The body has the potential to store vast quantities of toxins, usually in your body fat. The surprise is that when you lose weight, the toxins are released, which lowers your calorie burning capacity.
Toxins increase cancer risk, lower calorie burning (basal metabolic rate), injury brain and nerve tissue, and dampen our immune system from fighting infections. They also increase inflammation, leading to increased aches and pains.
People with unexplained complex health problems should always measure their toxin content. At the Masley Optimal Health Center, typically we measure the level of multiple toxins within red blood cells. The most common heavy metal we find is mercury, with high levels in more than 20% of our patients. See Mercury for more details.
A detox plan should decrease your intake of toxins and help you to remove the ones inside of you. For details please read my detox chapter in Ten Years Younger, but in brief, follow these steps.
- Exercise daily and sweat. Exercise speeds up the enzymes that remove toxins, and sweat from exercise or a sauna helps to rid the body of toxins.
- Add special detox foods. Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, bok choy), curry spices, green tea, and soy products (like edamame),
- Avoid eating big mouth fish (grouper, tuna, bass, snapper, swordfish, shark, king fish)
- Choose organic foods, especially for fatty meats, fatty poultry (the skin), and fatty dairy products as the pesticides are in the skin.
- Avoid cooking with plastic (cook with glass or stainless steel instead).
- Don’t use pesticides around your home and please don’t spray inside your home with insecticides!
- Add detox supplements like Curcumin, EGCg (a green tea extract) and MetalloClear.
- If you have additional concerns, talk to your medical provider regarding further testing and treatment options, or schedule an appointment at the Masley Optimal Health Center.
