The Consequentiality Of Toxins And ‘DeToxing’
Toxin originates from the Latin word, ‘toxicus’ which means ‘poisoned.’ It’s fitting when you think of toxins, you think of toxic. Toxins are substances created by animals and plants that are poisonous to humans. Most toxins that cause problems in humans come from germs such as bacteria with an example of the symptoms of cholera being caused by a toxin made by cholera bacteria. Many animals and a few plants secrete venoms that include toxins from a mixture of substances to defend themselves against predators. They are naturally occurring molecules to further explain.
As they are naturally occurring, Toxins are natural. They are helpful in small doses used for some medicines. They are not harmful to the organisms themselves however they may be to other organisms, including humans, when eaten. This is attributed to the chemical compounds having diverse structures and differing in biological function and toxicity. That being said, they are prevalent all around us. Toxins can be found in metals such as lead and in the environment through certain chemicals. Funny enough, it was toxicity from the leaded water pipes that was a significant cause of the fall of the Roman Empire. These are the common toxins: Aquatic biotoxins, Cyanogenic glycosides, Furocoumarins, Lectins, Mycotoxins, Solanines, Chaconine, Poisonous Mushrooms, and Pyrrolizidine alkaloids. (For convenience https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/natural-toxins-in-food). It’s important to understand that with toxins being widespread, they are in our food. The Joint Expert on the Committee on Food Additives through the World Health Organization works to set the tolerable intake level for natural toxins. It is minimized as much as possible to comply with national and international maximum levels, conditions, and legislation seeing that there is no absolute when it comes to eating toxin-free food.
How Toxins Damage Our Bodies
Toxin exposure itself is a stressor and now adds stress to the ways toxins damage our bodies. It starts with poisoning enzymes so they don’t function properly. Our bodies are enzyme engines and every physiological function is dependent on enzymes for manufacturing molecules, producing energy, and creating cell structures.Toxins inhibit the production of hemoglobin in the blood paving way for accelerated aging when lowering the body’s capacity to prevent free-radical damage. Toxins result in weaker bones and eventual bone loss when it displaces structural minerals such as calcium. Reduced mobility over time can be attributed to this. Toxins also damage organs and our bodies’ systems. The organs would include the digestive tract, liver, and kidneys which prevents the body from detoxing effectively as our body already detoxes naturally. It’s worsened by the fact that toxins modify gene expression in undesirable ways as our genes switch off and on to adapt to changes in our bodies and the environment. It does not just end there as our brain is affected. Our cell membranes are damaged particularly with “Signaling” as the body is prevented from the cell membranes receiving important information such as insulin not signaling cells to absorb more sugar or muscle cells not responding to the message from magnesium to relax. This should come as caution for all my fellow gym enthusiasts.
‘DeToxing’
If I am catching you before your routine visit to your local retails, Perfect! DeToxing is not a thing or at least the products that advertise it as so. Harvard Medical School noted that before it was co-opted, “detox” referred chiefly to a medical procedure that rids the body of dangerous, often life-threatening, levels of alcohol, drugs, or poisons. The patients undergoing this procedure were treated in hospitals or clinics. The treatment generally involves the use of drugs and other therapies in a combination that is reliant on the type and severity of the toxicity. Edzard Ernst, emeritus professor of complementary medicine at Exeter University stated, “Let’s be clear, there are two types of detox: One is respectable and the other isn’t. The respectable one is the medical treatment of people with life-threatening drug addictions. The other is the word being hijacked by entrepreneurs, quacks and charlatans to sell a bogus treatment that allegedly detoxifies your body of toxins you’re supposed to have accumulated.” In 2009, a network of scientists assembled by the UK Charity Sense about Science contacted the manufacturers of 15 detox related products that were sold in pharmacies and supermarkets for evidence behind the product claims. Not one manufacturer could provide any evidence, let alone detoxification or even name the toxins. The detox products that are heavily promoted as do-it-yourself “whole body” cleansers procedures are aimed at advertising the elimination of toxins responsible for symptoms such as headaches, bloating, joint pain, fatigue, and depression. The detox programs have included nasal irrigation, face masks ,detox diets, intestinal cleansing, oxygen detox, foot detox, and many more. As someone who once tried the foot detox, I can say they were foot pads you placed underneath your feet that you went to bed with. It would supposedly remove toxins through your feet and while I have slept well using it, it was no different from other good nights. The pads are impregnated with wood vinegar which has shown to turn the same dark color when peeling the pads off your foot after absorbing the foot perspiration. I may not know a lot about diets but I do enough to know that they fail since they are not meant to last let alone be sustainable. Diets as mentioned above have shown to ignore essential nutrients such as protein, fatty acids, and electrolytes. This irritates the bowels functions as well as disrupts the intestinal flora, helpful in the regulation of our immune system. The problems do not end there which further highlights how the costs outweigh any potential benefits. I have still yet to meet somebody who says otherwise. If you just got back from the store, hopefully there does not have to be a next time!
What Can We Do
We can start with appreciating our body by maintaining a healthy lifestyle with how we eat and staying active. As mentioned before, our bodies detox naturally, getting rid of substances that do not belong in them. Our lungs for instance exhale carbon dioxide and they also have cilia, little fibers that push contaminants out. That being said, if you breathe in any particles that should not be there, they get trapped by mucus in the cilia and you cough it up or swallow it, and it goes away. If you are a smoker, you are doing serious damage to your cilia aside from your whole body. Our liver, kidneys, and colon are integral in eliminating waste and harmful substances while filtering blood to neutralize and aiding digestion. There is a reason we go to the bathroom and flush, “out with the old, in with the new.” The problem often encountered, especially today, is our susceptibility to gimmicks. With so much information at our fingertips, we defer responsibility to others who might understand things better. With so much information should come with healthy skepticism considering the possibility of misinformation that comes at the expense of our health.
