CHEMICAL IMBALANCE - JUNE 2015 - VOLUME 7 ISSUE 3
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Introduction
In case you're in the final stages of getting ready for spending time on the beach this summer, I thought it would be helpful to give you some information on the effect toxic substances your body may have absorbed can have on weight loss.
How Can Chemicals Have an Effect on Weight Loss?
Being overweight or obese has long been viewed as the result of poor eating habits and a sedentary life style. However, we now know that chemical exposure may increase the risk of obesity (and type 2 diabetes) by altering fat cells and the neural circuits that regulate feeding behaviour. In addition, studies now question whether or not these chemicals change our intestinal bacteria for the worse, increasing our propensity to become obese.
Where are the chemicals coming from?
Nearly half of Americans' food budgets are spent on processed foods, i.e. foods prepared outside the home. It's not likely much different in Canada. Not only are the calories found in fast food often underestimated, but these foods are full of chemical additives.
Consider that:
- the average hamburger bun contains high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), DATEM (dough conditioner), azodicarbonamide, sodium stearoyl lactylate, ammonium sulfate, and calcium propionate.
- in a fast food buttermilk ranch sauce you can find artificial flavour, calcium disodium EDTA, phosphoric acid, TBHQ and propylene glycol alginate.
- the ingredients list for a typical cookie package lists: unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid), sugar, semisweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin), soybean oil, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, high fructose corn syrup, cocoa (natural and processed with alkali), leavening (baking soda, ammonium phosphate), salt, whey (from milk), dextrose, artificial colour (includes yellow 6 lake, yellow 6), soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavour, caramel colour, confectioner's glaze, carnauba wax, beeswax.
As they say, if you can't pronounce it, you probably shouldn't eat it! We can't always control the air that we breathe, but we can control what we eat.
What's the solution? Cleansing and detoxification!
Bear with me for a minute - - I do NOT mean you have to go to extremes to cleanse and detoxify. You do not have to restrict your intake to nothing but water and juice for a number of days. You certainly can embark on a more drastic cleanse, but that's not what I'm advocating here - it's not for everyone. If you do decide you want to do a more extreme cleanse, please contact me at 613.829.0427 so I can guide you on how to do this safely, depending on many factors including your current health.
Happily, there are many less drastic ways of cleansing and reducing toxicity.
- First, stop eating processed foods. Processed foods are more like a science project than real food as you can see from the description of the few items above.
- Buy fresh foods and cook them yourself.
- Use fresh spices. Your cooking will taste better than the processed stuff!
- Buy organic fruit and vegetables wherever possible.
- Drink lots of good quality water to flush out toxins (your weight in pounds divided by 2 equals the number of ounces of water you should drink per day). Note that when people lose weight, the toxins that were stored in their fat cells enter the blood stream and need to be flushed out of their system with water. This may result in headaches, lightheadedness, body aches, mood changes, etc., and is sometimes referred to as a "healing crisis." Drinking plenty of water as well as using other cleansing remedies (see Supplements section) should help.
These basic steps can make a large contribution to reducing the burden of toxicity your body has to deal with.
Should you go organic?
Taking this one step farther, you may have heard about a Swedish family of 5 who switched to organic foods, and other products, for 2 weeks. After eating a conventional diet for one week, each member of the family submitted a urine sample, where analysts found a number of insecticides, fungicides and plant growth regulators. Then the family had their urine measured every day for 2 weeks while they ate only organic foods, used organic soaps and personal care products. The results were striking - pesticide levels in the family members dropped visibly even on the first day, and by the end of the 2 weeks, there was very little evidence of pesticides and other compounds in their urine.
Yes, it's somewhat more expensive to eat organic, so you need to decide if the trade-off is worth it for you. It's not just that organic foods are more nutritious and that organic farming is sustainable, but the elimination of pesticides and other toxic substances from your diet is probably even more important.
Supplements
There are several supplements that can help with cleansing as you reduce your intake of toxic, processed food.
LOCLO provides 3.8 grams of fibre per serving from 5 sources. Dietary fibre helps prevent constipation and relieves diarrhea. Soluble fibre absorbs toxins and unabsorbed fats in the bowel and eliminates them. Fibre helps with weight management by decreasing appetite, controlling cravings, aiding in the metabolism of fat, and providing a sensation of fullness. As an added benefit, fibre has demonstrated its power to reduce the risks of serious health conditions such as heart disease, colon cancer, diverticulitis, constipation, obesity, and diabetes. You can order LOCLO at /store/#!/Loclo/p/25596021/category=5826005 by copying and pasting this link into your web browser.
LIV-A is designed to support liver function. The herbs in LIV-A enhance the digestion and detoxifying functions of the body by working especially to increase the secretion and release of bile. Many of the herbs in this formula support the detoxification and cleansing mechanisms of the body (dandelion, turmeric, parsley, blessed thistle, angelica, chamomile, gentian goldenrod, yellow dock and artichoke). You can obtain LIV-A directly from our office.
LBS-II is a synergistic formula designed to nutritionally support the cleansing mechanisms of the intestinal system. It is a colon stimulant, also referred to as a bowel-cleansing formula. LBS-II contains a blend of herbs which stimulate the production of digestive fluids and bile to promote peristaltic action in the colon (cascara sagrada, buckthorn, licorice, turkey rhubarb, ginger, capsicum, couch grass, Oregon grape, and red clover). You can order LBS-II at /store/#!/LBS-II-100-capsules/p/6402604, by copying and pasting this link into your web browser.
Fibre Boost contains a blend of ingredients that help cleanse the body and trap and eliminate fat particles in the intestinal tract: psyllium husks and guar gum to promote cleansing and to trap fat and eliminate it from the intestinal tract; chickweed, which has a variety of properties that make it beneficial to those seeking to manage weight, including possible support for normal appetite; and lecithin to act as a natural fat emulsifier. You can order Fibre Boost directly from our office.
For additional information, please email ramila@ramilas.com; or call Ramilas Healing Arts Clinic at 613.829.0427 for an appointment. Please continue letting friends and family know about this newsletter. Also on our website, please see back issues of this newsletter, additional information about products, order products, and see information about our Clinic.
Reference
- Lose weight by losing toxicity. IN.FORM Participant's Manual. Nature's Sunshine, 2014.
- Thayer KA, Heindel JJ, Bucher JR, Gallo MA. Role of environmental chemicals in diabetes and obesity: a National Toxicology Program Workshop review. Environ Health Perspect 2012;120(6):779-789.
- Snedeker SM, Hay AG. Do interactions between gut ecology and environmental chemicals contribute to obesity and diabetes? Environ Health Perspect 2012;120(3):332-339.
- Hall A. What happened after one family went organic for just two weeks. Huffington Post, 05/14/2015 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/14/the-organic-effect_n_7244000.html, Accessed June 24, 2015
Disclaimer
The suggestions and recommendations in this newsletter are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic. The information is accurate and up to date to our knowledge, but we are not responsible for any errors in our sources of information.
Closing
These newsletters will help you make better choices for better health. The choices that you make today can either have a positive or negative impact on your overall health. Begin by choosing better. It is a step toward longevity.
Sincerely,
Ramila Padiachy
Ramila's Healing Arts Clinic
