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Don't Get Me Started

Some people say - if I eat well, do moderate exercise, take a few vitamins, do not smoke and just drink occasionally I should be healthy, Right? Wrong! The red flags are flying in our faces; some even at half-mask yet we do not pay attention.

The subject at hand "Why we need to Detox" is becoming a hot topic. The world has changed. Toxic substances and chemical waste materials have become environmental hazards that cause damage to our health. Our bodies need to dispose of the waste material it collects or it can become a major problem. Our bodies also can naturally deal with many harmful substances that invade its system - unless the toxic buildup is so immense that it begins affecting our organs, cells and internal detox systems. One symptom of toxic overload is fatigue and being persistently tired.

Reality Check

Your chances of getting cancer are now one in three with the prediction that it will soon be one in two. Greenpeace reports due to our environmental toxic waste problems, that our body is burdened with some 200 different kinds of organochlorines, reactive compounds with carbon-chlorine bonds that include pesticides, dioxins, PCBs, solvents, acids and many more. The research suggests that the average American carries over 60 parts per trillion of dioxin compounds in our tissues, enough to cause adverse health effects. Don't get me started - and this is just the tip of the iceberg!

Let's add the abundance of mercury in our fish, the heavy metals in our food and air, the high levels of arsenic in our water, cadmium in our food, chromium (a by product of steel) in our soil and of course radioactive strontium 90 (from nuclear fallout) already in our bones!! According to Mike Weilbacher in Toxic Shock: The Environmental Cancer Connection, there are 1,500 new chemicals, plastics, solvents, cleaning agents and reformulated fuels that enter the marketplace annually while under funded government watchdogs check the toxicity of only about 12 to 20 of them. That's It! Is cancer killing us softly with environmental toxins? Sure makes saving for retirement questionable.

This past week senate hearing have been running fiery about the horrendous amount of arsenic levels in our drinking water which correlate to all endocrine cancers. Yet the EPA under Director Christie Todd Whitman continues to try and justify why this current administration reversed the existing laws on the books that would control the amount of allowable arsenic in our water!

Our chemical industry hides the truth from consumers, denies the facts that the link between health hazards and their chemical waste is high and then turns around and tries to sell us more chemicals to eradicate the cancers they have created. What a market!

We can't live in a bubble. We can't get away from the fast foods, toxic effects of diet cokes, bathing in over chlorinated tap water and just plain breathing. So, let's take care and take charge.

First and foremost, continue to not be passive about our toxic environment. Write Senator Dewine and Voinovich reminding them that the levels of arsenic in our water will affect them as well as their families.

Second and most pro-active, Detox - Daily. Do the simple things everyday; add one focus detox per week and one major detox per month.

Daily - Tasks
Nutrients That Keep Us Safe

Studies from many sources show that antioxidants reduce the risk of developing cancer. Antioxidants neutralize the detrimental affects of harmful chemicals called free radicals. Free radicals invade cell function like rust affects metals.

What to Take

The Trilogy (Take with Meals)

25,000 IU of Beta Carotene
1,500 MG of Vitamin C
800 IU of Vitamin E

Selenium (low levels are linked to breast cancers) (take with a fruit snack mid-day)
200 MG can take with E but may not absorb with C
(If you have had cancer, you may want to take 300 MG)

Minerals (take after dinner)
Zinc - enhances the immune system
Copper - an antioxidant
Calcium and Vitamin D - (especially for women)
Flaxseed - a must for cancer prevention It's effects are: anti-tumor, anti-viral, powerful antioxidant

Dr. Andrew Weil highly recommends an antioxidant program. Check his website for more info. (www.drweilselfhealing.com)

Think Green

Studies show over 3,000 plants with reported anticancer activity.

Drink Two - Three cups of green things daily - green is a powerful antioxidant besides a gentle detox agent. Gets those chemicals out!

Choices
Green Tea Daily - fights tumor formation
One tablespoon of chlorophyll in 8 oz of water - eliminates mucous
Juice green veggies - have a veggie cocktail
Take Spirulina, chlorella or wheat grass drinks (at least once per week)

Don't be fooled - green kool-aid or lime soda does not constitute a healthy green thing.

Next week we will venture into the world of detox fasting for your health.

Simple as it may seem purging the body of toxins will be the future of medicine. We haven't been able to prevent the detrimental effects of toxins yet. So the best idea is to outsmart the process change your internal environment.

May the long time sun shine upon you.

Mary Jo Ruggieri, Ph.D., RPP
Director
Columbus Polarity Center

© 2000 Columbus Alive