Toxicity. In my mind the word strongly associates with a scene from Robocop movie, where one of the bad guys in the end of the movie falls into the pond full of something signed “Toxic!” and then has a whole bunch of unpleasant things happening to him, from skin peeling to truck hitting. I know, everyone has their own weird memories…
Back to our topic of the day. What are toxins and what is toxicity? Toxins are various agents that are foreign to our chemical and hormonal balance and can create different disorders in our homeostasis. Toxicity is excess of toxins in the body that can disrupt healthy metabolism.
Many toxins are chemicals that our body was never exposed to, therefore has no mechanism developed to neutralize and remove them. Among our regular mechanisms of chemical removal are
a) blood chemical filtration in the liver;
b) blood physical filtration in the kidneys;
c) sweating;
d) breathing
e) digestive system.
Sometimes these mechanisms are not enough, and we have to come up with new, more strategic approach.
Step 1 – not letting toxins into the body
Step 2 – remove existing toxins out of the body by improving and intensifying our natural cleaning systems.

So, let’s break it down a little:
Preventing toxins from entering the body

Air

Human can survive without food for as long as 20 days, without water – up to 6. Without air – maximum 4 minutes, then clinical death. It is crucially important for us to breathe. However, nowadays there is no control over what quality of air we are breathing. Two hundred years ago control like that wouldn’t be necessary, since heavy industry was not developed yet. Today, however, if you think that what you are breathing is clean and will not affect your health, think again, and think seriously. Various industries throw out tons of chemicals in the air, even if there are filters, there is still air pollution happening, and there is statistics for it – frequency of lung diseases, such as COPD and asthma are increasing yearly. Add second hand smoking to it, as well as various household chemicals, such as air fresheners, cleaners, scents, etc… We do have a problem as a civilization, and the only solution out of it – accept the problem and start performing actions to solve it, one person at a time. So, here are my suggestions regarding air pollution and how to clean your body from toxins that are entering through airways. From easiest to most ridiculous:

• Once a week go to forest or outside of city for an hour or two. Breathing clean air for an hour will improve your longevity and health, even if it is not permanent.
• Install air humidifier in your house. Humidifier will help chemical particles that are suspended in the air to settle down.
• Quit smoking and become smoke and second-hand smoke intolerant. Dan John, one of the very prominent minds in strength and conditioning area once mentioned that people tend to overlook the most obvious things, such as they try to go on a new crazy diet or exercise regime, and never buckle seat belt or floss. Exactly the same concept with smoking – yes, there are awful things happening in the world, such as wars and epidemics, where thousands of people die every day. But guess what? Thousands of people die every day from a cigarette. Slow death remains death. Be mature and responsible. Fix it.
• Carpool whenever possible. Less pollution from cars – cleaner air.
• Adopt breathing techniques of Yoga, Tai Chi, Karate, or Wushu. Or you can search for “breathing gymnastics of Strel’nikova” if you want to have some Russian flavour of that.
• Stop using air fresheners and commercial household cleaners – those things are carcinogenous, and cancer is a real threat to everyone’s health these days.
• On the more ridiculous note – if possible, replace your car to hybrid or to electro car. I know, we don’t have many of them yet, but technology develops, and as soon as they appear on the market, look up for them.
• If possible, look up for alternative sources of energy for the house as well. Natural gas or oil for fuel is NOT a good idea. Solar energy, energy of wind and water – absolutely is.

Water

Water is what our body mostly consist of. However, it is way more then simple H2O formula. Water has structure that is very dynamic and can be influenced by many factors, both good and bad. It is the easiest substance to dilute chemicals. As Paul Chek mentions “The easiest solution to pollution is dilution”, meaning whenever there are chemicals entering our body, the easiest way to dissipate their effect is to dilute them with water.

But… What if the water that we are trying to dilute things is poisoned already? Then we have a problem. And as human beings that were evolving because of our ability to think logically, make conclusions and solve problems, this problem can be solved as well. Again, from simple and cheap to complicated and expensive:

• Filter the water that enters your body. Make sure you do your research about various filters and apply the best filters to remove bad chemicals out of drinking water.
• Do NOT use tap water – it is not water, it is chemical liquid that doesn’t allow organisms to live in it. And guess what? Your organism won’t live either if you drink it.
• Filter the water that you wash yourself with – install filters that capture chlorine particles. Chlorine in warm water goes through chemical reaction and turns into formaldehyde – poison that can penetrate the skin. Don’t poison your body.
• Learn if there are any springs in the area where you live, and try to get water from there. Spring water is naturally best filtered water.
• AGAIN, don’t use household chemistry – it pollutes water.
• Be pro-active about water pollution – learn what we can do to minimize amount of chemicals entering to lakes and rivers, as well as what kind of testing is performed by government to keep control over it.

Food

The most amount of chemicals we receive through food, there is no doubt. Meats, vegetables, fruits, grains and dairy are all filled up with hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, rodenticides, steroids, artificial flavours, sweeteners, and so on. That’s foods. But there are also food products – things that we perceive as food, but its not. Candy, chips, breads, soft drinks are not foods, there is no nutrients in them, they cannot improve your feeling of satiety, and you can’t live on these products. However, we have a long-term habit that is fortified by mass media informational hurricane that forces us to think that it is fine to eat white bread or candy instead of fruit and vegetables. One curious fact – would you drink from a pump at a gas station? Of course not. Well, majority of soft drinks and candy products are either made of or have additives of oil derivatives. Appetizing? Very much.

Points of how to prevent toxins from entering your body with food:

• Eat wild, raw and organic as much as possible.
• Meats should be chosen wisely, and healthier choices, such as beef or rabbit versus pork.
• Fruit and vegetables should be picked organic, and washed thoroughly. Some berries, such as strawberry, are among highest sprayed in the world, so even organic needs to be cleaned.
• Pre-soak almonds, if they are staple of your daily nutrient intake.
• When buying grocery, work only with list that you design beforehand, such as have meats, fruit, vegetables, nuts, berries, leafy greens, fish, eggs (if not allergic) and some dairy (again, if not allergic or intolerant) in your list. And that’s it, no more travels to the aisles where your brain can say “hey, perhaps this bag of chips is not so bad”.
• Seek for advice of professional nutritionist.
• Do the research. You have one health, and down the road you will never be able to figure out what exactly could cause some nasty things, such as arthritis, Alzheimer’s, or ulcer. But very often it is years of letting chemicals into your body with food.

Cleaning the body from toxins:

Very often by preventing toxins from entering the body and providing plenty of fresh clean water can create significant changes in someone’s well-being. However, more often than not our bodies are so clogged up that it takes quite specific approach to cleanse the systems to allow the body to function.
Key points:

• Always, always, always, when trying new health approach or method, consult with the specialist. Nutritionists, holistic nutritionists, dietitians, CHEK holistic practitioners, Biosignature certified coaches are few of many options available. Improving your health is everyone’s responsibility, but experimenting with health can be very dangerous path. Don’t do it alone.
• Learn how to cleanse your digestive system – colonics, liver and gallbladder cleanse, and basic parasites. Also assess and if possible, remove metal filings or implants in your mouth, since there is always high mercury content of these things. And, while we are speaking about mouth – don’t use the toothpaste with fluoride. At some point it was a believe that fluoride strengthens the teeth enamel. Later research showed opposite plus more nasty side effects. Stay away.

• Learn how to cleanse your excretory system – kidneys are your natural filter, and you only have one filter per lifetime, so treat it right and clean it regularly. Part of your excretory system is your skin, so make yourself sweat daily.
• Speaking about the skin and underneath layers, learn what fat drainage and lymph drainage is and do it regularly. Even if separate systems are in better shape, but the connection between them isn’t, you still have a problem.
• Regular fasting is recommended by many specialists to mobilize reserves of the body and direct them towards healing and cleansing.
• Muscles and supporting systems are easy to clean from toxins and daily metabolites by being active daily. Sports, activities, walking, cycling, swimming, dancing, yoga, lifting weights, tossing the football – options are endless, and for the purpose of making your muscles to move there is no right or wrong approach. If you have a specific goal, however, then your activities and training have to be specific as well. But we’ll talk about it later.
• Learn and start cleaning your body from candida, various fungi and parasites leave their life products in us. Disgusting? Absolutely. Fix it.
• Again, remember, seeing the specialist is a must. No joking. You wouldn’t jump with parachute without some instructions, right? So what gave you confidence that manipulating your health is any less dangerous?

What is it that doctors refer as healthy person? Person with no distinctive disease that impairs him/her. It makes sense, but at the same time its very limiting – many people are chronically sleep deprived, with poor stomach micro flora, bad posture, weak digestive system and muscular system, as well as clogged up lymph and liver. But, as soon as blood analysis is good, the doctor will say “you’re fine”. However, person like that will NOT be healthy by any means. But, since this situation is outside of traditional medical scope of practice, let’s take responsibility for our own health.

Well, in a very brief key point system I tried to cover this very interesting and very important area. There is not much official research about it, but if you are interested and serious about your health, then you can find the info.

Next area that I am going to touch in my future post will be about psychology of change, and how adopting or rejecting new habits can affect your quest for better body and better health.