When a patient with unhealthy skin (acne, eczema, psoriasis, etc) walks through my door one of the first things that I do is assess their toxicity level. In today’s world we are constantly exposed to numerous toxins. In fact, there are 80,000 chemicals registered by the Environmental Protection Agency! Even before we were born we were exposed to a variety of toxins. In 2005 the Environmental Working Group did a neonatal toxicity study and randomly tested the umbilical cord blood from ten babies. They found 287 chemicals and each baby averaged approximately 200 known toxins which included: pesticides, consumer product ingredients, wastes from coal burning, gasoline and garbage. Add to this the daily load of pollution we get, the pesticide-ridden, nutrient-depleted food that we eat, the antibiotics, pharmaceuticals and birth control pills we take and our stressed out natures and it’s no wonder that so many of us out there are suffering from various diseases and toxicity related symptoms which include (amongst many others) rising skin problems.
.
However, even though many of us may be exposed to toxins, how susceptible we are to the toxicity itself depends on our body’s ability to remove these toxins. In turn, our ability to remove these toxins depends on:
.
-
Your genetic makeup
-
Your diet and nutritional status
-
Your lifestyle and individual exposure
-
Your history of antibiotic or drug use (including Birth Control Pills)
-
Your emotional well being
.
When explaining why some people are more susceptible than others to my patients, I like to use the “Bucket Analogy”. Imagine a bucket with a spout at the very bottom. Every person has a different sized bucket and spout (based on the above factors). When we are exposed to toxins, our bucket fills up. The spout at the bottom of our bucket represents our organs of detoxification and elimination such as our liver, kidneys, bowels, and lungs. If a small amount of water (toxins) gets dumped into the bucket, our spouts (or organs) are able to deal with this load and eliminate the water before it fills the bucket up. Some people are exposed to more toxins and so their bucket has a greater amount of water being dumped into it. At some point, our spouts (organs) may not be able to keep up with the toxic load entering the bucket and the bucket fills up. If the bucket gets too full, the water (toxins) start to spill over its sides. This “spilling over” can result in a drastic decrease in our health and various toxicity related symptoms that can include: SKIN PROBLEMS, depression, fatigue, headaches, muscular pain, reduced memory, weight gain, and many more.
.
There are, of course, ways in which we can decrease our exposure to toxins. These include: eating organic produce, eating wild instead of farmed fish, avoiding genetically modified organisms/food (GMOs), not heating food in plastics, drinking lots of water, having DAILY bowel movements and exercise/movement in general. But even if our diets and lifestyle are perfect, we NEVER cheat (how likely is this?) and we supply our organs with the necessary ingredients they need to detoxify properly, we are still exposed to a number of different toxins throughout the year.
.
It is because of this increased exposure to toxins that I believe it is vital for one’s health to do at least one detox per year. Think about it: when we get a nice car, we take good care of it by taking it in for regular maintenance, getting regular oil changes and filling it up with the best available gas to ensure that it runs smoothly. So how is it that so many of us don’t take the same amount of care when it comes to our bodies? Bodies that we can’t trade or upgrade once they stop working? In this sense, I believe a detox is to our body what a car tune up is to our car. It helps to ensure that our body eliminates those toxins (decreases the water/toxic levels in our buckets) so that we don’t have that nasty spill over into toxicity related symptoms and decreases in health.
.
So with all the detoxes that are out there…which one do you choose? One of my favourite types of detoxes is biotherapeutic drainage using UNDA numbers which are a unique combination of homeopathic formulas formulated in Belgium and used since the 1930s.
.
Why I love using UNDA numbers?
.
-
They detoxify at a cellular level by combing dilute forms of plants and minerals that guide the remedies to specific organs and act as co-factors for detoxification enzymes of that particular organ
-
They respect the body’s capacity to dislodge, remove, process and excrete toxins without overburdening the body
-
They allow me to target specific organ systems and, thus, tailor a program to my patients specific needs! Some of the systems I am able to target include the liver, the kidneys, the bowels, the reproductive organs, the SKIN, the thyroid, etc.
-
They are extremely safe and aren’t contraindicated with medications. (Unlike some of the other detox programs out there that can be aggressive and force the body beyond its physiological limits or even deplete the body of its nutrients and minerals)
.
With all this said, there are, of course, times when one should not detox. For example if you are extremely sick and nutrient depleted, detoxing can make many of your symptoms worse! However, because the UNDA numbers are so gentle and are done under supervised care, even in this situation they are typically considered okay. On the other hand, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding detoxing should be strictly avoided as you don’t want to dislodge stored toxins and unnecessarily expose your baby.
.
So to tie this back to skin health…if our livers, kidneys and bowels are overburdened by toxins and can’t keep up with eliminating them, our bodies will try their very best to get rid of the toxins in some other way. Since our skin is one of our largest organs and aids in detoxification (ex: through sweating), our bodies will try to eliminate the extra toxins through it. In many cases this can lead to acne, psoriasis, eczema and more. So, if you find that you have been battling with skin problems, supporting and helping your liver (and kidneys and bowels) to detoxify properly may be the answer to getting the healthy vibrant looking skin you were looking for.
.
For more information or to start your personalized detox program and achieve that healthy vibrant skin you are looking for, feel free to contact me today.
.
.
Photo credits:
<a href=’http://www.123rf.com/profile_pixologic’>pixologic / 123RF Stock Photo</a>