Ryan Hall, MS, CNS, CYT
We hear a lot about environmental toxins and the negative consequences of them, of which there are many.
The unfortunate reality is that we live in an increasingly toxic world. Every year there are roughly 2000 novel chemicals introduced into the US. Many of us are exposed in seemingly innocuous ways via our hygiene products, food packaging, tap water, diet, occupations, etc.
Toxic exposure isn’t something new. Our bodies have evolved to be able to eliminate damaging toxins, whether created within the body via normal metabolism or consumed from outside the body.
Unfortunately, with the modern lives we live and the environment we live them in we can encounter complications with our innate detoxification and elimination processes. For instance, we could have a high toxic burden that exceeds our ability to eliminate, we could suffer from nutritional deficiencies that impeded detoxification, we could have a compromised gastrointestinal system, or we could have particular genetic polymorphisms that inhibit our bodies detox pathways.
Some signs of high toxic burden are:
- Fatigue
- Weight gain
- Difficulty with weight loss
- Brain fog
- Body aches
- Allergies
- Rashes
- Endocrine disruption:
- Estrogen dominance symptoms
- Hypothyroid like symptoms
- Hormonal irregularities
The first step in reducing toxic burden is to remove the source of toxic exposure. This requires education and attention. Secondly, we need to ensure that the appropriate nutrients are in abundance in the diet. Thirdly, we must be eliminating the toxins via the organs of elimination, the kidney, intestines, skin, and lungs.
Diet is foundational. Beyond that there can be a need for certain types of supplementation to enable upregulation of detox pathways or for the elimination of a particular types of toxins. Additionally, there are lifestyle interventions that can add in the processes of detoxification and elimination, such as sauna, cold plunges, detoxifying salt baths, and dry brushing to name a few.
If you’d like to learn more about how to limit your toxic exposure, and how to successfully support detoxification and elimination you can find out and join our clinician lead group detox program here.