreting toxins out of your body. Vitamins A, B, C and D help protect the body from toxins and promotes detoxification.
- Eliminate toxic oils from your diet. Examples of toxic oils are vegetable oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil and canola oil. Consume more extra virgin olive oil or coconut, avocado and flaxseed oils instead, because they are good sources of omega-3s, -6s and -9s.
- Consume superfoods like bee pollen, chlorella, spirulina and wheatgrass, because they help reduce the side effects of elements like radium and cobalt.
- Use red clover, ginseng, nettle and Aloe Vera, because they have potent abilities to flush out toxins and promote hormone balance.
- Use Epsom salts in a warm bath. Epsom salt has magnesium sulfate, a natural compound that helps flush out toxins via the skin.
- Do skin brushing to improve lymphatic circulation, drive out toxins and get rid of old tissues!
[click_to_tweet tweet=”YOUR BODY IS YOUR TEMPLE, KEEP IT PURE AND CLEAN FOR YOUR SOUL TO RESIDE IN.” quote=”YOUR BODY IS YOUR TEMPLE, KEEP IT PURE AND CLEAN FOR YOUR SOUL TO RESIDE IN.”]
2. Practice Deep Breathing
One of your primary detox systems, the lymph, is dependent on movement so it can pump your toxins out of the body. With deep breathing, your lymph fluid flows freely and filters toxins easily. It allows your body to circulate oxygen better. The exchange of inhalation and exhalation may also help calm your mind, relieve stress and relax your entire body.
3. Keep your body moving!
Exercise plays a very important role in keeping the body healthy and even more in keeping it away from toxins. Your lymphatic system is especially dependent on movement to pump the lymph fluid and filter toxins. You don’t have to do rigorous exercises to flush out toxins. Yoga, Pilates, jump rope, rebounding [links] and even stretching can pump up your detoxifying pathways. Take breaks, walk and move around during the day.
4. Manage stress better
Stress makes your body retain more toxins. Cortisol, the stress hormone, can shut down some of your body functions, including your detoxifying pathways. As a result, toxins pool inside your body and increase your risk of diseases. Reduce stress in your everyday life! Prioritize and delegate. Let go of things that drain you, including toxic relationships and people! Stress relief methods like massage, grounding (also known as earthing), acupuncture, tapping and more, can help you release tension and at the same time get rid of toxins. You can read more about them in our lymphatic article!
5. Drink plenty of water
Water is a natural body cleanser. It neutralizes almost everything in the body, and it helps release toxins through the urine. Make sure to filter your water! Use Brita or have a filter directly on your water tap! Brita is an advanced water filtration system complete with faucet mounts, bottles, pitchers and dispensers. It gets rid of the taste and odor of chlorine in the water. Brita also filters copper, cadmium, mercury and other impurities that can harm your health. All of Brita’s products are also BPA (Bisphenol-A) free! Don’t buy plastic bottles because they contain harmful toxins such as phthalates, mold, microbes and even arsenic. Plastics are not healthy to the environment, so ditch it once and for all!
6. Get quality sleep!
Sleep is an essential part of life for a reason. By allowing your body to rest, you give it time to recover. Some body processes, such as hormone production, also work well when we’re resting. A concrete example is the conversion of tryptophan into serotonin which relieves mood swings, anxiety and depression.
7. Handpick your personal care and home products
Many toiletries, perfumes and makeup products are filled with heavy metals and chemicals. Go organic as much as possible! Think twice when using such products. Do you really need them? You can go a long way with different natural oils such as coconut, almond, argan and essential oils. Why not make your own products?
8. Detoxify your environment
Most of the products we use at home can contain multiple toxins. Paint, varnishes and home cleaning products are examples.
Besides these commercial products, our home itself can be a source of toxins. Mold invasion is a common problem in many households. It usually peaks during the summer when humidity is high. Molds are fungi, which are often very toxic and can cause allergies and toxicity.
Besides, dust and other allergens in our home can cause air pollution. We can improve the indoor air quality with plants that help with air purification. Some plants that can help reduce toxins are chrysanthemums, spider plants and peace lily.
We can also bring toxins into our environment with the clothes we wear. Cloths and textiles usually get sprayed with plenty of chemicals to avoid wrinkling or make sure they last with usage. Be sure to wash newly bought clothes several times to cleanse them from toxins!
9. Avoid polluted areas as much as you can!
Going on a trip to the big city is fun and enjoyable, sure, I do it too. But living in these big and busy cities is not the best choice. If you can live in a not-so congested area, with nature surrounding you and where you can breathe easily.
Get a checklist of the common toxins in our everyday life in our FACT BOX at the end!
[click_to_tweet tweet=”STRESS IS A TOXIN I DO NOT ALLOW IN MY BODY!” quote=”STRESS IS A TOXIN I DO NOT ALLOW IN MY BODY!”] Listen to Crista and Dr. Pizzorno talking about what toxins do to your health and hormones. With knowledge, you can make good choices! [27:12]:
Eliminate toxins with Dr. Pizzorno’s book, The Toxin Solution where he provides proven detox methods developed to heal toxic overload and restore health in just eight weeks!
My Favorite Detox Tea
I love doing a regular detox. Could be water only, bone broth or healthy salad days. After a “cleanse”. I feel refreshed and energized.
I recently found a detox tea that I love. It´s called Flor Essence Detox Dry Tea Blend. It is an organic tea mixture with 8 different herbs, which cleanses and strengthens the whole body. A good source of antioxidants and phytonutrients. Cleanses the kidney and the liver. It also helps with my sleep as it is naturally calming. I feel great drinking it!
If you want to try it, you can find it here 🙂
FACT BOX
Harmful Toxins That May Cause Hormonal Imbalance
Do you know that toxins can affect how you experience menopause? With the natural hormonal changes happening during this transition, you don’t need toxins to add up to your hormonal woes. So, before toxins mess up your hormonal balance, keep them in check by knowing the top toxins to watch out for!
- Xenoestrogens – synthetic or fake hormones found in the food you eat, especially in meat and poultry. Xenoestrogens can mess up estrogen and progesterone balance, causing estrogen dominance. It can also increase the risk of hormone-sensitive cancers.
- Parabens – the most popular preservative agents in cosmetics. They prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi in your cosmetics, but they have estrogen-mimicking capabilities which increase the risk of breast and testicular cancer!
- Phthalates – are basically found anywhere and everywhere but are common in your cosmetic products and plastic materials. They increase the risk of fertility, PMS, insulin resistance and congenital defects in children.
- Triclosan – this is a chemical placed in products to entice you that it has antibacterial properties! While triclosan can kill bacteria, it also kills your thyroid and endocrine system, shutting them off to never produce hormones.
- Artificial colorings – synthetic colors are usually made from coal tars which can mess up your sex hormones, suppress your thyroid functions and may increase the risk of certain cancers.
- Heavy metals – mercury and arsenic are found in most processed foods, they can slow down your ovaries, adrenal glands and thyroid.
- Electromotive Force (EMFs) – do you stare at your laptop or sleep with your cellphone? You are putting EMFs into your body! This is a kind of radiation that disrupts melatonin production causing sleep disturbances and even insomnia. It also causes ups and downs in cortisol and insulin production.
- Bisphenol A (BPA) – found in food, products and plastic goods, experts say this toxin can cause early puberty, early menopause and infertility.
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Hello Girls,
I, too, have felt blue at some point in my journey. I suffered from hot flashes and stress incontinence. I also came to a point, where my sexual needs got affected too. I admit, the struggle is real. I still feel some symptoms up to this day, but I promised myself to look more on the brighter side.
There are ways we can follow to feel better. I, for example, had adjusted my eating habits and pursued with simple but regular exercise. I have also decided to add mostly natural supplements into my diet. I did all these slowly but surely. Now, I can see that I have power over my symptoms.
Although the changes may not happen overnight, I believe that you can and will feel better too! I know we are not the only ones who have been through this journey. That’s why we saw and felt that we can help a lot of women through MyMenopauseJourney.com.
Let’s work together to make our menopause journey better than ever!
Hugs,
Gita