I was recently interviewed for an online summit about toxins and asked to provide a free giveaway for viewers. So I thought I would share the draft content with my wonderful Substack community and get your input on anything more you think would be useful to include.
The intention is to provide a quick reference guide and not the detailed explanation on all the toxins in our environment and why they are bad for us. If you need more detail I have a whole chapter in my book dedicated to toxins.
Please provide feedback in the comments. I will share the final version along with the summit details once I have them. Thank you!
Daily Practices to Support Detoxification
Eat organic. More on food below.
Drink plenty of plain water. Add cut fresh fruit and vegetables for flavor if needed. Eight glasses a day is a good start for most people.
Move your body. Daily walks as a minimum but any activity that encompasses full-body movement is important to enable your lymphatic system (waste disposal) to work.
Sweat. Toxins are eliminated through your skin. Heavy exercise will accomplish this, but saunas and hot yoga are good too.
Optimize your gut health and bathroom regularity. Constipation causes toxins to be reabsorbed in your gut. You must get the waste out regularly. This requires enough fiber (through eating vegetables and other plant-based foods), drinking water and may require a high-quality probiotic.
Prioritize restful sleep. Stop eating at least 3 hours before bedtime. Find ways to relax without electronics at least an hour before bed. 7-8 hours is optimal for most people in a dark, quiet, cool room.
Useful Supplements
Being nutrient deficient in general contributes to toxicity as your body needs a range of vitamins and minerals to operate optimally and all processes are connected. But here are some to prioritize (quality brands listed at the end):
Vitamin B-complex. All the B vitamins are important and work together so a combination supplement is a good place to start. But niacin (B3) and cobalamin (B12) might need higher amounts than in a typical combo depending on your current health and nutrition.
NAC (N-acetyl-cysteine) helps enhance your glutathione production which is critical for the liver to carry out its detoxification processes.
Zeolites are nano-sized particles that can attach particularly to heavy metals even in the brain and help carry them out of the body. Available as a tasteless spray you just squirt in your mouth. Safe for kids.
Magnesium is needed in hundreds of processes but so many people are deficient. Magnesium Glycinate is particularly helpful to support detoxification. Taking a bath in Epsom salts (Magnesium sulfate) can be helpful especially if you’re detoxing too fast and having a bad reaction.
Food Essentials
Avoid
Ultra-processed food. If it comes in a box or a packet read the ingredients carefully. If you cannot visualize the items growing in nature then toss it.
Anything with added sugar.
Conventionally grown fruits and vegetables. Review the Environmental Working Group’s latest Dirty Dozen list of the most contaminated foods.
Factory-farmed animals and fish. Seek out organically raised grass-fed animals and wild-caught fish.
Alcohol. Metabolizes to formaldehyde and puts too much strain on the liver which needs to focus on eliminating all the chemicals you can’t avoid.
Add
Plenty of greens like arugula, parsley, cilantro, spinach, as well as spirulina or chlorella if you can find clean sources.
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts
Microgreens are fun to grow at home and add to salads (all types from various vegetables as the seeds sprout)
Allicins like onions, garlic, and leeks
Grannie Smith (green) apples, lemons, cucumber (see recipe below)
Seaweed (all types) – high in iodine which can help draw toxins out of the body
3-Day Detox Plan
The best solution for our modern lifestyles is to be supporting detoxification daily with the tips already mentioned. But if you feel the need for a focused kick-start to the new you, this 3-day plan is a good option (even for just a day or two):
An hour after waking: Lemon water
Breakfast: Detox green juice (best to have waited 12-14 hours since you last ate)
Snack: Cucumber, celery and carrots (chopped into sticks)
Lunch: Seaweed salad
Optional snack: Activated (sprouted) nuts and seeds
Dinner: Detox soup with Chia pudding for dessert
See PDF below for recipes.
Where Toxins Lurk
Fixing your food is the most important step in detoxification so your food becomes your medicine to support your detoxification systems and not adding to the burden. But here’s a checklist to get you started of other places to work on to reduce your toxic load. Resources provided at the end.
Personal Care
Make-up
Shampoos and conditioners
Soap
Lotions and body oils
Toothpaste and mouthwash
Clothes made from unnatural fibers
Household
Cookware – non-stick pans in particular
Plastic containers
Laundry detergent
Cleaning supplies
Furniture treatments
Pest control
Mattresses and bedding
Carpets especially new ones
Mold due to untreated moisture can give off mycotoxins
Other
Pharmaceuticals (including vaccines of all kinds)
Electronics (electro-magnetic frequencies are a form of toxin creating damage to the human body) especially cell phones that we have in close proximity and blue tooth headphones.
Dry-cleaning chemicals
Car exhausts
Chemicals used on golf-courses or farmland you live close to
NOT an exhaustive list.
Resources
Apps
Yuka: scan the food in your cupboards or personal care products to see an independent rating of any toxic ingredients.
Think Dirty: scan household, beauty and other personal care products to see toxic ingredients.
Supplements
Touchstone Essentials. thegoodinside.com. Zeolites products for cellular and whole body detox particularly from heavy metals.
Other high-quality brands:
- Designs for Health. designsforhealth.com
- Garden of Life. gardenoflife.com
- Jarrow Formulas. jarrow.com
- Pure Encapsulations. pureencapsultions.com
- Thorne Research. thorne.com
General
Environmental Working Group. EWG.org. Consumer information on products such as food, cosmetics, water, and sunscreen with helpful databases and guides.
Center for Science in the Public Interest. cspinet.org. Information on additives in food and other healthy living topics.
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. SafeCosmetics.org. Advocacy and information.
Shield Your Body. ShieldYourBody.com. Products to help protect you from EMFs.
Aquasana. aquasana.com. Water filtration products including whole house/business.
Multipure. multipure.com. Smaller water filters.
IQair. iqair.com. Information and products dedicated to air pollution, monitoring, and purification.
Truly Free. trulyfreehome.com. Cleaning products without toxic chemicals.
