There are many people who quite literally FEEL the effects of dietary toxins (yep, that’s toxins found in the food we eat.) I happen to be one of them. Maybe you are, too.
Are you experiencing chronic pain? Are you feeling less than fully energetic? Are you feeling anxious? Are you experiencing new physical symptoms, or are symptoms that previously went away reappearing?
If any of this is ringing true for you, or one of your loved ones, then I will share my personal story in the hopes that it will give you hope that you can determine what the is behind these symptoms. Better than that, I want to give you hope that you CAN fix the situation and start living the energetic, emotionally-balanced, pain-free life you deserve!
Symptoms of Environmental and Dietary Toxins
I am a poor detoxifier. I know this because several years ago I had a health crisis that left me in chronic pain. While I worked to get to the bottom of my chronic pain, I did extensive testing that revealed I had a serious heavy metal toxicity problem. I spent about 18 months detoxifying and was rewarded when my chronic pain went away and was replaced with vibrant energy–until this year.
Pain: I’ve been racked with pain for the last several months. I’ve felt the pain increasing for a while, but that alone didn’t completely give me the “Ah ha, I recognize this!” moment.
First, I thought my scoliosis had returned. And, it had to a small degree. I went back to treatment at the Spine Correction Center of the Rockies and straightened my spine–these folks are awesome. Unfortunately, the pain stayed–because it wasn’t just about my spine.
So, I tried a variety of other treatments that have previously worked for my chronic pain; rossiter, massage, and regular chiropractic care. Even with all of that, I wasn’t getting lasting relief.
Heart Arrhythmia: The pain wasn’t my only problem. I’ve had a benign irregular heart rhythm for decades. Well, it was getting worse and now it was causing chest pain and shortness of breath. I reluctantly started taking antiarrhythmic medication. The good news is that the medication has all but taken the symptoms away. But, I HATE taking medications, and deep down, I just wanted to figure out the WHY and fix that.
The Dreaded Lump: The last domino to fall in my health issues this summer was finding a very large lump under my left arm. I have an increased genetic risk for breast cancer so even though I had a breast exam earlier this year, I went back into the doctor who wrote orders for a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound.
Detective Hall is in the House
As soon as I got back to the office from my doctor’s appointment, I went into full detective mode. Being a functional nutritionist, I happen to have some pretty snazzy equipment at my fingertips! Using the equipment at my office, I conducted a digital scan on myself. I discovered I currently have several things going on–including a pesticide toxicity.
You can imagine that as a nutritionist I eat a pretty clean diet. Generally, I eat organic foods, only rarely venturing to conventionally grown produce. Even still, I found three toxins that most likely came from my diet: metalaxyl, metiram, and propazine.
Metalaxyl is used on a broad variety of fruits and vegetables but most commonly corn. Ugh! I love corn and organic corn is hard to come by so occasionally, I throw caution to the wind and eat conventional corn.
Metiram is used on grapes and raisins. I enjoy a glass of wine now and again and American wines have a reputation for being toxic. I suspect that is the source of my elevated levels.
Propazine (a triazine compound), is a carcinogen linked to breast cancer. It is used as a broadleaf weed killer. In Colorado, triazine is used to keep our waterways clear. These chemicals are persistent in water and soil. Even though I filter my water and put filtered water in my Berkey for the extra step of purification, I have this toxin in my body. Hmm…how does that happen?!? It happens in the shower. Like many people who filter their drinking water and the water used for cooking, I don’t filter the water in the bathroom. I knew this, but here was my personal proof that the chemicals in the water that we bathe in show up in our blood steam!
Detoxification Plan
This is the 5 step Detoxification Process I am Following
- Eat only organic foods. The Environmental Working Group recently published an article that talks about the negative effects (including infertility) of eating chemical-laden foods. This is definitely the first step in reducing dietary toxins.
If I want to drink wine, I choose an organic wine from Dry Farm Wines. The risk of toxic effects from conventional food and wine is not worth my health, especially when there are organic options readily available.
Since these toxins are making their way into the body in more than just our food and drink, it is important to take additional steps to reduce our exposure.
- Install a whole house water filter. (It’s been purchased and is waiting for installation.)
- Use an air filter to clean the air in your home. I installed the iWave-R at my home and office to give me the cleanest air possible for the best possible price. (As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have been very impressed with this whole house air filtration system during the forest fires here in northern Colorado.)
- Detoxify on a more regular basis. I put a pesticide/herbicide/fungicide detoxification plan together for myself.
My plan includes daily visits to my office detox spa for frequency optimization, Ionic foot baths, Bio mat sessions, and sauna. It also includes adding supplements to support my body: glutathione, ALA, high-dose vitamin C, humic acid, and some other things to meet my needs. I will follow this protocol for the next two to three months.
How You Can Get Relief from Environmental and Dietary Toxins
The very first thing you should do is pay attention to your body. I hope you aren’t getting a barrage of symptoms like I did!
Please hear me when I tell you we aren’t meant to be in pain or anxious—pain and anxiety are indications that something is not quite right. They are signs of inflamation.
Maybe your major symptom isn’t pain…maybe like me you are having heart rhythm irregularities. Or maybe you are experiencing something else.
Whatever your situation is, never ignore your health concerns! By all means, discuss your symptoms with your primary care physician.
I am happy to work with you and your PCP to help determine the root cause of your symptoms. Perhaps you have tried many different therapies to fix the problem, or maybe you haven’t known where to begin.
Give me a call, and let’s discuss what would be the right course of action for you. We’ll talk about your history and your current symptoms and do some testing to see if you are suffering from any environmental and/or dietary toxins. Once we have the data, we can develop a detox plan for you. The basic five steps above are good for just about everyone (okay, #2 is for wine drinkers)—but they might not all be necessary, depending on your results.
The actual plan in step 5 is where you will see the biggest variation. I don’t expect everyone to be willing or able to come to the office daily, but we can work out a schedule that works for you. Similarly, supplements are advised based on what the test results indicate your body needs.
Please, take care of your health. Schedule an appointment today and let’s get you feeling GREAT again!
