Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By Toni Eatros, MS, Dipl Ac, AP
Florida is home to two of the most toxic sports/activities. What do you think they are? Any guesses? There is a good chance that you participating in one or or both of these activities on a regular basis. The two most toxic sports are golf and swimming in a chlorine swimming pool.
How often are you participating in these activities? The more time you spend on the golf course and in the pool, the more toxins that are bombarding your body. Unfortunately, we are exposed to chemicals in the air, compounds in the food, mold, bacteria, dyes, chemicals, fragrances, and pesticides found in the water, clothing, diet and environment, all on a daily basis. This daily load, causes the liver to become congested over time. If you spend hours every week on the golf course or in the swimming pool, your toxic load is even higher.
This liver congestion is similar to the carburetor in a car. In the older model cars, the carburetor would periodically need to be flushed, or what would happen? The car would begin running rough. As soon as the carburetor was cleaned out, the car would run smoothly again. Your body is no different. At least annually, more if you golf or swim, you need to clean out your internal carburetor, your liver.
“Detox” has become a buzzword with many different connotations in recent years, creating confusion for people seeking to be healthy. I want to clarify what detoxification really entails, because when understood and practiced properly, it is essential to restoring, and maintaining, good health.
Detoxification is NOT a bowel cleanse. While this type of cleanse might have some positive effects at first, long-lasting health benefits are rarely experienced.
These special cleanses can consist of anything from complete fasting, to juice and veggie fasting, all the way to using harsh cleansing agents that cause the bowels to dump everything. These approaches are not helping anybody actually reclaim their health because detoxification should remove toxins and relieve stress on all the body’s detoxifying organs, not just the bowels.
Detoxification is the bodily process that converts toxins into less harmful substances and eliminates them from the body. The only way to do this, properly and effectively, is by repairing the body’s main detoxifying and filtering organs from the years of chemical and physical stress placed upon them. It also involves working to eliminate an overabundance of toxins that have accumulated in the body over time due to the inability of our bodies to keep up with the detoxification demands placed upon it.
As liver and gut function declines, inflammation increases throughout the entire body, and things like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and other “common” health problems continue to increase. These diminished functions, toxicities, and developing diseases leave your energy depleted, hormones imbalanced, moods altered, and sleep disturbed. Not to mention, they create an environment where poor health becomes the new normal.
Although the liver is the body’s primary detoxifier, other organs are also involved, including the colon, kidneys, gallbladder, skin and lymphatic system. Repairing all of these organs, not only helps the body detoxify itself, but it positions us for long-term health because the liver and gut are responsible for hundreds of other functions in the body, that help us maintain homeostasis and optimal wellness.
Not all detoxification programs are created equally. Most of the quick, health food store, detoxification products are incomplete and leave people feeling worse than they felt prior to using them. A proper detoxification does not mean, sit on the toilet for three days. It should be a gentle process, that takes place over a specific length of time.
In order to be truly effective, a properly handled detoxification protocol should include all of the following steps:
• Taking the burden off the body by cleaning up
the diet.
• Restoring normal digestive function.
• Supporting all liver function and detoxification
processes with specialized nutrients.
If we don’t regularly detoxify our body, or if we revert to a lifestyle that ignores how we eat and what toxins we are exposed to, our body will break down over time and eventually symptoms of disease and poor health will begin to surface.
Detoxification is one of the essential five pillars of achieving optimal health. The other pillars are nutrition, exercise, stress management, and hormone balance.
At Acupuncture & Natural Health Solutions, we offer a variety of educational programs that address each one of these essential pillars of health, including, safe and effective detoxification curriculums. Our comprehensive programs teach you how to implement a healthy lifestyle that can help you avoid or reduce problems such as digestive issues, reflux, bloating and gas, low energy, headaches, irritability, food intolerances, weight gain, and much more.
Without the regular process of proper detoxification, the goals of reclaiming or maintaining your health simply are not possible. Regular detoxification gives you a chance to gain an incredible quality of life and health. Call our office today, 239-260-4566, or go to AcupunctureSolutionsOnline.com/detox to get your detoxification protocol in place so you can begin on January 1st. Now is the perfect time to plan your new year resolution of getting healthier.