Types of Toxins

Toxins can come from just about anywhere and are either biological or chemical. Biological toxins are found in nature. There are three types of biological toxins, or biotoxins: zootoxins (made by animals), mycotoxins (made by fungi), and phytotoxins (made by plants).

Chemical toxins are created artificially, often as a byproduct of producing something else. Toxins can cause damage directly at the site of contact (local) or elsewhere in the body (systemic). These effects may be immediate or delayed.

Some of the most common sources of toxins are found in everyday products, appliances, and foods. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even though outdoor pollution can be highly toxic, growing evidence revealed that most toxins are found in public buildings, offices, and even homes.

Home Toxins

The home, both inside and out, is host to an abundance of chemical and biological pollutants. These toxins are found in everything from cleansers, floors, and cookware, to certain bacteria and insects that live on mattresses and upholsteries. Electrical devices can emit electromagnetic radiation, and if they break they can poison their immediate environment with toxic metals such as lead, mercury, and arsenic.

Some of the worst carriers of chemical toxins are the cosmetic products you put on your body. Soap, shampoo, and other personal care products expose the average person to hundreds of chemicals. While people may assume these products are harmless, many contain chemicals that have not been fully tested. These products often carry known carcinogens and endocrine disrupting chemicals. Ingredient labels are unclear, leaving most consumers confused about the safety of the products they use every day. Unfortunately, every time you bathe, breathe, cook, sleep, or continue your beauty regimen, these toxins and their effects begin to accumulate.

Common Biological Toxins in Your Home

When you’re in your home, you are in constant contact with floors, doors, cabinets, surfaces, and furniture. All of these household structures are home to varying levels of bacteria. For example, in the kitchen, bacteria from raw meat can be transferred from one surface, object, or food to another, causing cross-contamination—a major cause of foodborne illnesses.

Here is a list of biotoxins common to homes and where they’re found:

• Dust mites: mattresses, pillows, upholstery, fabrics, floors
• Mold and mildew: bathroom walls, window sills, wallpaper, ceilings, fabrics, food
• Bacteria and viruses: kitchen surfaces, toothbrushes and holders, toilets, sinks, showers, food, tap water
• Animal dander: pets, floors, clothes, curtains, beds, furniture, skin, hair
• Insect parts and excrement: attics, basements, closets, storage boxes, cabinets, garages
• Pollen: anything that has come in contact with the outside, including shoes, pets, hair, skin, and clothes

Common Chemical Toxins in Your Home

The idea of chemical toxins probably stir up thoughts of a garage full of paint cans and other liquid waste. But did you know that chemicals are used to produce plastic and other synthetic materials used to build homes? Paint, carpet, and pressed wood are just a few items that can release health-disrupting chemicals long after they’ve been installed. Here is a list of common chemicals and the products that may contain them.

• Diethanolamine (DEA): shampoos, lotions, sunscreens, brake fluid, antifreeze
• Formaldehyde: nail polish/removers, air fresheners, cleaning products, paper towels
  
• Triclosan: hair products, shaving gels, deodorants, toothpastes
• Petroleum: detergents, fertilizer, synthetic fibers, vitamins, plastic, candles
• Butylated compounds (BHA, BHT): Hair products, makeup, deodorant, fragrances
• Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE): cosmetics, Teflon, water
  
• P-Phenylenediamine (PPD): hair dyes, cosmetics, henna tattoos
  
• Mica: makeup products, insulation, wallpaper, shingles, cement
  
• Dibutyl phthalate: plastics, adhesives, printing inks
• Sodium laureth sulphate: shampoos, toothpastes, mouthwashes, body wash, soaps, detergents
• Aluminum: antacids, cake mix, processed cheese, deodorants, baking soda, baking powder, soy based baby formulas
  
• Ammonia: fertilizers, cleaning solutions, plastics, fabrics, pesticides, dyes
• Chlorine: water, pesticides, synthetic rubbers, polymers, refrigerants
• Fluoride: non-organic or processed foods, toothpastes/mouthwashes, Teflon cookware, water
• Sodium hydroxide: soaps, rayon, paper, dyes, petroleum products, detergents, oven cleaners
  

VOCs

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are common chemical contaminants that can be found in indoor environments. These compounds contain carbon, can disperse through the air, and usually have an odor. VOCs are released by many types of building materials, including:

• Sealants, caulks, and coatings
• Adhesives
• Paint and varnish
• Wall coverings
• Cleaning agents
• Air fresheners and other scented products
• Carpeting
• Vinyl flooring
• Upholsteries, fabrics, and furnishings
• Employee personal beauty and hygiene products

Signs It’s Time to Detox

When toxins overwhelm your body, they can weaken your immune system and cause a domino effect of digestive issues, mood swings, loss of mental focus, and sleep disruption. Basically, they make you feel unpleasant. Even your body odor can change—an outward sign your body is telling you that it needs help. Signs that your body could benefit from a cleanse are:

• Sugar cravings
• Digestive issues
• Sinus issues
• Acne and rashes
• Fatigue
• Loss of mental sharpness
• Joint and muscle aches
• Depression and anxiety
• Sudden weight loss, or difficult losing weight
• Unpleasant breath and body odor
• Irregular sleep cycles or trouble sleeping

A poor diet and weakened immune system can also result in the overgrowth of a fungus called candida that takes residence in your mouth, gut, and skin. This condition is referred to as candidiasis, or a yeast infection. To support a healthy gut, a change in diet as part of a toxin cleanse will help balance levels of candida.

Optimizing Your Body’s Natural Ability to Cleanse

Your body has a comprehensive detoxification system in which the immune system, respiratory system, skin, intestines, kidneys, and liver all work together. Your skin and respiratory system are the first defense to harmful toxins and chemicals. Once a toxic chemical or biotoxin makes it past these first two body defenses, your immune system takes over. After a filtering and metabolizing process, toxins are expelled from the body as waste.

Over time, the buildup of toxins can make it increasingly difficult for your immune system to work properly. Cleansing your body is a natural way to help it rid itself of toxins, optimizing its ability to defend itself.

How to Remove Toxins From Your Body

Cleanses have been performed for centuries. Indigenous Americans often cleansed using methods like fasting and sweathouses to purge the body of unhealthy substances. Although effective, these methods lost popularity with the development of modern medical techniques. It wasn’t until recently that society started adopting these older, more organic practices like fasting and herbal cleansing as a more organic way to detoxify, lose weight, and stay healthy, without the use of harsh medicines.

If fasting or a sweathouse isn’t for you, flushing toxins from your body by performing a natural cleanse is a refreshing way to bring back a healthier you on the inside. Fewer toxins in your body will also result in higher energy levels. There are a number of cleanses you can try. Most last between three to seven days.

Reduce Your Exposure to Toxins

The first thing to tackle when starting a cleanse is to rid your home environment of harmful toxins—both chemical and biological. Avoid the microwave, and reduce your use of electronics. Clean the floors, beds, and upholsteries. Use a wet cloth to wipe up dust instead of sweeping, which can spread dust particles into the air and throughout the house. Make your own natural cleaning products. A mixture of mineral water water, lemon, peppermint, and vinegar makes a nice, natural disinfectant. Mixing baking soda with water and lemon acts as a good disinfecting scrub.

Replace cosmetics and hygiene products with organic versions. For example, coconut oil is a nice substitute for skin and hair care products.

Improve Your Diet

Once you have achieved a clean home environment, focus on the foods you’ll be eating to help cleanse your body. Shifting to an organic vegan or vegetarian diet is essential for a successful cleanse. In order to flush harmful toxins, you must give your organs a rest from unhealthy foods so that they can function at peak efficiency. Foods to avoid include:

• Processed or packaged food
• Sodium-rich foods and MSG
• Processed Meat
• Soda
• Caffeine
• Added sugar
• Artificial sweeteners
• Dairy
• Refined carbohydrates
• Trans fats

Organic foods that naturally provide antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients can help combat the damage from toxins. Incorporate plenty of probiotic foods to keep your gut microbiota balanced. Some of the foods that are recommended during a cleanse include:

• Brightly colored fruits: watermelon, strawberries, blueberries
• Citrus fruits: limes, lemons, oranges
• Brightly colored vegetables: broccoli, beets, carrots
• Leafy greens: kale, Swiss chard, spinach
• Seeds and nuts: flax and sunflower seeds, cashews pistachios, walnuts
• Distilled or purified water
• Non-caffeinated herbal teas
• Garlic

Adding herbs and spices like dandelion, cilantro, eucalyptus, alfalfa leaf, peppermint, organic milk thistle, and organic gum acacia are a great way to season your meals and will be beneficial for a healthier cleanse.

Stay Hydrated

It is extremely important to stay hydrated during a cleanse. Drink purified or distilled water instead of tap water. To add taste and nutrients, mix two tablespoons of raw, organic apple cider vinegar (ACV) into a gallon of distilled water and shake thoroughly.

Take Supplements

Performing a cleanse using natural organic supplements is a great way to ensure success. Some supplements are even grouped together in kits that are specifically designed to target certain organs. These kits include Global Healing Center’s own Kidney Cleanse Kit, Liver Cleanse Kit, and Harmful Organism Cleanse Kit™.

Get More Exercise

Exercising during a detox or cleanse is a great way to help the body push out toxins and waste, especially if you break a sweat. An hour of exercise a day, which can be broken up into two 30-minute sessions, is ideal. As an added benefit, studies have shown that short bursts of high-intensity training during a detox diet may support weight loss and cardiovascular health.

Healthy Meals for a Cleanse

The following menu should keep your cleanse on the right track. Be sure to consume distilled or purified water throughout the day.

Breakfast

This meal should consist of a small bowl of your choice of fruit and a 12-ounce glass of the ACV water mix.

Snacks

For a mid-morning or afternoon snack, grab a handful of nuts and seeds along with a 12-ounce glass of ACV water mix or a cup of green tea. To avoid unnecessary fat or sodium, make sure nuts and seeds are not oiled or salted.

Lunch

Lunch should consist of vegetables. Try blending some of your favorite veggies and add some lemon juice for a veggie smoothie. A homemade soup using vegetables, herbs, and spices boiled together in purified water is also beneficial.

Dinner

This meal can be the same as lunch, or you can choose to fast using just the ACV water mixture. You can also choose a small vegetable or leafy salad with a sprinkling of extra virgin olive oil.

What Kind of Cleanse Is Right for You?

Detoxification diets and regimens—also referred to as cleanses or flushes—are a means of removing toxins from the body or losing weight.^[24] Some of these cleanses include:

• Water fast
• Colon cleanse
• Liver cleanse
• Juice cleanse

Review your goals with your healthcare provider to determine which toxin cleanse is best for you. It’s also a good idea to speak with them if you have any special dietary needs. Do not use laxatives during a cleanse, or in place of a cleanse. If you’re used to an unhealthy diet full of processed food, it’s best to approach a cleanse by easing into a healthier, organic diet. How often you should cleanse is best decided by you and your healthcare provider. Many people have seen high success from performing series of liver and colon cleanses throughout the year.

The Future of Cleansing

Growing attention to toxic chemical exposure and environmental health sciences continues to inspire extensive research by scientists as well as governments. This interest has prompted the medical and scientific communities to report on the impact of environmental toxins on human health. Knowing how toxins affect our bodies and environment will help us discover new ways to cleanse and improve our quality of life.