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ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICITY, PART 1
As big a deal as holistic practitioners say it is?
By Kimberlee Blyden-Taylor
No one leaves a naturopathic doctor's office without hearing something about "toxicity" and the need to "cleanse". Why? If you eat a reasonably good diet, don't smoke, drink alcohol only occasionally, and exercise regularly, do you still have to think about "toxicity"? The answer is a resounding "YES!"
There is no area of our planet that has not been touched by industrial pollution. Most industrial pollutants are fat-soluble and relatively stable. This means they will last for long periods of time without breaking down and that they will "bio-accumulate". Bio-accumulation happens as each animal in the food chain stores these chemicals in its fatty tissue and as larger animals eat smaller animals the concentrations of stored chemicals grow. Humans are at the "top" of the food chain. We eat a pollutant-laden salmon that has eaten a pollutant-laden smaller fish that has eaten a pollutant laden smaller fish that swam in pollutant laden oceans…
But these pollutant levels must be within "safe" levels to be sold as food. True enough. And so are the preservatives, additives, colourings, flavorings, conditioners, and emulsifiers that we also daily ingest in our food supply. So is the atmospheric radiation and electromagnetic fields we are daily exposed to from satellites, electrical wires, radio waves, and telecommunications systems. So is the side-stream cigarette smoke, the automobile fumes, household cleaner fumes, and cosmetic product "odours". So are the pesticides, fertilizers, genetic modifications, ripeners, hormones, and antibiotics that help produce our foods. So are the antibiotics, painkillers, birth control pills, laxatives, hormones, antidepressants, and other pharmaceuticals that we daily take. And what about the alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, and "recreational" drugs we occasionally "indulge" in?
What happens when we mix all of these together over the lifetime of stress that is the 21st century norm?
First and foremost our liver attempts to break down all of these toxic chemicals. The liver's ability to do this in any given amount of time is limited by two things. 1. The amount of enzymes and other catabolists necessary for breaking down the toxins, and 2. The amount of toxin ingested over a given span of time. If there is more toxin present than the liver can immediately break down, these toxins are stored in the fatty tissue of the liver. What happens if the liver runs out of storage room? Toxins are stored in other fatty tissues in the body. This includes areas of "cellulite", joints, nerves, breasts, skin, and the brain.
Additionally, the liver slows in it's breakdown ability over time as enzymes and catabolists are used up and not replenished due to inadequate diet and high intake of toxins. In North America, Ontario ranks #2 overall in total release and transfers of pollution (from Taking Stock: North American Pollutant Releases and Transfers, 1996). As toxins accumulate throughout the body "non-specific" symptoms develop such as unexplained fatigue, digestive complaints, muscle aches, joint stiffness, skin eruptions, increased PMS symptoms, headaches, lack of concentration, generalized anxiety, depressive episodes, and irritability.
Cleansing the body of toxins requires a thorough analysis of the most likely sources of exposure and the individual's physical areas of weakness. Heavy metal levels such as lead, mercury, aluminum, barium and others can be ascertained through Hair Mineral Analysis. Hair Mineral Analysis, as well as saliva and urinary analysis can help to ascertain levels of bodily acidity. A nutritionally oriented physical exam and medical history intake can help pinpoint areas of the body most affected by toxic overload.
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