Toxic build-up

Today’s post is about Toxic build-up and the human body.

First, what is a toxin?

Scientists and doctors don’t have a clear definition of a toxin. They can be the waste products that our body naturally produces, like carbon dioxide. They can also be environmental contaminants which include physical, chemical and biological pollutants and organisms.

We are surrounded by thousands of industrial chemicals. They are in our air, food, water and household products. They come from pesticides, herbicides, smoke, flame retardants (chemicals that make things resistant to fire), and other chemicals used in factories.

We are exposed to these chemicals or toxins on a daily basis. They are in cleaning products, processed, non-organic foods, and food additives. There are also chemicals in personal care products and cosmetics, common kitchen items such as plastic food wraps, containers and non-stick surfaces.

Many of these chemicals have been tested for safety. However, not much is known about the long-term health effects. We know even less about mixtures of these chemicals. What is known is that some of them, like persistent organic pollutants (POPs), have been connected with heart disease, cancer, hormonal problems, growth problems for children, and brain problems.

Is it real or just hype?

It is real. Scientists at the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sampled a number of people living in the United States. Their research revealed that every person in the United States has small amounts of chemicals in their bodies. They even found 200 industrial chemicals, pollutants, and pesticides in newborns. These were absorbed during pregnancy and then via breast milk.

This is what many health practitioners, nutritionists and dietitian’s call ‘toxic build-up’.

This build-up can interfere with our body’s ability to heal itself, therefore compromising the immune system.

How do we get rid of toxins?

Our body has built-in ways to remove toxins. For example, our body produces carbon dioxide when it converts food to energy. Carbon dioxide is a waste product or toxin, and we get rid of it by breathing it out. Other organs that help remove toxins include the liver, skin, kidneys, intestines, lymph nodes, and blood vessels. In addition to breathing out, we remove toxic products through urine, feces, and sweating.

What about a ‘detox’?

Historically people used fasts, saunas, leaches, and practiced bloodletting to ‘purify’ or ‘detox’ their body. There have been only a small number of studies on “detoxification” programs in people. While some have had positive results on weight and fat loss, insulin resistance, and blood pressure, the studies themselves have been of low quality.

There have been no studies on long-term effects of “detoxification” programs.

However, there are ways to reduce our exposure. Studies have shown that when changes are made to diet and lifestyle, reducing the absorption of toxins, the body can more effectively remove them. This is a way of ‘detoxing’.

Reducing intake of processed foods and alcohol, eating fresh, organic produce. Use natural cleaning products. Consider the ingredients in the products you put on our skin, because much of what goes ON you ends up going IN you.

 

We also did a bit of our own research and found that in Australia there are several different regulatory standards, depending on how the product is classified.

The one common standard in Australia, the US and the EU that we could find is ‘skincare and cosmetics must have a list of ingredients on the label, regardless of whether it is toxic or not.’

So, take the time to read labels and make yourself familiar with the most common nasties. By buying smarter, you can reduce the toxin load on your body, helping it to work better and keeping you in better health.

Till the next post,

Live Clean and Prosper

Sources – U.S. Center for Disease Control and PreventionNational Library of MedicineUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health

 

A bit about Light Therapy

Today’s post is about light therapy.

In the past couple of years, red light therapy including infrared saunas and LED light masks have been in the media. These different light treatments are meant to help us with everything from wrinkles to back pain.

We decided to research these different light treatments and see if they are worth the hype.

For ideal health, we humans require regular exposure to light! A great example is Vitamin D which comes from sunlight. The sun’s rays include the more commonly known ultraviolet light (UV), but more than half of its output is infrared. When it comes to visible light, violet coloured light produces the most energy and red coloured light provides the least.

So, what is red light therapy

Red light therapy involves having low-power red light wavelengths emitted directly through the skin, although this process cannot be felt and isn’t painful because it doesn’t produce any heat. Red light can be absorbed into the skin to a depth of about eight to 10 millimetres, at which point it has positive effects on cellular energy and multiple nervous system and metabolic processes.

Through emitting red, low-light wavelengths through the skin, red light therapy may naturally jump-start the process of tissue recovery and other forms of rejuvenation. It’s believed to work in such ways as increasing blood flow and stimulating collagen production.

Clinical studies show that red light therapies have certain healing capabilities and medical applications, due to the way they positively affect the human endocrine and immune systems.

There are many different types of red-light therapy devices, some of which can be used at home. But home devices are usually less powerful than those used in clinics and may be less effective or take longer to work.

What about an infrared (IR)sauna?

This type of sauna uses a different kind of red light.

Infrared light is invisible and is effective for use on the surface of the skin as well as penetration of about 1.5 inches into the body. The wavelength infrared puts out is longer than the wavelength of red light, which allows it to penetrate more deeply into the body.

The longer the wavelength, the deeper the penetration. Consequently, IR light provides some similar, but some completely different benefits than red light.

An infrared sauna is a type of sauna that uses light to make heat. A regular sauna uses heat to warm the air, which in turn warms your body. An infrared sauna heats your body directly without warming the air around you. It is safe because all humans produce IR and it is easily absorbed by our tissues.

When IR enters the body, it breaks up fats and toxins that are trapped in water molecules, it makes us sweat to let them out.

And LED light masks

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) lights have been around since the 1960s but have only recently been used as a skin treatment.

Using the LED technology to create light weight masks enables people to use light therapy  in the home. However, these are not medical-grade products. They aren’t as strong, so while there is some benefit, there won’t be the same result as a professional treatment.

‌The masks use different wavelengths of the visible light spectrum to penetrate the skin to different depths. Depending on how deeply they penetrate, will determine which of the skin’s natural healing processes are triggered.

Red and blue lights are typically used in LED skin treatments. Experts believe that red LED light acts on cells in the skin known as fibroblasts, which play a role in production of collagen. Blue LED light is most often used to treat acne.

According to research, LED light therapy has an excellent safety profile. It does not contain UV rays, which can be harmful to the skin.

Unlike chemical peels or laser therapy, LED light therapy does not cause burns. Therefore, LED therapy is considered suitable for regular use. Which is important, as usually several treatments are necessary to see results.

However, more research is needed to confirm that these lights are truly effective and that they produce lasting results.

Hopefully you have found this information interesting.

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper

Sources – National Library of MedicineHarvard Health Publishing – Mayo ClinicWeb MD

Artificial Sweeteners – not so sweet!

Today’s post is about artificial sweeteners.

Alternative sweeteners have had a significant rise in popularity in the past year or 2.

This got me thinking about the different myths that are in circulation about sugar alternatives. There are several and we have all heard of 1 or 2.

Unfortunately, some are driven by marketing companies trying to sell a particular product.

Others started when our grandparents were children and more scientific research had not yet been conducted.

The myth I am going to focus on today is – artificial sweeteners are better for weight loss.

There are so many products on the market that contain artificial sweeteners. The ever-growing use of these products is due to the sweeteners having little or no calories compared to other sugars.

The problem is, no one talks about the side effects of these chemicals. 1 of the sites I used to research this topic listed 7 different artificial sweeteners, many I had not heard of.

I have chosen to focus on 2 that are widely available and known to most people.

First – Aspartame

The discovery of this artificial sweetener in 1965, made it possible to replace sugar with a less caloric product. Mostly listed on ingredient labels as 951, aspartame is up to 200 times sweeter than sugar.

2 widely used, commercially produced forms of aspartame are Equal® or Nutra-Sweet®.

The soft drink industry is quick to point out that the aspartame is a very minor amount that causes no harm in the body. However, that minor amount soon magnifies when you consider the average quantities consumed today. For instance, 1 litre of diet soft drink is an average daily intake for millions of people.

Safety studies have found the metabolism byproducts of aspartame (aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol) to be more harmful to the body than the original substance itself.

For instance, Methanol is first converted in the liver to formaldehyde. While methanol is known to damage the liver, formaldehyde is known to be responsible for the destruction of liver cells.

Methanol found naturally in foods is always accompanied by other compounds which counteracts the dangerous effects of methanol. Aspartame does not contain these.

The recommended maximum intake of methanol is 7.8 mg. per day. However, 1 litre of soft drink containing aspartame actually contains 56 mg. of methanol.

A medical article published in 2021 highlighted that Aspartame consumption can cause mood disorders, mental stress, and depression. Other studies have also found that absorption of aspartame during pregnancy correlates with autism in children.

Second is – Sucralose, also listed as 955

A compound that was originally under consideration as an insecticide became Sucralose. It was invented by accident in 1975 when a laboratory leader at Queen Elizabeth College, London, told an assistant to “test” the chemical, but the assistant misunderstood; he thought that he needed to “taste” it.  After discovering the sweet taste of the compound, the team continued with its scientific work. The research team filed for a patent for ‘Sucralose’ in 1976, and received it in 1984.

The artificial sweetener Splenda®, is a sucralose. It is 600 times sweeter than table sugar; although this can vary from 300 to 1,000 times sweeter, depending on the food application.

This product is advertised as “made from sugar”. It is, via a complicated process that involves five steps that chemically change the structure of the sugar molecule, making it a chlorocarbon.

Chlorocarbons have long been known to cause damage to organs and the reproductive system, which, in turn, causes genetic defects.

The manufacturer has assured the public that sucralose passes through the body unabsorbed. However, it seems that this is not correct. According to Japanese researcher’s, sucralose is absorbed and metabolised into the body by as much as 40%, In particular, the absorbed sucralose has been found to concentrate in the liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract.

Studies of sucralose have shown it actually affects a part of the brain, confusing it, making the brain think it needs more calories. This actually translates to an increase in the consumption of calories and therefore an increase in weight.

 

With this information so readily available, it still amazes me that people will continue to consume products containing these chemicals.

If you’re considering artificial sweeteners to lose weight, try replacing sugary foods and drinks with unsweetened substitutes and slowly cut down on the amount of sugar you use.

 

I think I will look at other sugar alternatives in some future posts.

 

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper

Sources – www.innvista.comNational Library of Medicine –  Environmental Health Journals