You may wonder about the significance of looking at environmental toxicity and its relevance to your health. More than two decades of practice and eleven thousand patients later, I am convinced that apart from nutritional deficiencies, environmental toxicity is the biggest factor behind the modern day tendency for disease and illness.
We are living in times fraught with stress and tension. We are living lives where the food we eat,the water we drink and the environment we live in could be poisoning us. The aim of this blog is not to alarm but to inform. Given the state of the world today, it is not really possible to run away to a safe haven. Instead by a process of adopting an appropriate diet, simple safety pre-cautions and judicious nutritional supplementation, it is possible to reduce the extent of damage.
What are free radicals? There has been a great deal of mention made about them. They are often treated like mysterious strangers in the night that cripple you, weaken you and accelerate your aging. What are they really? Oxygen is essential for basic cell-function in humans and most humans. However it appears that this is a mixed blessing. Although it gives us an evolutionary advantage over those life forms that do not require oxygen, it is simultaneously a threat to our survival. Oxygen can produce toxic substances in our body such as peroxide, superoxide, hydroxyl radicals and “excited state oxygen”.
To those who never had the benefit of chemistry lessons,I will briefly recap as follows. An atom or a molecule consists of a core of positive particles called neutrons and spinning around them are electrons or negatively charged particles. So long as the total number of positive and negative charges are equal, the atom or molecule is stable and all is well. However when we take in molecules that are not electrically balanced and are capable of oxidising substances by stripping electrons from other stable molecules, we are dealing with a free radical.
When we say oxidation we are referring to the chemical reaction where a electrically unbalanced molecule takes an electron from a another balanced molecule. We can see this destructive chain reaction occurring all around us as in metal when it rusts, rubber as it perishes, apples and potatoes as their cut surfaces turn brown. Similar processes also take place inside us, rapidly when tissues are in contact with toxic substances such as strong acids or more slowly when fatty substances in our blood oxidise (become rancid) or as we age. For it is largely free radical activity that causes our cells to age and protein synthesising machinery to become less efficient. Itis this that causes skin to wrinkle and muscle tissue to harden.
A deficiency of specific nutrients may allow some toxins to produce severe damage to our cells by a process of free radical oxidation as we have already discussed above. Oxidation also occurs dramatically when fats inadequately protected by anti-oxidants like Vitamins C and E become rancid. Too much cholesterol/fat in your arteries causes oxidation, damage to their lining and eventually arteriosclerosis. On the obvious level, free radical damage can take the form of poor quality skin and lack lustre hair. It can aggravate whatever skin problems you may have. It can rob you of your energy and leave you feeling lethargic, tired and yes, even depressed. Oxidising heavy metals such as lead, excessive iron or copper and cadmium produces similar damage; as do free radicals in smoke and alcohol. Cells so affected can become cancerous or part of an arthritic or any other inflammatory process. In general free-radical activity can be held responsible for any if not all forms of degenerative disorders from cancer to diabetes. Symptoms of free radical damage can include the following;
Poor Skin Oily Skin Weight Gain
Cellulite Fatigue Lethargy
Sore and tired eyes Arthritis Cataract
Infertility PMS Mood Swings
Cancer Fibroids Tumours
Atherosclerosis Heart Disease Fibroids
Birth Defects Endometrosis Cancer
What steps should you take?
1) Drink clean filtered water
2) Eat clean (organic) food
3) Reduce your exposure to DDTS, PCBS and watch what you use in your household products, cosmetics, toiletries and cleaning agents. Also reduce exposure to radiation ie computer, handphones etc
4) Start internal detox programmes. Start with your blood type diet.
5) Start cleaning your gut. Try digestive enzymes and probiotics together with liver and gall bladder cleanses.
6) These can include replacing your mercury amalgams in your mouth and doing a heavy metal detox with oral chelation agents.
7) Start taking vitamins, minerals and supplements to correct deficiencies and reduce free radical stress.
8) Reduce stress in your life. This will reduce toxic hormones being generated in your body.
For quite a few years, we have been offering this programme to our clients. Its is called the “Cellular Rejuvenation Program”.
http://www.naturaltherapies.com/cell rejuvenation program.htm
Be well
Dr Sundardas