ridding our bodies of the bad stuff
that can accumulate inside over time.
Have you ever done a detox? I believe that the human body benefits from a detox regimen periodically, especially today when we find ourselves surrounded often by the temptations of unhealthy foods!
Each new client comes to me with a different list of health symptoms or health issues. One may be complaining about daily headaches, while the other has elevated blood pressure.
These symptoms may not appear to have a common link on the surface; however, I’ve come to recognize that many symptoms and client-complaints disappear when we address toxicity.
Toxic Syndrome
Toxic Syndrome is an end-result of general toxic overload. Toxicity can begin to burden the body to the point that a person begins to experience one or more health issues.
Jack Needs a Detox
Jack came to see me with elevated blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Using my standard evaluation methods, Jack fell into my category of general toxic overload.
One week into his program, Jack’s M.D. reduced his blood pressure medication by 50%.
After two weeks Jack was completely off his high blood pressure medication.
When I saw Jack four weeks into his program, his blood pressure was remaining normal and his blood sugar had dropped to near normal levels. Additionally we were working with Jack’s diet and his digestion.
Peter Needs a Detox
Peter presented himself with a number of symptoms including daily intractable headaches. Similar to Jack, Peter’s evaluation indicated a general toxic overload and he started a program to assist him in clearing his toxic burden.
Peter was amazed with the reduction of his symptoms which included weight loss, a degree of emotional stability he had not experienced in years and no more daily headaches. His Toxic Syndrome symptoms had disappeared.
Exposed to an Unnatural World
Jack and Peter’s stories are not unique but are more the norm with my new clients:
The majority of us are not born with a toxic overload
but slowly build up a level of toxicity over decades
through environmental exposures to substances toxic to our systems”
The toxic burden continues to add up slowly over time until a tipping point is reached when symptoms begin to arise like Jack’s elevated blood pressure and blood sugar and Peter’s mood swings and daily headaches.
As toxic burden increases, a steady downward decline in health status is set in motion.
Toxins are in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink and the lotions and soaps we use to groom ourselves with. It is very difficult to avoid toxin exposure on a daily basis but we can take steps to reduce our exposure.
4 Types of Everyday Toxins
Toxin exposure falls into 4 primary categories:
• Environmental toxins
• Household toxins
• Food toxins
• Lifestyle toxins
Environmental Toxins
Pollution from trucks, cars and trains, wastes from factories as combustion pollutants go into the air that we breathe. There are the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the air from compounds like Agent Orange and DDT which will be floating in the air we breathe for a hundred years or more.
The majority of the 20 million people suffering from asthma in this country live in areas with poor air quality.
Household Toxins
New furniture, carpets, rugs and freshly painted walls give off gases to the air we breathe in our home.
Chemicals used as flame-retardants on our clothes and furniture fabrics persist for an extended period of time in the home environment, eventually accumulating in our bodies further adding to the toxic burden.
Food Toxins
Chemical pesticides and insecticides are used on the fruit and vegetables we consume on a daily basis.
Data shows that over 90% of fresh salmon, more than a third of fruit and vegetables, and 40% of cereal products, contain pesticide residues which enters our body when we consume the food.
Lifestyle Toxins
We know the dangers of both first and second hand cigarette smoke. Drugs, both over the counter and prescription, are synthetic chemicals which can end up as toxic deposits in the body. Very likely your deodorant, perfume, hair shampoo and conditioner, body wash and makeup are further adding to your toxic load.
Detox: How to Do a Whole Body Cleanse
raw organic vegetables
There is much we can do on a daily basis to reduce our exposure to the harmful chemicals that add to our toxic load and to the development of “Toxic Syndrome”.
When Toxic Syndrome is present due to an overwhelming toxic burden then a detoxification program must be instituted in order to reverse the ensuing downward decline in health status. A detoxifying regimen designed and supervised by a health professional could be helpful to you.
by Jim Harris
Jim Harris is a Naturopath and Nutritional Consultant assisting people all over the world through his virtual practice at The Art of Wellness Center. Jim is a graduate from the American Naturopathic Medical Institute and recognizes that our bodies have the innate capability for self-healing — especially when the correct information and energy is supplied in combination with the correct food, supplements and herbs.
