Detoxifying: You are what you eat (or don’t eat)
In June, 2006, the World Health Organization reported that nearly one-quarter of global disease is caused by environmental exposures and that well-targeted interventions can prevent much of this environmental risk, “saving what could amount to millions of lives every year.”
In addition to the external toxins that assault the body daily, our own bodies produce toxins, called metabolic waste products as a result of digestion and respiration. Although many mainstream doctors feel that the body is capable of detoxifying itself without “intervention,” we are impacted by many more pollutants than ever before.
In 2000, the Environmental Working Group and Commenweal began the Human Toxome Project to analyze human tissues for chemicals that enter the body. Utilizing the latest technology, the project thus far has shown that all 75 participants ranging in age from newborn to the elderly tested positive for a combined total of 455 out of 528 chemicals.
As the skin is the largest organ of the body, it is imperative that we are conscious of what we put on it. That includes some of the more “technologically advanced” ingredients touted by many skin care lines. It is tempting to grab a bottle of the “latest, greatest” product with the “latest, greatest” ingredient(s), but “buyer beware.”
