The Detox Dilemma - part 2

How to minimise your exposure to toxins:

1. First up – do as much as you can from the suggestions here and don’t worry about the things you can’t do. In my book, worry can be toxic too. It never solved a problem or changed one; action does that – not the worry.

2. Start at home and control what you can in your own environment – the foods you eat; what you put on your body; the household cleaners you use; furnishings; pretty smelling fragrances; the way you think and feel – these are things that are mostly in your control and are fairly easy to change. Start today by looking around your home and choosing just three things you could ditch in favour of less toxic versions.

What to put in your beautiful body:

Eat food that is as close to the way Mother Nature made it, as possible. Ditch the packaged processed stuff in favour of the real thing – fresh vegetables, nuts, fruit, wholegrains and a good protein source.

If you can – buy and eat organic produce. If you can’t find it but you can get pesticide and/or fertiliser free then get that. And if you can’t – then eat what you can get and be grateful, not worried. Be grateful that you have food on your plate, be grateful that we have so much good food available to us, be grateful to the farmers who have produced it.

Increase your intake of foods such as beetroot, broccoli (and other rich green vegetables), ginger, lemongrass and turmeric. They all contain wonderful goodies to help strengthen your body’s natural detox mechanisms

Drink filtered water (I’ll leave it up to you to think about fluoride but chlorine is a definite no no) and don’t overload on soft drinks, pre-made juices, etc)

What to not to put in your beautiful body:

Limit your intake of large fish – large fish like tuna, swordfish and ling all contain high amounts of mercury

Food with numbers (what’s with those numbers? Numbers equal stuff your body doesn’t know what to do with, it ain’t real)

Don’t go crazy with caffeine or alcohol

Where possible - avoid buying products that come in plastic or cans – eg choose a cardboard milk carton over a plastic one, and fresh peas over canned ones.

If you do buy canned products, ensure they’re not lined with BPA. Don’t cook with Teflon coated pans (or use Teflon coated iron)

Try to avoid using plastic containers – store food in glass or stainless steel, and drink from stainless steel bottles. I suggest carrying one of those nifty travel mugs and using them when you buy coffee to avoid plastic lids (which interact badly with all the steam from your delicious drink)

Heat/cook food with your stovetop or oven rather than the microwave. If you do have to use the microwave, don’t use plastic

There's still a lot more you can do to minimise your toxin load - what you put on your body, what you clean your home with - and of course - what your thoughts are.

I'd love to hear from you - let me know what three things you started with.