3 Detox Methods You Might Have Missed
What comes to mind when you think of detoxing? You probably think of typical methods, like exercise, drinking lots of water, or a juice cleanse. While these are all great places to start, there are many other aspects to detoxification that are often overlooked. What does it mean to truly detox, and why is it so important? The body is indeed an amazing vessel that has "built-in" detox systems to naturally remove toxins from your body and dispose of them through your sweat, urine, and feces. However, there are things you can do to support these systems to reach optimal health.
First, it's important to understand what common toxins are found in the body and where they come from. Common toxins found in humans include certain heavy metals and chemicals, xenobiotics (foreign chemical substances), biotoxins from microorganisms and parasites, electromagnetic radiation, and stress.
Where do these toxins come from?
Heavy Metals
Heavy metals often come from dental amalgam (silver) fillings, domestic effluent (all industrial water waste, including tap water), cookware (aluminum, Teflon, copper, or ceramic-coated), cosmetics, and environmental pollutants like exhaust from vehicles (1). People who work in manufacturing plants, salons, and other jobs where they may be regularly exposed to harmful substances are especially at risk of heavy metals accumulating in the body in harmful amounts.
Xenobiotics
Chemicals and xenobiotics are other common toxins that can accumulate in the body, which come from household cleaning products, skincare and beauty products, synthetic fragrances, highly processed foods with food additives, food colorings, industrial chemicals, and environmental pollutants.
Biotoxins
Biotoxins are toxins produced by parasites, mold, and other living microorganisms. These biologically toxic substances can be found in homes (especially homes with water damage), food, animals, and even the air (2).
Electromagnetic Radiation
All around our homes and businesses, we are exposed to electromagnetic radiation, which consists of waves from electromagnetic fields that come from cell phone towers, WiFi, computers, televisions, cell phones, and microwaves, just to name a few (3).
Stress
Another common toxin that people often miss is stress, which can cause inflammation throughout the body and damage the immune system, especially when it becomes chronic (4). Stress can come from work, relationships, family, friends, and emotional trauma, especially when trauma is suppressed.
What is detoxing?
Now that we've established what toxins are and where they come from, let's define what it means to detox. Simply put, detoxification is the process of removing toxins from the body (5). As previously mentioned, our bodies have natural ways of detoxing. Different organs detox in different ways, but the liver, kidneys, respiratory, lymphatic, skin, and gastrointestinal systems all work together to process toxins out of the body (6). Considering all the toxins we've discussed, it's a good thing our bodies are able to detox on their own!
And yet, despite these powerful naturally occurring systems, we can still accumulate toxins in our bodies faster than we're able to process them out. When this happens, we begin to experience various symptoms due to damaged tissues, including headaches, body aches, painful joints, brain fog, weight issues, insomnia, fatigue, sugar cravings, skin reactions, digestive issues, and more (7). Many factors can cause this accumulation, including genetics, immune dysfunction, chronic stress, diet, hormone imbalances, and a sedentary lifestyle.
Additionally, with the ever-increasing amount of environmental toxins we're exposed to, such as free radicals, pesticides, GMOs, industrial chemicals, and electromagnetic radiation, it's no wonder that an estimated 50 million Americans are living with autoimmune diseases (8) and millions are diagnosed with cancer every year (9). Our bodies were not made to process the number of toxins we're surrounded by in our environment today.
Supporting Your Body’s Ability to Detox
In order to offset the bombardment of toxins in our world, it's essential to assist the body in the detox process. Even if you are not experiencing symptoms, detoxing can help you feel your absolute best! Here are three methods that you might not have considered when helping your body detox:
Dental detoxing.
Your teeth have a significant impact on your entire body. Did you know that poor dental health has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and bacterial infections in the bloodstream?
Though maintaining your dental health is important, amalgam fillings, root canals, and other dental procedures have created toxicity and illness in the world for nearly two centuries. Studies have shown a definitive correlation between the toxicity released from copper and mercury fillings and an increase in autoimmune diseases and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) (10). Likewise, bacteria in root canals may cause various diseases and symptoms, including autoimmune diseases, neurological diseases, and even heart attacks (10).
Another common problem resulting from dental procedures are cavitations. Cavitations are a haven for bacteria and pathogens. They form after tooth extraction, such as wisdom teeth removal. This happens because dentists are taught to leave the periodontal ligament in the socket after removal, which confuses the body during the healing process and leaves a hollow socket for bacteria to flourish (10). At Living Health Holistic, our practitioner, Leslie Tatum, partners with a biological dentist who properly removes any toxic dental materials to help get your oral (and overall) health back on track.
Emotional detoxing
Though emotions are a gift of life that allow us to experience the full spectrum of living, they can easily become toxic. All humans have some emotional trauma we carry around with us. Whether it be from childhood, work, relationships, or general everyday occurrences, reactive emotions create an imbalance in our bodies (11). When reactive emotions go unaddressed for long periods of time, they remain "stuck" in the body and accumulate, causing all sorts of medical issues (11).
If you find yourself feeling tired, irritable, easily distracted, stuck in negative thought patterns, constantly worrying, or using substances to escape life, it might be time for an emotional detox. One of the most effective ways to emotionally detox is through a form of psychotherapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). This highly effective method has been proven to help people recover from trauma and other troublesome life experiences, including anxiety, depression, panic disorders, PTSD, low self-esteem, and self-limiting beliefs and behaviors (12). EMDR also helps athletes, performers, and executives achieve a state of "peak performance." At Living Health Holistic, we partner with a therapist trained in EMDR to help you get your emotional health back on track.
Supplementation.
There may be times when organs and tissue need a boost to function at maximum capacity. This is where supplementation comes in.
For example, glutathione is a protein produced by the liver. It plays an essential role in processing toxins from the body, among other critical functions (13). Low glutathione levels can cause poor detoxification and build oxidative stress in the body, leading to various ailments. Fortunately, supplementing with glutathione can help bring glutathione levels back into balance and contribute to a healthy detoxification system.
This is just one example of how supplements can help balance the body during detoxification. At Living Health, we can test the body using Autonomic Response Testing (ART) to determine what supplements your body needs to detoxify most efficiently.
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