First, let’s all be honest, this stuff is confusing and can be super overwhelming. I swear, if you listen to everything that floats around on the internet you can get really scared, really fast about toxins in our environment.
I mean, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t had frustrating moments where I’ve felt like I must live a totally secluded life on some untouched land somewhere with no makeup (gasp), none of life’s treats, no creature comforts etc. just to ensure I am healthy and not in danger of cancer or some neurodegenerative disease or something along those lines from my shampoo or car fumes or…you name it!
Let me try to simplify this for a minute.
First of all, it is important to understand that we have SIX systems & organs that are in charge of detoxing our bodies naturally:
- the skin
- lungs
- kidney
- digestive system
- liver
- the lymphatic system
Together, these different parts make a strong and effective army to protect our body from things that can interfere with our health by getting into our system through what we breathe, what we put on our skin and what we ingest.
I won’t go into the specifics of what each of these organs and systems individually do for us, but they have very important jobs that makes everything work well as a whole.
What happens when our bodies get overwhelmed with so much junk that the cleansing systems can’t cleanse fast enough?
Think of your body as a car (this is a SUPER simplified way of looking at it since a car isn’t impacted by emotions, hormones, sleep, stress, etc.). If the oil doesn’t get changed and the air filter gets super dirty the car won’t run right. The same thing happens if you use bad fuel. Our bodies are the same in that, it might be fine for a while, but eventually there will be toxic build up.
What does this look like?
Here are several ways build up in our bodies can impact our health and how we will recognize that something is wrong:
- Food sensitivities from our gut lining & gut microbiota being compromised
- Skin issues
- Mood issues (depression and anxiety)
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Hormone disruption
- Weak immune system
- Allergies
- Brain fog
- Systemic inflammation
- Sleep disorders
- Low energy
- Chronic illness
- Asthma
- Arthritis
- Autoimmune conditions
- The list goes on and on…the common theme here is INFLAMMATION.
INFLAMMATION is designed to be GOOD!
When our bodies are attacked somehow, inflammation occurs as an immune response to heal the body rapidly. When you injure yourself blood flows to the location to cleanse the wound and you get some redness and swelling which is the immune cells jumping into action the way they were designed to.
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING
In our modern culture we are so inundated by foreign substances that easily and CONSTANTLY make their ways into our bodies, that inflammation is very commonly chronic amongst people in our culture. That list you just read: that’s what happens from CHRONIC inflammation (when the inflammation just keeps going as an ongoing defense) and for whatever reason people think these things are NORMAL. Although they have become TYPICAL in our culture, they should not be accepted as normal. We are not meant to be in a constant state of inflammation. When this happens, things within us start attacking the good things and our system gets corroded in a sense.
A DAY IN A LIFE:
Picture this…
You wake up from a night of sleep in your sheets and PJs that have been washed and dried in detergents, softening agents and dryer sheets that all have artificial dyes, chemicals and scents that are in the form of teeny tiny particles that super easily get into your blood stream through your lungs & skin.
You jump in the shower and use shampoo, conditioner and body wash all containing parabens, Phthalates, artificial ingredients and chemicals that are endocrine disrupters and wreak havoc on our internal systems even though they smell good and lather up nicely to make us think we are extra squeaky clean!
You head to the kitchen where you dose up on caffeine with dairy that contains hormones along with sugar and artificial ingredients in that oh so yummy creamer (it’s like a drug I swear). Your taste buds are happy, but the rest of you may eventually tell you otherwise as you start to have hormone issues, skin issues, you can’t kick your sugar cravings, your blood sugar is out of control, you cant seem to lose weight, etc.
You are inundated with car fumes, artificial light up the ying yang, stress from your job, pesticides on your food… you come home too tired to exercise OR you exercise too much, and your body is holding on to weight, getting injured, on a hormonal roller coaster because of it. You need to relax at night so, you stay up too late watching TV with more artificial light and a tub of Ben & Jerry’s.
Sound familiar?
OK. THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE ALL DOOM & GLOOM! BEAR WITH ME!
While it’s important to be AWARE of what we are doing to our bodies, it is also important to NOT live in fear!
What we can do is support our bodies in being able to cleanse themselves in two ways as much as possible:
1) Restricting exposure to harmful substances
2) Using foods, supplements and protocols that make our organs and lymphatic system happy and healthy
Here is an easy system for getting started without feeling overwhelmed:
Think, REMOVE & REPLACE
1) Pay attention to the ingredients in your products and REMOVE those that are harmful
I suggest using a FREE app such as Think Dirty or the EWG’s Healthy Living App. You can scan products in your home or in the store and see how they have been scored in a number of areas to decide whether it’s a product you want to keep using or purchase. It can be VERY surprising as to which products you will decide to ditch because you “thought” they were less harmful than they are.
2) REPLACE harmful products with natural products.
You don’t have to do this all at once. Start small. Start by switching to a clean detergent. I suggest a “FREE & CLEAR” or something like doTERRA’s onguard detergent. OR even using a FREE & CLEAR & adding an essential oil that you love (for more on essential oils click here!).
This is a good place to start.
Pretty soon you can start diving in and learning more but keep in mind, this is NOT about living in a bubble! This is about setting ourselves and our families up for more success with our health! We can do SO much to support our systems without getting hyper focused on it all and stressed out. Truly.
I personally have started using doTERRA essential oils as one way to help me replace other more harmful products. Along the way I have learned SO much, not about how they can replace other things, but the benefits they hold!
I have also started replacing my makeup and skin care products with products by Beauty Counter. This company is all about educating people on the ingredients in our products that shouldn’t be there and offering CLEAN products!
Please click the links above to learn more about doTERRA and/or Beauty Counter and feel free to reach out to me for more info!
In the meantime, please go here for a BUNCH of awesome “do-it-yourself” household and body product recipes from doTERRA that contain HEALTHY ingredients!
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