In last month’s blog, Toxins and Estrogen: What You Need to Know, we talked about how toxins from plastic affect the estrogens in both males and females. Some toxins from plastic make our estrogen levels higher because they trick our bodies into thinking that they are our own estrogens. They do this by plugging into our estrogen receptors, the same receptors that are in all our tissues that our body’s own estrogen hooks into. After that happens, we now have not only our body’s estrogen, but we have chemical toxins that make our body more prone to the symptoms of high estrogen.
The Toxin Bucket Theory
As long as we are living and breathing in this world we are going to be exposed to toxins. You cannot get away from them, but you can do things to reduce your exposure to them. When talking about toxins, I like to refer to the toxin bucket theory. You can only have so many toxins in your bucket before it overflows.
Everybody gets to a certain level where those toxins overflow and start causing symptoms. Those symptoms can look like high hormones, acne, musculoskeletal pain, depression, foggy brain, and the list goes on and on. I want to talk about how we can keep from putting things into that bucket, so our liver and our detoxification systems have time to empty it. I’m going to start by talking about how our body rids itself of toxins.
Detoxification Process
There are three phases in the detoxification process and the first phase happens through the liver. Anything that’s in our body, put on our body, or that we breathe in must go through the liver to be detoxified. Phase one uses a system called the P450 system and it goes down these certain pathways in our liver and is broken down. Then it goes into phase two detoxification. In phase two, there are six pathways where those toxins are broken down even further so that they then can be excreted from the body.
In phase one and phase two, there can be things that affect the detoxification process, making it harder for your toxin bucket to empty. For instance, if we have a genetic blip in some of those detox pathways then certain toxins that typically get sent down that pathway are going to build up. So, anything from estrogens that our own body produces to these toxins that we breathe in, eat, or put on our body. The other thing that can make those pathways sluggish is the nutrients that we don’t eat or that we don’t absorb well because they’re very nutrient-dependent. There must be certain nutrients like magnesium, B vitamins, and compounds that are in broccoli and cauliflower. If you want to help your liver, eat broccoli every day. It’s a wonderful support for the liver detoxification system.
After going through phase one and phase two through the liver then it must go through phase three. Phase three is elimination so that means it leaves through our kidneys, through our bowels, and sweat through our skin. That’s how we get rid of toxins. Now I want to tell you about some of the products I use to help decrease the toxin load in my bucket.
Food and Drink Containers
When we’re drinking out of plastic, eating out of plastic, heating food in plastic, or when our plastic water bottle stays in our warm vehicle, those plastics then leech into our food or drink. We then swallow those plastics and they become part of us.
I have switched out my plastic containers for all glass food containers. That includes food storage containers, the containers that I heat my foods in, and what I take my lunch in. A very economical thing to do is to get Mason or Ball jars because you can find them easily at Goodwill or at rummage sales. They’re great food containers and I also drink out of Mason jars sometimes.
If I’m not using a Mason jar to drink from, I just use a drinking glass. When I’m traveling or going to work, I have a stainless-steel water container that I use. They also make glass water bottles which are another safe alternative to plastic bottles.
Skin and Hair Care Products
A lot of our cosmetics and skincare products have parabens and phthalates in them. If you start reading the labels on your skincare products and you don’t know what the word is, you might think about not putting it on you. Over the years, I have been working to switch my products out for safer options.
The Healing Power of Essential Oils is a book by Dr. Eric Zielinski, a chiropractor. It has helped me cut down on the toxins in my life. He also has a website and many YouTube videos. There are a lot of recipes in his book, including skincare products and cleaning supplies. I’ve made some of the recipes and they not only work great, but they also smell fabulous since they use essential oils. The recipes have even saved me a lot of money!
If you’re not a do it yourself kind of person, there are plenty of people out there who will do it for you. These individuals sell their products either locally or on Etsy. One of my favorite goat milk soap and lotion stick producers is a local farm called Lonely Windmill Farms, I love their products!
When it comes to lip care, I really like Therapeutic Lip Care. The Essential Homemaker, owned and operated by Andrea Turner, makes that product. It is great for chapped lips but it’s also great just to use as a clear lip gloss. DeVine is a lip gloss that I love, you can find it online. I use it when I want some color.
One of my very favorite go-to versatile skincare products is coconut oil. When you get coconut oil for cooking it’s solid, but I like to use fractionated coconut oil (link it). This is a liquid and it absorbs very readily. You can put it on after your shower in the morning and get dressed and it won’t stain your clothing.
I have also switched my hair care products to some safer options. When I get out of the shower, I use The Essential Homemaker’s Split End and Frizz Control. I put this on my damp hair before I style it. When it comes to shampoo and conditioner, I’ve started using the Monat line recently. They have all kinds of hair care and styling products.
Eye makeup can be very toxic. For eyeliner, I use Gabriel which is a mineral-based brand. I use a mascara called Pur Lash. It doesn’t stay on quite as well as the toxin-filled products that I used to use. It’s worth it to know I’m using safe products though. I get both of those products from Amazon.
Another product I like is a fragrance roll on by Ambre Blends. I like to smell good without using fragrances that contain phthalates, so this is a great alternative. It can be purchased locally at Selah Salon & Spa or online. Another great perfume alternative is your favorite essential oil or oil blend. You can find many of those here.
These are some of the fun products that I have chosen to use to decrease the toxins in my bucket. I hope this helps you think about steps you can take to begin decreasing the load in your bucket. It will help you live your healthiest life and have healthy robust hormones. If you would like to learn more information about how to detox, how to manage your hormones better, or how to just get well in general I would love to help you!
Give us a call at Julian Healthcare.
