Toxins and Inflammation. What are they?  

To achieve health, radiance, abundant energy, balance, and permanent weight loss, we need our digestive and elimination pathways to work effectively. Often when we understand how systems in our body work, we feel more inspired to care for them. Understanding the underlying cause of obesity and disease allows us to actively support habits that nudge us toward feeling and looking better. Eating whole real foods, making water our main drink, managing stress, and having good quality sleep brings balance to your body, reduces your total body burden and supports your health goals. However, living and subscribing to quick fixes, processed foods, constantly consuming and the fast pace of the 'modern world' does the opposite. Words like toxins and inflammation are often associated with 'modern world' health concerns so let's explore a little more into what they are.

What is a toxin?

Toxin is a word that is overused and not always correctly. Whether something is toxic or not nearly always depends on concentration. For example, consuming high doses of fat-soluble vitamins through supplementation can lead to toxicity and dangerous side effects. High levels of iodine can also lead to toxicity, but in its correct dosage, our body needs it to function optimally. Dose is everything when it comes to something being toxic. If substances become problematic inside the body, it is because the level of concentration being ingested every day creates a total body burden that our liver and other detoxifying organs cannot keep up with. 

Most people are unaware of the amount of problematic substances they are exposed to and ingesting. We are exposed to and consume them every day, and unfortunately, a lot of them! Our exposure comes through the air we breathe, what we eat and drink, and what we put on our skin, for example. And while each substance we use or consume may have been tested individually and given a tick of approval for human use, we don't actually know how they impact our health when combined. Think of your body's burden like a bucket that fills up. Once it is full, the contents overflow. This is what happens in our body. Problematic substances cannot be cleared through our detoxification pathway and are recycled through our body to be stored in our body fat, bone and brain. Then is often what people refer to as feeling toxic, or our food and lifestyle are making us toxic.

I believe it is also important to be aware that our thoughts and behaviours can also be problematic, moving toward being toxic and creating dis ease within our bodies. Managing relationships and your self-talk from your inner gremlin is also important when you want to live well.

What is inflammation?

Inflammation is an immunological response to cellular injury characterised by increased white blood cells, which means your body is fighting against infection, injury, and toxicity in an attempt to heal itself. Your gut bacteria play an essential role in the regulation of inflammation. 

Acute inflammation is when we have a fever or cut ourselves, this can usually last for a few hours or days. 

Chronic inflammation is when your immune system doesn't switch off, and your body is constantly alert with antibodies and proteins flowing through your body. Chronic inflammation can damage your cells and organs and is associated with stroke, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer's, asthma and psoriasis. It can be caused by untreated acute inflammation or an autoimmune disorder where your immune system attacks healthy tissue. Chronic inflammation can also be caused by long-term exposure to irritants, chemicals found in cosmetics, pesticides, herbicides, and high consumption of highly palatable processed foods high in sugar, salt and fat. 

Smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption and chronic stress contribute to inflammation. It can be a vicious cycle, with weight gain contributing to inflammation and inflammation contributing to weight gain!

Here are some symptoms your body may be feeling due to an overload of problematic substances and inflammation 

• Bad breathe
• Bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhoea
• Canker sores
• Difficulty concentrating, brain fog
• Excess weight or difficulty losing weight
• Fatigue
• Fluid retention
• Food cravings
• Headaches
• Heartburn
• Joint pain
• Muscle aches
• Puffy eyes, dark circles
• Post-nasal drip
• Sinus congestion
• Skin rashes, acne
• Sleep problems
• Quick to temper
• Hormonal imbalances
• Anxiety, depression

If you have any of the above symptoms, I encourage you to decrease your total body burden and enhance the mobilisation and elimination of stored problematic substances. You will want to slow down adding any more to your bucket, put a few holes in it and encourage the removal of some of the substances in an efficient manner. 

As your body comes back into balance, you will notice 

• Weight loss
• Abundant energy
• Comfortable digestion
• Regular elimination
• Fewer symptoms of disease
• Improved concentration, and mental clarity
• Less congestion, fewer allergy-related symptoms
• Less joint pain
• Less fluid retention
• Increased sense of peace and relaxation
• Better quality sleep
• Glowing skin, brighter eyes

The best news is to feel better you don't need to do a juice cleanse, water fast or crazy elimination diet (unless you want to, then go for it!). You do need to make changes, and for change to be sustainable, I encourage you to do them at a realistic pace. The simplest way to reduce your total body burden and support your digestive and elimination pathways is to 

• breathe deeply
• make water your main drink
• eat a rainbow of seasonal whole real foods 
• move daily 
• make sleep a priority
• manage stress
• spend time with people you love and care about and who love and care about you

Do these things consistently. 

Taking time out to breathe deeply and slowly will support your nervous system and send messages to your brain that you are safe, reducing stress levels.

Drinking water instead of soda, energy drinks, alcohol, coffee and tea will allow your kidneys to do their incredible filtering work.

Eating a rainbow of seasonal whole real foods will give your body the nutrients it needs to repair and rejuvenate.

Moving daily doesn't need to be a hard session at the gym unless that is your thing. A twenty-minute walk, tai-chi, yoga or Pilates will also support good health.

Let me clarify, following these habits to reduce your total body burden doesn't mean you can't have a coffee, wine or pizza occasionally. But just occasionally. Crowd out and replace highly processed food with whole food substitutions. You will find that as your body's nutrition levels increase, you crave highly processed foods less.

Remember, you don't have to do everything all at once. Choose one and work on it. Once you are confident, move on to the next habit. 

I will add, do the work to understand and reveal the emotional layers that are holding you back from living your life filled with abundance and joy. Love yourself enough to believe and know that you are worth the effort it takes to create positive change. You are deserving, and I believe in you. 

As always, remember your reasons, your health, your mission, and the people you love.

OM xx

📸 Danilo Alvesd