Body Detox: Cleansing for Health

In today’s fast-moving life, most of us pick up habits that may be well-matched according to our physical comfort, but often result in harming our overall physical health. Many illnesses and diseases are brought about because of accumulated toxins in our bodies. These toxins do not just affect our physical being, but also have adverse effects on our mental faculties. A simple act of consuming oily food can accumulate toxins in our system. Smoking, eating fatty and oily foods, and alcohol consumption all produce damaging substances, which often do not excrete from our bodies and can turn into harmful toxins.

All these toxicities can lead to several irregularities, which in turn disturb our physical and mental balance. Keeping the current lifestyle in mind, body detox is a much-needed activity for the well-being of body, mind and soul. Nowadays, the market is flooded with highly processed foods, which can be quite damaging to our immune systems. These toxins weaken the health and stress organs. Most of these toxins travel through our systems in the form of byproducts consumed with drugs or food. These “radicals” often give birth to irritation, aging and inflammation of degenerated body tissues. Apart from these, negative atmosphere, negative influence, negative emotions or thought patterns also contribute largely to these toxins. Toxins accumulated through any of the above forms can adversely affect the normal physiology and may even cause damage to our normal mental functioning.

The body system is designed to work appropriately and in best health. When it is overloaded or overworked, then it produces toxins in amounts that cannot be discarded; in this way the accumulation of toxins takes place. If we continue with our regular regimes rather than thinking of changing our ways, then toxins are produced much more quickly than they can be discarded by our systems. The imbalance thus caused disrupts normal body functioning and deprive us of sound minds and bodies.

Before you consider body detox, you should actually know the toxins to which you are exposed, as this will certainly help you in choosing the appropriate methodology to achieve detoxification. To fight any illness, we must know the disease and the symptoms of the disease. It is most helpful to identify these toxins and their sources. If you know where they are coming from, then you have a fair chance of terminating that particular consumption or practice. Once researched, it can be quite a shock to realize that many of these toxins are present in your daily diet and habits.

Household toxins are mostly found in items that are used in your daily chores, such as detergents, dishwashers, washing machines, toilet cleaners, air fresheners, etc. Some of the most common household toxins are discussed below.

• Alcohol – This is the most harmful toxin that is present in our daily routine. Alcohol is found mouthwash, astringents, cleansers, toothpaste, etc.
• Benzene – Inhaling high levels of Benzene causes headaches, tremors, rapid heart rate, confusion, unconsciousness and sometimes death. It is mostly found in pesticides, adhesives, detergents, etc.
• Alkyl-phenol Ethoxylades – This toxin reduces the sperm count and is mostly found in shampoos and bubble baths.
• Fluoride – This contains mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium. This toxin accumulates in the body and affects our bones; it is found in toothpaste and mouthwashes.

Food toxins are the most common and easy toxin that flows in our systems. The food we usually consume in today’s lifestyle is laden with artificial hormones, particularly injected into poultry products. Apart from this, fruits and vegetables may also be a continuous and major source of food toxins. Some of the common food toxins are mentioned below.

• Benzoic Acid – Inhalation directly affects our nervous system. It is a grave eye and skin irritant. This is used as a food preservative and is mostly found in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and canned foods.
• BHT – This substance is obstinately banned in other countries as it is considered carcinogenic, but this preservative is still used in the U.S. It is mostly present in canned food and body products.
• Diacetyl – This is mostly found in microwave popcorn, as it is meant to taste like butter, however can cause a serious lung malfunction.
• Nitrate/Nitrite – Nitrate on its own is harmless, but it can be easily transformed into nitrite and when this combines with secondary amines it forms a powerful substance that can cause cancer. This chemical reaction occurs mostly at high temperatures, as when food is fried.
• Sodium Nitrate – This makes meat look red rather than gray, and provides for extended shelf life. This has been clinically proven to cause brain tumors, leukemia and other forms of cancer.

Lifestyle toxins are largely contributed by the way an individual spends his life. Smoking, alcohol consumption, food habits, drugs, colorants, etc. all produce toxins in your body cells, as does the undigested organic matter. The toxins created by our lifestyles can be avoided and minimized. Some of these include acetone, alpha hydroxy acid, ammonium glycolate, aluminum, aspartame, clay, benzene, bronopol, etc.

Environmental toxins are largely created by industries. These toxins are present all around us and we are continuously exposed to them through the air we breathe. These environmental toxins pollute everything around us and are most prevalent in large cities. One of the major environmental toxins is phenoxyethanol. This substance has been proven to cause harm to our reproductive and fetus development systems. It also reduces fertility and is a potential threat to wildlife.