Let's get real - toxins are everywhere and no matter how diligent we are, we will never be completely free of them. It's impossible to eliminate all pollutants, chemicals, heavy metals, pesticides, and you'll drive yourself crazy trying; but there are many things we can do to significantly reduce the toxic burden for ourselves and for our children. First, it's our job as parents and as healthy, conscious consumers to do our best to reduce toxic burden through our food and water choices and the products we put in and on our body and in our home. I know this is coming at a really bad time with fall right around the corner, and you have a pumpkin spice candle you've just been waiting to burn since last year. Second, we can also support the body's detoxification pathways - not through some influencer-hyped juice - but through natural processes. The body was designed to stay in homeostasis, and it has developed various mechanisms to effectively find that balanced state.
Sweat
Sweating helps in two ways to eliminate toxins. First, when the two organs (your kidneys and liver) that are responsible for detoxification are overloaded, the body will sweat things out. Second, fat cells store chemicals called persistent organic chemicals (POP) which are stage-5 clinger chemicals found in the food supply and the environment. Their acronym is much cuter than they are. High concentrations of POPs have been linked to numerous chronic diseases including diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure.
Hydrate
Clean water is a natural detoxifier. (Find the post about clean water here.) Proper hydration helps flush the body of waste and toxins and supports the functioning of our kidneys and liver. A good rule of thumb for children and adults is to get half your body weight in ounces of water daily. For example: a 50-pound kid should be getting 25oz of water daily.
Poo
I know this is not my favorite topic either, but I'll make it as quick and painless as possible. Even though you cannot directly eliminate toxins through pooping, waste products from the liver are eliminated via stool and kidney waste is eliminated via urine. Children should be pooping at least once per day. If they're not or if it's difficult or scary to go, it's time to critically look at daily water intake, exercise habits and diet especially fiber intake. The statistic is alarming for how little fiber American adults get in their daily diet. I was too scared to look up the US children's fiber intake statistic. (Find high fiber foods here to start adding them into your family meals and snacks today.)
Diet
I'll start with the obvious. Eat as much whole, unprocessed foods as possible. I'm not getting on a soap box, but this is foundational. If you can follow the 80/20 rule, you are doing great and still enjoying your life. Now the not so obvious - boost glutathione levels. Glutathione is a superstar when it comes to detoxification. Toxins essentially stick to glutathione and our superhero carries them through the bile and into the stool. I love this master antioxidant so much for so many reasons including healthspan and longevity. Glutathione is bioavailable and found in sulphur-rich and selenium-rich foods. Sulphur-rich foods include cruciferous and allium (onions, garlic, leeks) vegetables and eating just two Brazil nuts a day was enough to power glutathione to eliminate free radicals. NAC (n-acetyl-cysteine) is needed to make glutathione and can be found in grass-fed dairy products, eggs, chicken, turkey and sunflower seeds. Vitamin C, B2 and vitamin E are all involved in recycling glutathione.
Jump, Skip, Play
Everyone is familiar with or at least has heard of the lymphatic system because of the dry brushing craze. It's a real thing and in my opinion, it has been detrimentally ignored in medical research and conversations. They only just discovered, in 2013, the brain had its own lymphatic system called the glymphatic system! The lymphatic and glymphatic systems are waste clearance systems using a water-based fluid called lymph. Lymph is not pumped through your body like blood; it moves and flows based on pressure gradients and body movements and muscle contractions. Jumping, skipping, running, playing and giving children the freedom and time to play like kids naturally increases lymph flow.
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