Your body uses fat to protect itself from toxins. The more toxins you accumulate, the more fat you have.
Carrie Louise Daenell, ND wrote a great article, featured on the American Association of Naturopathic Physicans website, explaining how toxins make you fat.
When you carry toxins—excess stress hormone and inflammation—your body seeks to protect you from that. The older you get, the greater load you have accumulated over time. You reach a threshold, at some point, where your biochemistry begins to drive toward fat production as a protective mechanism against those noxious accumulations. It is the fat produced to protect us from the toxins we accumulate with age. When you think about it, it is simple and obvious.
How Toxins Enter Our Bodies
Even if you’re the healthiest person on this earth, there is still really no possible way to avoid toxins all together.
Toxins are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the products we use.
Skin
Many people don’t really think about how our skin is our largest organ and what we put on our skin gets absorbed into our bodies even more so than what we put in our mouths. When we eat, our digestive tract helps clean up some of the yuck. When we put things on our skin, most everything absorbs right through to our blood.
So, the sassy ingredients used in most skin & beauty products are one way toxins pass through. Don’t forget about cleaning supplies, bug sprays, sunscreen, etc. We probably put more things on our skin than we realize.
To learn more about what ingredients to avoid putting on your skin, check out my post/infographic on What Toxic Chemicals is Your Skin Absorbing.
Water
Blogger & Creator of FindingVegan.com, Kathy Patalsky informs us about the sort of toxins we might be drinking in our H20.
A number of toxins have been discovered in water. Everything from chlorine, bleach, ammonia and even OTC and prescription medications have been reported to be found in excess in drinking water.
Fluoride is another harmful ingredient (an insecticide) we may find in our water. The (FDA) U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists fluoride as an unapproved drug and the (EPA) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists it as a contaminant. Fluoride has been linked to fluoridosis in children (41%), fatal bone cancer (osteosarcoma), hyperactivity, lowered thyroid function, chronic fatigue, impaired mental development, lowered IQ, dementia, arthritic symptoms, disrupted immune system, as well as tooth decay.
OMG, right?
Just when we think we are doing a great job being healthy by drinking lots of water… we have to wonder if our tap water is actually helping or hurting?
For more information about fluoride in your water, check out this post, Is Fluoride in Water a Good or Bad Thing?
Food… food… food.
If only it was easy to avoid all the crap in our food. Even some organic foods contain GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). Pesticides, additives, artificial coloring, preservatives, harmful contaminants like polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyl and dioxins found in animal products, mercury in fish, artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated oils, rBGH (Bovine Growth Hormone), arsenic in chicken meat, and bisphenol-A (commonly found in canned foods). These are only some of the issues with our agricultural industry.
An article from alternet.org written by Tina McCarthy, 13 Secret Toxins Lurking in Your Food, will give you more insight into why these toxins are hazardous to our health and how to avoid them.
Your best bet is to eat as close to the earth as possible. I mean nuts and seeds, organic produce, avoid sugar (except natural sugar in fruit) etc.
Air
I won’t go on about all the toxins in the air. Pollution, combustion, exhaust, flame retardants and paint fumes – among others – are obviously harmful to breathe in. The crazy thing is, your house has more toxins than the outside air. Think about that…
Then there are other things like vaccinations and the toxic pass down from generation to generation… For more on this read my post on 5 Reasons to Detox Your Body.
A Cleansing Detox With Weight Loss Benefits
Naturally your skin, lungs, liver, kidneys, digestive, circulatory, and lymphatic systems work hard to eliminate toxins from your body. But, these days the toxic overload is too much for our poor organs to handle. Especially with build up over time.
Detoxification is a healthy and natural way to help your body get rid of harmful toxins. When it is done properly, it is one of the best things you can do for yourself to prevent health issues or even lose weight. Doesn’t it make sense to clean your insides? If your organs don’t have to focus all their attention on the toxic build up, then the nutrients will be able to do what they need for your body.
The losing weight part is just an added benefit! When your body eliminates harmful toxins, the fat that is stored to help protect your body will also be eliminated.
There are many ways to help your body detoxify itself.
- You can simply exercise and eliminate toxins through your sweat.
- Drink lots of water and flush out the toxins through your urine.
- Getting a massage or doing yoga release toxins through your skin.
- Eat only organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Drink plenty of water and herbal tea! This gives your organs a chance to catch up with eliminating your toxic build up.
- Using nutritional products is also an option to assist your cleansing detoxification process. Some 5-star rated best-selling products from Natural Healthy Concepts include Comprehensive Detox Kit, Cell Detox, and CandidaStat. These are professional grade products that you’d most likely find in a healthcare practitioners office.*
*When using a supplements to assist in the detoxification process, it’s best to consult your healthcare practitioner before you begin taking them.
Cleansing your body once in a while is a great idea and comes with many benefits including weight loss. It’s a great idea to try a cleansing detox if you’ve been working hard to lose weight and it just isn’t working. It’s also a great way to maintain your ideal weight!
Happy detoxing!
Leave a comment below if you have a detox success story to share!
Also, make sure to read the other posts in our 5 Necessary Steps to Weight Loss Success series:
Helpful Detox Recipes to Try!
+Ashley Steinbrinck writes regularly about natural health and happiness for Natural Healthy Concepts. Visit the site today to browse a wide selection of herbal nutritional supplements, vitamins and homeopathic medicine.
