Our level of toxin exposure has increased exponentially over the last hundred years. In fact, toxins can be found in almost every area of our lives from our food to our personal care products. These are just a few examples:
· Perchlorates: A by-product of jet fuel production found in drinking water and food supply chains that has been linked to thyroid problems.
· Flame retardants: Used in furniture, computers, and tvs, these have been linked to developmental issues.
· Plastics: All around us, plastic chemicals can lead to thyroid problems and other chronic health conditions
· Xenoestrogens: Chemicals used in personal care products that act as estrogen in the body contributing to imbalanced hormone levels.
Normally your body’s detoxification system (your liver, gallbladder, and digestive system) does a great job at filtering out the toxins you are exposed to in your environment. However, this seemingly never ending onslaught of chemical exposure can be too much for our bodies to handle.
This toxin overload can make it difficult for your body to filter out these toxins fast enough which can lead to chronic inflammation that further inhibits your body’s ability to detox. Therefore, we need to do everything in our power to mitigate our toxin exposure and clear out toxins as much as possible from our system so that we can function optimally.
Signs that you need a detox
You can’t avoid toxins altogether so the question is not if you should do a detox; it’s when based on your individual tolerance to toxins and level of exposure. These are some tell-tale signs that your body has reached its toxin limit.
1. Your skin’s a mess
Your skin is responsible for eliminating waste and toxins from your body through sweating. If your body is overloaded with toxins this can manifest on the surface of your skin in the form of acne, rashes, and eczema.
2. Your hormones are imbalanced
A lot of the toxins we encounter on a daily basis are considered endocrine disruptors that end up mimicking hormones and throwing our own hormones out of whack. If you are experiencing symptoms like fatigue, weight-loss resistance, irregular periods, irritability, or brain fog, you may have toxin-induced hormone imbalance.
3. You have digestive distress
Gut problems are one of the most obvious signs that you need to detox. Bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, and food intolerances are not normal. Detoxing is one way to give your gut a much needed break. It’s also important to start making a dietary shift toward more clean, whole foods instead of prepackaged foods with multiple unnecessary additives.
These symptoms are just the tip of the iceberg. Since everyone is different, toxin overload can manifest in many different areas of your body. Check out my article for more signs that you need to detox.
