Then I became a chiropractor and started learning how toxins all around us accumulate with time and bear a heavy load on our bodies and nervous systems. Many unexplained health concerns can be linked with small exposures over time. It all accumulates in our body over the years.
I’ve mentioned in other articles how my view on health, nutrition and other health topics has evolved over time. There’s been slow and steady changes in the toxin world for me and now I could write 50 articles on this! I will try to contain myself, lol.
I used to Febreeze my fabric couch to clean it, used Glade Plug-ins to make my house smell nice, used conventional detergent, regular toothpaste, hair products, Pledge and windex….stuff everyone does. The problem is that so many products include ingredients that have shown links to cancer, kidney damage, hormone disruption, liver abnormalities, damaged cell membranes, rashes, respiratory damage, immune system deficiencies and central nervous system depression. We often don’t directly link them though, so they may seem harmless. They are not.
You can’t eliminate all toxins, but you can often replace with better choices. For the rest that you have no control over you can trust your body to do what it was created to do. When it is working at its optimal level – healing and functioning normally – your body is made to process and remove a certain amount of poison and toxin. Unfortunately, just not in the amounts of “modern” Western living.
Eliminating the Toxic Top 5 will be a great place to start!
1)Medications – most people don’t even want to take these in the first place because they can be toxic. There are natural options for many medications – from chiro or acu for pain relief, to essential oils, herbs, homeopathy, creams and supplements. There’s lots out there when you start looking! Of course, if you’re on anything for a chronic condition, talk to your medical doctor about any changes.
Household cleaners – every product with a caution, warning or danger label may add chemicals to your body through the mouth, skin or fumes. Many add up over time and can be stored in the liver or fat cells. Children are at higher risk.
Personal care products – changing these will have an incredible positive effect on your family’s health. We switched almost everything to Green Beaver years ago, a local company near Ottawa and love them.
We also use a lot of essential oils for personal care and household products. There’s an oil for every need it seems! Over the years we have found other companies that are making huge efforts to stay clean and safe and can make suggestions if you’d like!
Look out for these top 3 ingredients to avoid: DEA (diethanolamine), Propylene glycol and SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) – these are found in hundreds of home and personal care products. There are many more to avoid if you start researching….it’s a rabbit hole. But I’ve been there, so am happy to answer questions!
3) Teflon cookware – this is a bad one that unfortunately is on so many pans. This toxin has been found to lead to hormonal disturbances. Solution: switch to non-teflon, but be careful of anything non-stick as it could be similar products.
4) Tap water – Our city water is tested to be under certain levels of toxins, but it does not mean these things are not present. Tap water is full of chlorine, heavy metals, contaminants and other toxins. If you think of chlorine – if it is strong enough to kill bacteria and other dangerous stuff, what do you think about drinking it? There have also been other studies done finding prescription drugs, estrogen, antidepressants and pain killers in tap water. Solution: get a water filter – we recommend reverse osmosis.
5) Heavy metals and biotoxins – One of the worst heavy metals many have been exposed to is amalgam dental fillings. If you can see metal in your mouth – you likely have them. Research shows mercury slowly leaching out of them, even after many years. We recommend having them removed. Martin did this a few years ago (safely with a certified person to remove them – not a regular dentist). Biotoxins to be careful of include mold – from buildings, HVAC systems etc.
With all of these toxic exposures, you need to be constantly clearing your body’s detox pathways too. We recommend doing some gentle nutrition based cleanses periodically. If you know you’ve been exposed to more, you can also take activated charcoal to help your body get rid of the bad.
With all this being said, NOW if you step in my home (and in Oaktree clinics), it is a different world. We clean with vinegar, tea tree oil, dish soap. Our soaps, creams, sunscreen, toothpaste, hair care products and skin care are all natural. We haven’t worn perfume or cologne for years. We don’t cook with Teflon, we have mercury-free teeth. It all adds up and I am certain it’s one of the major factors in our staying healthy!
You can also look up EWG (environmental working group) to see what certain ingredients are and their toxicity level. I often look things up there before buying products.
www.greenbeaver.com – I buy their products on well.ca (not everything on this website is wellness – names can be deceiving!)
www.doTerra.com - if you're interested in essential oils, our office manager Brogan can help you out! Email her at manager@oaktreehealth.ca
