HEY HEY HEY!! It’s Daisey again! Coming to you from sunny, yet polluted Arizona.

Toxic burden from products we use, to the foods we consume to the fabric we sleep on are never ending. As a Naturopathic Physician, toxin exposure is definitely an area of my life I strive to make better every day. In my practice it’s also part of my discussion with patients who have hormone imbalances and those suffering from allergies.

Since starting medical school and learning about environmental medicine I have made daily strides to reduce my toxic burden and improve my indoor air pollution. Today I am giving you a better understanding of your detox pathways to really make that New Year Detox the best it can be.

I live in one of the most polluted states in the U.S. That is Arizona.

Here’s the deal I’m a Naturopathic Physician with asthma living in unfortunately one of the most polluted state in the U.S. Moving from Boston Massachusetts with all the green trees and the water I never got to appreciate how better my health was when I was living on the east coast. To that effect my asthma got worse in Phoenix and at one time became a subject of discussion in my decision to potentially move back east for medical school.

I had already started school and I was thriving.

My health was however at an all time low.

I was not using “clean products”. I was not eating organic food and even though I did not use a microwave growing up. I started to use it while at school. I also moved into an apartment with a carpet. The horror for someone with asthma, granted I had no choice at the time.

More than anything, to REALLY detox, you want to understand your detox pathways and the organs at play. They are called the emunctories. These are the major players when it comes to being toxin free. They are The skin, the liver and intestines, the kidney and bladder and the lungs. Improper elimination in any of these organs is at the base of of many pathologies.

UNDERSTAND YOUR EMUNCTORIES TO TRULY DETOX

Take a deep breath

I love exercising and strengthning my lung capacity. However, I never exercise outside in Phoenix. So please be like me and do not run or bike next to a busy road or highway. Try your best to avoid days where there is more pollution outside. I love my air quality app for that. Consider adding a HEPA air filter to your home to address indoor air pollution. In addition, indoor plants that help remove toxins like boston fern, spider plants, gerbea daisies and desert friendly aloe plants also help.

Pretty skin starts on the inside

The skin is the largest organ. To help your skin? Sweat it out. My skin is definitely a tell all sign of how I’m eating and sleeping. Beyond the fancy creams I use. If you are not a fan of exercise or due to physical limitation you cannot exercise, this will be a tough one. Sweating is a great way to remove toxins. You can also consider infrared saunas or hot yoga where slow to no movements are involved to increase sweating.

Peeing every hour, on the hour

The kidneys and bladder are one of the most important way we remove toxins and waste. Just think of someone who has impaired kidneys and needs dialysis to survive. It is primordial that we eliminate through urination. It is suggested that one drinks half of their body weight in water. Are you doing that? Kidneys are definitely those fragile organs affected by heavy metal consumption. Stay away from plastic bottle if possible and add in kidney friendly herbs like parsley, cilantro and vegetables like celery to help to remove toxins even further. Always choose organic of course.

Make your gut work for it

With the liver and intestines? If it comes in, it must come out. This is one of the main way people address detoxing. They drink those laxatives teas and make multipe trips to the bathroom. This can be dangerous for your health.

But honestly, it just starts with food.

This is where everyone should start. In my medical practice, I talk about diet all the time. This is simple yet so challenging for most people. If you want to start detoxing your life, start here. Are you familiar with the dirty dozen? This is the list of toxins-full foods that are best bought organic. They include strawberries, spinach, kale, nectarines, apples, grapes etc… Find the full list here. Do you know which fish are high in mercury? Answer (tuna, salmon etc… best bought wild caught).

It’s also important to help your gut with herbs like cilantro which research show help remove heavy metals. Also add in liver friendly foods like dandelion roots, artichokes, ginger and of course fibers. Soluble fibers like those in oats and apples to insoluble fibers like the psyllium husk or french green beans both have benefits of keeping you regular.

Don’t discount at home products. After my environmental class, I started to pay more attention to the products I use to clean. I stopped using Clorox everything and slowly started to replace my common cleaning product with better, safer options. I just use the Environmental Working Group (EWG) app on my phone to scan products before buying. It has a great repertoire of common products and grades the product on how healthy or unhealthy they are. This has been greatly helpful for my patients and myself.

Ok, that was really long but I hope now you better understand how to detox your life and your home. It is an intensive process but these simple explanation about your detox organs can give you an idea on how to best proceed.

Stay healthy y’all. Daisey!