Living In a Toxic World

By Nader Soliman, MD

Integrative Medicine Center

. http://www.alternativemedicinecenter.info/

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Living In a Toxic World

Despite major efforts, our food supply, drinking water, soil, and air are becoming increasingly contaminated with toxic chemicals. A toxin is any substance that is capable of producing a deleterious effect in a living system.

Normally toxic substances in the body are first dealt with in the liver, and then they are excreted via many organs and processes including kidneys, intestines, sweat, tears and milk.

Currently there are over 70,000 chemicals in commercial use, and 25% of them are known hazards. Toxins are also produced naturally in our bodies and thus absolutely impossible to avoid. We also contribute to our own toxicity by ignoring proper diet and essential vitamins and minerals that play a vital role in detoxification. Research has revealed that toxicity is responsible for rapid aging, promoting degenerative diseases, and breaking down the immune system.

Under normal circumstances our body is capable of dealing with toxins, whether this comes from external or internal sources. Once these capabilities are exceeded, toxins are deposited both within and around our cells. This causes a wide variety of health problems including failure to proceed with healing of any existing or future diseases.

The average American eats about 10-15 pounds of chemical and food additives every year. That includes food coloring, food additives, preservatives, added flavors, pesticides, and heavy metals in water among others. If your body is suffering from excess toxins here are some items to avoid all foods grown with pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides, toxic fats (margarine, fried foods, refined vegetable oils) coffee, alcohol and other stimulants, sugar and white “enriched” flour.

Fibers, among other natural botanicals, are very necessary to cleanse the entire digestive system. Due to over processing, the average diet has a very low fiber content. To the surprise of many health-conscious eaters, foods such as garden salad are very low in fiber content.

A comprehensive detoxification program should encourage your body to minimize absorption of toxins from our surroundings, and to release as many toxic substances as possible, and encourage the excretory organs to get rid of the released toxins. Detoxification can consist of different treatment modalities that can include acupuncture, homeopathic remedies, herbal preparations, nutritional support to cleanse and detoxify, appropriate diet to correct diet imbalances leading to toxins accumulation and chelation. Exercise, healthy living, relaxation, and control of stress and anger are all part of the overall approach to accomplish detoxification of our body.