Hidden Toxins in Our Homes

Do you, or do any of your loved ones, suffer from any of the following?

These conditions may appear because of, or be exacerbated by, chemical toxicity in our bodies:

Perhaps the best place to begin this article is at the Liver. This wonderful organ works to keep our body’s inner environment clean, safe and properly balanced. It is the largest gland in the body, it plays a role in blood glucose level balancing, is involved in immune system function, recycling of blood cells, cleansing of the blood, fats metabolism and most importantly, it can safely metabolise an amazingly diverse range of compounds considered toxic to our biochemistry. It is the great alchemist of our body, performing some amazing chemical reactions, the instructions for which are all stored in our DNA. “A healthy liver equals a healthy body”, as one of my previous teachers, a qualified Naturopath, Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist and Kinesiologist, used to say.

Let’s explore the process of detoxification. The liver, using vitamins, minerals, enzymes and anti-oxidants metabolises toxins to create safe water-soluble forms of the toxic compounds that can be released into the blood and excreted by the kidneys. Massive chemical load in our bodies creates a proportional increase in the use of the various minerals, vitamins, anti-oxidants, enzymes etc in order to keep the liver working in top order and keeping our body safe. Obviously there is a balance required between the nutrition and the toxins we put in our body to maintain optimal health. There is a wealth of information available about the benefits of eating organic and bio-dynamic foods and drinking good water that attests to the good nutrition side of the balance, so I won’t go into that here. However, when the chemical load in our body outweighs the liver’s capability to deal with it, deteriorating health results as these toxins begin to build up in the other tissues in our body. This can occur even if your nutritional intake is optimal, if you have enough toxins present in your environment.

How does this apply to me? You may ask. Well, to start, here is a short list of common sources of toxins in our everyday lives:

Food (non organic and/or processed)

That is an incredible chemical load that our liver has to deal with everyday. Take a look at the three items in bold in the environmental list: Cosmetics, Personal Care products and Cleaning products are amongst the most common sources of environmental toxins for us all. We are poisoning ourselves in the name of the modern lifestyle. I am aghast that there is so little control placed over the compounds that are used in these products.

Recall how I mentioned earlier that the liver metabolises toxins in our body? Well guess what? Those toxins we put on our skin, or enter via our mucous membranes (e.g. mouth lining, lungs) have already bypassed the liver and are actively working within our tissues. If you think your skin is an impermeable barrier, think again. It’s not – it’s water-proof, but very porous. Medical science knows this and uses these facts to its advantage, e.g. transdermal hormone creams that allow the active ingredient to enter the bloodstream without being processed and changed by the liver.

Our physiology is hundreds of thousands of years old. We are not designed to properly deal with toxic substances entering through our skin, mucous membranes and lungs (what caveman used lotion, or had anything more dangerous than smoke to breathe in?) Bear in mind also that most of these chemical compounds are not found in nature, but created in a lab and therefore have been in existence less than one hundred years. Where in our DNA are the instructions to metabolise these new chemicals? Now, every day, we put soaps and lotions, cosmetics and deodorants, shampoos and conditioners, all containing toxic substances on our skin. We clothe ourselves with garments washed in toxic chemicals, eat from plates and cutlery cleaned in the same way, and live in environments saturated by “anti-bacterials”, cleaning goods, automatically dispensed fragrances (or worse, insecticides) and force our precious children to do the same. It is not a recipe for long lasting health and quality of life.

Here is a small summary of the chemicals that can be found in common household items and the effects they can have on your health *. Have a look at your own products and see how many of these are present. Bear in mind too, that this list is only ten of hundreds and hundreds chemicals that can be toxic to us.

Here are some eye opening statistics for you:

1. Of the 2,983 CHEMICALS (used in Cosmetics)analysed by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH-USA), the results showed that 884 of the ingredients were found to be toxic in some manner

Of these:

1. 314 can cause biological mutation (change in cells, DNA)
2. 218 can cause reproductive complications
3. 778 can cause acute toxicity
4. 146 can cause tumors
5. 376 can cause skin and eye irritations