Yes, toxins are everywhere, but before you just give up and go eat some Cheetos, let’s talk about the ways we are exposed. What we can and can’t control.
Toxins are everywhere - body burden, and your realm of control.
We are exposed to toxins through air, water, food, and what we put on our bodies. Within those some we can control and others we can’t.
For example, think about the air we breathe. Yes, we can go for a hike out in the woods and breathe in fresh and healthy air, but on a daily basis, we can’t control the quality of the air outside. For water, we can use a water filter (my fav is a Berkey) or a whole-house water filtration system. And of course with food, you can choose organic, non-GMO, etc.
So I think about my realm control. What I can control and what I can’t.
Why?
Because our bodies can get overburdened by what it is exposed to.
As Rebecca Sutton, PhD, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), explains, “Our concern is daily, weekly, chronic exposure over a lifetime. Maybe if you’re exposed to a chemical a handful of times it wouldn’t cause harm, but some chemicals build up enough or cause enough harm in your body over time that it triggers some kind of disease outcome. The concept [of body burden] is that pollution is not just in our air and in our water — it’s also in us.”
Are you familiar with the term “body burden”? Toxic body burden is the cumulative amount of toxins in the body. These come from what we expose ourselves to every day, like air, water, food, and what we put on our skin.
The level of a person's body burden depends on their age, gender, disease status, nutritional habits, and genetic makeup. Dose, time between exposures, duration of repeated exposures, and interaction with other chemicals also contribute to an individual's personal factors. I know that sounds like a lot to understand - but the key point is we ALL have multiple factors impacting our health. We need to understand how to control the ones we can.
Our bodies can process some toxins, but if overburdened, they accumulate in the organs and tissues of the body.
In essence this is why paying attention to ingredients and choosing safe products is so important. We don’t want to overburden our bodies with unhealthy elements.
Want more help going toxin-free? Download my free guide, join my Facebook group, and follow me on Instagram.
