Part of my assessment of new patients includes a toxicity screen to enable both of us to see how the body is reacting to internal and external toxins. Many people do not realize how their choices directly impact their health and how simple changes can reverse even the most significant and chronic of symptoms. Once we identify the offending products/chemical exposure, we are able to restore wellness to the patient. Let's take a look at what small changes may result in large rewards.
1. Cleaning products
Take a look at the label of the products you use on a daily basis. Frequently, the chemicals used are either petroleum based or highly toxic when used over a long period of time. America's Test Kitchen tested many of the popular, conventional cleaning products and found the best one is, "The Method." It's a completely natural, non-toxic, all-purpose cleaner that is both cost-effective and a germicide. You can make your own cleansers, but as that can get a bit messy and time-consuming, I'm not including that method. Remember, anything that you get on your skin is absorbed and circulates in the blood...affecting the entire body. As much as possible, switch your cleaning products to the natural, organic brands.
2. Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener
This is another group of products that causes a lot of chemical toxicity. Borax (a brand that has been around forever) along with a natural soap (Costco has some excellent brands for a very reasonable cost) cleanses effectively and safely. Fabric softeners, including those used in the dryer are full of chemicals that are stored in our fat and accumulate over time.
A fantastic way to soften clothes is to use pure lamb's wool. HSN offers lamb's wool balls that you simply put into the dryer with the wet clothes. We have some pure lamb's wool that had been made into small blankets that we cut up and use in the dryer. It works beautifully and lasts for years. Your clothes won't have any smell to them, but will be very soft. Remember, clean shouldn't smell!
3. Personal care products and cosmetics
This is the category that contains the greatest exposure to harmful chemicals because women use make-up, hair conditioner/shampoo/coloring/sprays and gels on a daily basis. Remember, all these chemicals are circulating in your bloodstream as you read this, if you aren't using organic products. My favorite companies are "100 percent pure" "Just Natural" and "Naturtint." Aveda carries many wonderful hair colors that are around 96% harmful chemical-free, if you don't want to color your own hair. Change just one product at a time, if you can't change every personal product at once.
4. Water purifiers
Since we need to drink half of our body weight in ounces of water, daily, we really need a high quality water purifier on our cold water faucet at the kitchen sink, at the very least. There are many very good ones out there. Do a little research to get the one that best fits your needs and budget. Please, don't just buy bottled water in plastic...plastics contain estrogen-mimicking chemicals that have been wrecking havoc on our reproductive hormones for a couple of generations.
5. Food
I know many believe that buying organic foods is just too expensive. Changing from a conventional to an organic diet all at once can be very hard on the budget. So, my suggestion is to start with the most important part of our diet, first...vegetables and fruit. Buying organic produce saves us from ingesting more harmful chemicals than I could list. Washing fruit and vegetables is of no real help in ridding them of these chemicals, especially when it comes to those with seeds. The food is sprayed at the seed stage and the produce develops with the poison in it. " One small change at a time"....say it with me.
In my next blog, I'm going to tell you about unconventional markers that the body develops that indicate possible imbalances and/or toxicity before any symptoms appear. The body always signals us when there is a developing imbalance; the problem is that most doctors/practitioners are not trained how to identify these indicators.
Dr. Esther
fixdhealthcare.com
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