detoxdiettips

If you're serious about protecting your health well into your old age, the place to start should be make sure you follow a regular natural detox diet. A good idea is to follow a 3 or 7 day detox plan once every 2 or 3 months. This will help eliminate the build of toxins in your body, and ease the workload on your internal natural detox system.

Another area where you can make more regular changes is in your personal grooming routines. You'd be surprised just how many of the personal products we use on a daily basis are loaded with toxins and noxious chemicals.

How Our Natural Detox System Works

Toxins are eliminated through the skin via perspiration but they can also be absorbed through the skin via hair follicles and sebaceous glands (although not through sweat glands). You will not ever hear skincare manufacturers claiming that their products penetrate through the skin and into the blood circulation, because they would then be classified as drugs and subject to much more stringent testing and regulation. However, there is plenty of evidence that skin does absorb some ingredients from skincare preparations because they are turning up in our blood, urine, organs and tissues. Scientists often find phthalates in urine, parabens in breast tumors, and synthetic fragrances like musk xylene in human fat.

It is ironic that cosmetic companies pour so much research funding into the development of new products that help to disguise the signs of ageing (anti-wrinkle creams, hair-thickening shampoos and conditioners, firming body lotions) yet they use ingredients that some researchers suspect of being carcinogens, neurological toxins, immune suppressants and hormone disruptors, so the net effect can be drastically ageing!

In the US, the Environmental Working Group tested 120 cosmetic products, including shampoos, moisturizers, foundations and lip balm, and found ingredients certified by the US Government as 'known or probable carcinogens' in each and every one. In 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration declared that consumers should be informed of the fact that many commercial shampoos, deodorants, perfumes, nail polishes, hand creams, hair dyes and bubble baths have not been safety tested, despite the fact that they commonly contain chemicals that disrupt the hormones, are carcinogenic and disrupt the nervous system.

The end result was that many products now contain lists of their "ingredients", but no message of what those compounds can actually do to us.

Here are some examples:

Phthalates

These are solvents found in fragrance and nail polish, as well as a substance added to plastics to make them more flexible. They have been linked to liver and thyroid damage, cancer, low sperm counts in men, miscarriages and birth defects. They are not easy to avoid, however, because they will not be listed on the ingredients label.

Parabens

Parabens (methyl, propyi and butyl) have all been linked to breast cancer (which can affect men as well as women, although less commonly) and they can also cause contact skin rashes.

DEA-related compounds

Topical application of DEA-related compounds (cocamide, lauramide and myristamide) has been linked to cancer by some experts.

Ceteareth-12

An emulsifier called Ceteareth-12 may contain dangerous levels of carcinogenic ethylene oxide and dioxane.

Antiperspirants

These often contain aluminum salts that prevent the body from sweating. Aluminum build-up in brain cells has been linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Skin irritants

Many cosmetic additives can be skin irritants, such as lanolin, glycerol and cetyl alcohol, which are found in a wide range of products.

Avoiding harmful chemicals

The best way to steer clear of harmful ingredients is to opt for organic brands of everything you apply to your skin, including body and face-care products, makeup, soaps, sunscreen, toothpaste and all other toiletries. You should be able to find them in large chemists or department stores.

The problem is that opting for organic products can be extremely expensive - and beyond the reach of a lot of consumers. In the interim, I hope you can see that it is a very good idea (and good practice) to follow a regular program for detoxing your body. You don't need to be on a detox diet all the time, but some natural detoxification every couple of months is a very good plan of attack, and will improve your long term health quite dramatically.