The Elephant in the Room!

Environmental toxins are my hot topic in my social media content this spring.  Since I have had a direct experience with heavy metal, copper, and mold toxicity, bringing awareness to this topic is very near and dear to my heart.  You can address “all the things” and if you’re not accessing toxins in your daily life then you’re missing a huge piece to the health puzzle.

For this month’s blog I want to peel the onion another level deeper.  I’m guessing that you probably don’t go through your everyday life thinking about glyphosate toxicity.  This is the big elephant in the room that you’re likely consuming in some form everyday.

A vast majority of our conventional food supply is contaminated with glyphosate, almost always along with other toxins. And as we’re finding, these dangerous combinations spell disaster for our personal and planetary health.

The unfortunate truth is, glyphosate is virtually impossible to avoid, so you and your loved ones are probably at risk, but there are things you can do to defend against the negative side effects.

To be honest though, the bad news is…

Every year more than 280 millions pounds of Roundup are used on conventionally grown U.S. crops and in other places around the world.  As a result, Glyphosate has been found in all levels of the food chain including water, plants, animals and even in humans.

It has even been found in some organic foods due to water runoff and cross contamination.

As a chemical, Glyphosate has been classified as a carcinogen, meaning it causes cancer, and as an endocrine disruptor, meaning it disrupts the glands that produce hormones, that convert hormones and keep them in balance.

Glyphosate was introduced back in the 1970’s and it’s just one of over 120,000+ chemicals that have been introduced in our environment since World War II, most of which haven’t been studied long enough to even know what the long-term impacts are on our health.

In this modern day world, our bodies are facing the largest toxic burden ever known to humankind.  Before now, there has never been a time in human existence when so many chemicals existed.

As chemical production and use has increased over the years, we have also seen a steady rise in chemical related health disorders such as:

  • Cancer
  • Infertility
  • Hormone imbalances
  • Autoimmune conditions
  • Seasonal allergies, colds and flus
  • Brain fog and dementia-like conditions
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome and general digestive upset

 

Everywhere you turn, toxins and chemicals are lurking.  In your water, food, air, furniture, personal care and cleaning products.

But we can’t live in a bubble, so what can we do to support our body during these burdensome times?

In this month’s blog I break down exactly what the toxins are doing to your body and how you can offset your exposure to them.

 Let’s first explore exactly what toxic chemicals can do to your body, using Glyphosate as an example…

It can immobilize certain nutrients and essential minerals by altering the nutritional makeup of the treated crop, meaning you won’t really get any vitamins, minerals or other nutrients from food exposed to Glyphosate.

It decreases the availability of essential amino acids (aka protein building blocks) needed to maintain muscle mass and rebuild cells that the body can only get from food sources.

It contributes to imbalances with good and bad gut bacteria leading to leaky gut, various food allergies or sensitivities.

It increases inflammation, which overloads the immune system rendering it too weak to fight off the common allergies, cold and flu viruses.

It shuts down detoxifying enzymes in the body, and therefore enhances the damaging impacts of other food-borne chemical residues or environmental toxins, and burdens the liver.

It promotes the creation of ammonia in the body which can lead to brain inflammation which has been associated with autism, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS and other cognitive impairments.

And some studies have also shown how Glyphosate disrupts progesterone production, negatively impacts female egg availability and development, alters estrogen levels promoting breast cancer, and disturbs overall steroid hormone balance.

Ugh.  It seems overwhelmingly bad, I know, but there is hope.  There is a lot you can do to reduce the impacts that Glyphosate and other chemicals have on your body.

To reduce exposure and the damaging effects of Glyphosate (and other pesticides or herbicides) you can:

  • Eat organic and non-GMO foods as much as possible

  • Drink and cook with only filtered water

  • Take a daily liver support supplement

  • Avoid food crops most commonly contaminated with glyphosate (even if organic) such as corn, soybean, wheat, barley, rye and beans

  • Be aware of the Dirty Dozen

  • Keep your detox pathways open and flowing (follow my IG and Hart of Health Facebook for more info on this)

  • Embark on a Seasonal Detoxes (Fall and Spring)

Even small exposures to toxins and chemicals have a large impact on your overall health and can contribute to weight gain, fatigue, brain fog, digestive upset, autoimmune issues, hormone imbalances and much more.

Taking action to reduce toxic exposures as much as possible will result in long-lasting positive effects on your health and wellbeing.

If you’ve been eating healthy, exercising and “doing all of the right things” with little to no health improvements, then toxins such as Glyphosate might be tripping you up, causing hormone imbalances, leaky gut, overwhelmed the immune system, and keeping you from getting results.

If you want to get your hands on the right lab tests, resources and guidance to assess and mitigate the effects of environmental toxins, I would be honored to support you!

Schedule a Complimentary Strategy Session with me today!

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