Detoxification and your skin
Learn to help your body glow from the inside out. Nourish it with foods that are pure and natural. Remove harmful substances from your diet and you will notice a difference in the way you look and feel.
What is detoxification?
Detoxification is the process of removing toxins or poisons. We all know that toxins are harmful and cause damage, potentially even death if taken in certain levels. Living cells, whether in plants or in the body, are constantly in the process of bringing nutrients and fresh substrates in while eliminating by-products and waste that is not useful to the organism. Therefore, detoxification is a natural, ongoing process in our bodies.
Keeping your body healthy requires maintaining all of its systems in good working order. Minimizing the amount of toxins you take into your system is one way that we can detoxify our bodies. Benefits of detoxification may include increased energy and improved health, better breath, reduced allergies, and potentially fewer aches and pains.
Wastes leave the body in the form of gases, solids, and liquids. Carbon dioxide is the gas that we exhale. We excrete other waste from the body after it accumulates in the bladder and in the bowels.
Other organs that play a major role in detoxification include the:
- skin
- liver
- kidneys
- lungs
Blood also plays a critical role in the detoxification process. It carries dissolved gases like carbon dioxide to the lungs, and then it is traded for oxygen through respiration. Both the liver and kidneys help to detoxify the blood by removing wastes and sending them to the urine. In the form of stool, unused solids are carried away.
Benefits for your skin via detoxification
Your skin is a barrier but it is not impermeable. Just as products that you use on your skin are able to enter your body through this physical barrier, toxins are also able to leave your body through the skin. Free radicals and UV light in the environment also damage the skin which over time cause it to show signs of premature aging.
How can detoxification help your skin? By minimizing the number of chemicals in your body, you help you body to function more efficiently. Eating well is one way to maintain healthy skin with a smooth texture, elasticity, and a proper level of moisturization. Skin complexions troubled by acne and imperfections can also benefit from the inside out with detoxification methods. For example, vitamin A reduces the amount of sebum produced by the skin cells and therefore pores are less likely to become blocked.
Ways to detoxify your body
Some of the best ways to detoxify include:
- eating a balanced diet
- juicing organic fruits and vegetables
- exercising regularly
- exfoliation
- using organic products for personal hygiene
Before trying any detox method always be sure to check with your doctor. People with serious medical conditions should also consult a doctor as these methods are not recommended. Pregnant women should not try these methods.
Eating a balanced diet
Nutrients in foods contain many elements that can help your body and especially your skin to remain in good condition. When your body is ‘happy’ and ‘efficient’, through detoxification, it will show on the outside.
Your skin needs:
- essential fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6) found in oily fish and flax seeds
- antioxidants vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene to retaliate against the damaging effects of UV light and free-radicals
- minerals zinc and selenium to build tissues and heal wounds. Find these minerals in foods like seafood, nuts, grains, and vegetables
- vitamin B6 to balance hormone levels, particularly for women that have pre-menstrual break-outs
- vitamin A to help reduce sebum levels on the skin
- potassium to help maintain elasticity, water to maintain hydration and flush toxins from the body
- water to maintain hydration and flush toxins from the body
Juicing organic fruits and vegetables
Have you ever tried freshly squeezed juice? It is delicious and nutritious. You get a truckload of vitamins, enzymes, and minerals. The enzymes contained in vegetables and fruits help to digest your food so try drinking these natural cocktails with meals.
One important thing to remember is that you should always start with organic fruits or vegetables. Because most fruits and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides, using non-organic products means that you will be ingesting harmful pesticides too. Keep these toxic chemicals away from your cells in order to maintain their proper functioning.
Exercising regularly
Oxygen is vital to life. Incorporating exercise into your lifestyle brings this element into your body and skin. Studies at the University of Wisconsin have shown that oxygen reduces the effects of free radical damage and premature aging.
Sweating encourages the release of toxins from the skin. Working up a good sweat during your exercise program will help in the detoxification process. You could also try saunas and steambaths to encourage the excretion of toxins.
If you are not currently exercising choose something that you enjoy doing. Walking is a great way to increase your heart rate and pump oxygen through your lungs. Other ideas include yoga, swimming, cycling, and running. Whatever you do, choose an activity that you will be motivated to do on a regular basis.
Exfoliation
Shedding skin cells is a continual process. Dead skin cells sit on the uppermost level of the epidermis and they make the skin look dull and less healthy. Our clothes play a big part in helping to remove cells on a daily basis. By sloughing off dead skin cells from time to time, you can stimulate the skin renewal process. Try any of the following methods once a week to naturally exfoliate your skin:
- briskly towel off after a shower
- use an organic scrub during your shower
- use a washcloth during your shower
- use a loofah (Important: keep it dry when it’s not in use to minimize bacterial count)
Using organic products for personal hygiene
Decreasing the number of synthetic chemicals entering your body through your food and personal products is yet another way to help detoxify. Modern research at the Herb Research Foundation found that the skin absorbs up to 60% of the chemicals in products that it comes into contact with directly into the bloodstream. This means that chemicals, some of which are known carcinogens, are entering your body and potentially causing unnecessary harm.
The next time you need to stock up on personal hygiene products, look for alternatives to the chemically items offered in most stores. Using organic products decreases the number of preservatives and chemical additives your skin comes into contact with and therefore, that may enter your body.
References:
- www.meriam-webster.com, accessed October 26, 2004.
- www.detox.org/skin.aspl, accessed October 26, 2004
- www.saga.co.uk/health_news/article/D2164785-92E3-11D6-B8AC-00508BAEC55C.asp?bhcp=1, accessed Oct. 26, 2004.
- Farley, Josephine. Organic beauty: look and feel gorgeous the natural way. Dorling Kindersley, London, 2001, page 66.
- http://www.naturalcosmetics.ca
Lori Stryker has been researching and developing all natural skin care and make-up for the purpose of offering men and women safe, natural cosmetics for everyday use. She brings to her research a specialist in human biology from the University of Toronto, coupled with a professional home economics degree and an education degree from the University of British Columbia, fusing chemical and biological knowledge with food, family and textile sciences.
You may use this article but any modification or publication of this article for fiancial gain must be approved of by the author. The author’s name, Lori Stryker and her company’s name, The Organic Make-up Company, needs to by noted when used.
Tags: all natural, blood, body, detoxification, health, healthy, natural, poisons, skin, toxic, toxinsChemical Warfare Are We Slowly Being Poisoned By Those Whom We Trust
It was not until I became pregnant with my son that I began to scrutinize a world overrun with chemicals. I thought I would be done with the research portion of the program following a few hours on the internet one Saturday afternoon. Three years later, stacks of books, newspapers, magazines, countless hours following online leads, numerous conversations with environmental advocates, I am no closer to understanding chemical exposure but I have added reason to be concerned. Environmental scientists have been sounding the alarm for years but not much is being done to stop the poisoning of our supply of food, air, and water. For every step forward we take, we slip back even further as thousands of new chemicals are introduced each year with almost no testing being done as to how these chemicals will react when combined together.
During this journey I have learned that it is not only the future at issue but where we are right now. Consider today’s escalating disease statistics and if you delve just a little bit deeper than acknowledging sickness and disease is running our economy and our lives, you will see that chemicals and a varied mixture of chemicals are at the ship’s helm determining our course and will continue to do so long into the future.
When I learned that a vast majority are not similarly concerned at the daunting statistics associated with chemical exposure, it occurred to me that when evidence is unpleasant and would require too great an effort to change the outcome, one inevitably redefines what is normal. Apparently it is now normal to have bodies that deteriorate after death at a slower rate because of all the preservatives contained therein!
It is normal to have our infants and small children injected with dangerous chemicals, such as mercury, aluminum, MSG, and formaldehyde - chemicals linked to disorders ranging from brain and nerve damage to autism and attention deficit disorder - and call it vaccination from disease.
Apparently it is now normal to be surrounded by people with chronic ailments, drugging symptoms into submission until the next symptom emerges (as a side effect) and needs another drug to suppress that symptom. Conditions such as fibromyalgia, autoimmune disorders, multiple chemical sensitivities, osteoporosis, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s Disease, ADD/HD, autism, brain tumors, crippling pain, not to mention frequent colds and viruses, strep throat, ear infections, and subsequent overuse of antibiotics and pharmaceutical drugs. I do not even work in an industry that is at high risk for chemical exposure but the topic of disease has now replaced “water cooler chatter”.
It is now normal to be young and yet have attended several funerals of friends who have died of cancer.
I began to study nutrition and supplementation like I have never studied it before - and I was no slacker during previous years. My son was not going to succumb to a life of ill health - not on my watch! And as I implemented my strategy I quickly learned that I did not have the support of my peers, medical advisors, corporate America, government, and certainly not the pharmaceutical drug industry which, of course, would prefer I use their method of immune support - vaccinations!
My desire to detoxify and arm the immune system was met with mockery from nearly everyone I encountered until I slipped slowly into the sub-subculture of natural health where I found acceptance, although there is always reason to disagree.
Some of the individuals I have come to admire most have been driven from the country and have opened clinics in Tijuana, Mexico, and some are merely isolated from their peers for practicing “quackery”. Numerous medical doctors have become licensed naturopathics just so they could drop ties to the pharmaceutical drug companies and actually help people get well. Others try to lead their patients to better health by carefully chosen words, trying to not upset the guarded mindset of those who need to believe they are not being poisoned by the food they eat, air they breathe, water they drink, and the very alluring appeal of consumerism which is cloaked in chemicals.
It occurred to me that I live in a country where the word “choice” is a battle cry from every corner, an undeniable right, and yet there is to be no choice when it involves caring for your health naturally. Your health insurance provider will not reimburse you for it, the pharmaceutical drug company will not tolerate it, and your doctor is not allowed to recommend it.
How is it we have come to this state of anti-choice when it involves our health? We have excellent doctors who now must practice medicine out of the country in sub-standard clinics and in turn will be criticized by the drug industry for practicing medicine in sub-standard conditions! The hypocrisy abounds.
We are now the guinea pigs in a grand experiment of chemicals, simmering in a pot of toxic soup just waiting to see who survives and what mutant species emerges strong enough to withstand the poison of our environment. Not only are we playing a nasty game of Russian roulette with ourselves as we accept each new chemical being released into the environment but we have absolutely no idea what happens when you mix certain chemicals together. More than 3,000 synthetic chemicals are regularly introduced to U.S. food products each year. Most have not been tested for their toxin producing effects in the human body. The EPA relies on safety data determined by the manufacturing company.
Now let’s consider the medical profession’s tool to help us deal with our toxic bodies shaking and burning with disease from all these chemicals. Synthetic drugs that are, once again, toxic to our systems. Consider this, seriously, when you observe pharmaceutical drugs being pulled from the market after years of approval, as was the case with Vioxx, a drug being used to treat arthritis responsible for causing thousands of individuals to experience strokes and heart attacks before the FDA finally stepped in and had the drug removed (the manufacturing company actually knew of the danger four years before it was officially pulled!); patients prescribed Propulsid for heartburn and also Rezulin for diabetes experienced intestinal damage, heart arrhythmia and liver toxicity; Mellaril - after five decades of use has been linked to heart damage; Posicor, a treatment for angina and hypertension interacted dangerously with 25 other medications; vaccines containing thimerosol have now been linked to neurological disorders (however, the drug companies denied the connection even while pulling the vaccines out of U.S. clinics and shipping to third world countries for distribution!). There are numerous similar reports. Please note, as dangerous as thimerosol is to our health, it is still being used in some vaccinations and you should always make sure your fu shot or vaccination does not contain this mercury-laden preservative.
So I ask you, why would you EVER trust the pharmaceutical drug company to treat your ill-health? Why would you trust ANY drug when you do not know which one will be later pulled following you dropping to the floor?
Considering the fact that the Journal of American Medical Association revealed 106,000 people die each year in American hospitals from the side effects of properly prescribed prescription medications, why would you not do everything in your power to stop drugging yourself and instead strengthen your immune system through natural means, buy organic food, supplement your diet, and avoid chemicals every single chance you get!
We need to stop and consider the consequences of a modern age constructed on the precept that life is better when created through chemistry. Perhaps we have been heading in the wrong direction for 100 years and now need to strip our belief system down to one that can lead us to a better quality of life. The first step: Denial of our chemically laden reality will need to be shed if we are to change this tragic course.
Imagine if for the past 100 years we had put the same sort of effort and financial resources into developing natural supplements, and studying health rather than disease intervention - instead of developing toxic drugs? Personal responsibility has never been more critical to our continued survival.
We have become so distracted by terrorism from outside forces, we did not even notice the dangers lurking right inside the borders of this country, legally operating and profiting from this new version of chemical warfare being waged on our society! As we are lulled into a false sense of security, adverse reactions to properly prescribed medications have become the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.
Take a look at your own family and if you find that you are constantly dealing with sickness, begin the journey today to get well. It will not be found in a bottle of Robitusson, Tylenol, asthma inhaler, shot of insulin, blood pressure medication, etc. but in a radical change in your internal climate which can only be accomplished through restricting chemical exposure in your food, water and air; detoxification of the chemicals that are now currently making you sick; supplying your body with the nutrients necessary to thrive rather than just survive.
Paula Rothstein has been involved in the natural health industry for over 10 years with a specific emphasis on promoting products and introducing lifestyle changes which address chronic diseases relating to high levels of toxicity. For more information on detoxification, please visit: http://www.medicinefreeliving.com
Copyright 2006 Paula Rothstein
Tags: Chemicals, detoxification, drugs, environment, nutrition, pharmaceutical, supplementation, toxic