Cleanse for youthful skin
December 08 2015 – Cassandra Hilton
Whilst our bodies are equipped to cope with natural detoxification pathways, many can not maintain adequate detoxification processes at the speed required to effectively off set negative dietary and lifestyle choices of which we continue to burden our bodies with at an alarming rate.
Personal care and cosmetic products contribute to the toxic burden with the average female exposed to over 200 chemicals a day due to cosmetic use. Recent research on neonatal care infants, highlights the ability of the skin to absorb dermal application of toxins at an alarming rate equitable to what the lungs can absorb. With the skin as the largest organ of the body, it is influential in not only the absorption of chemicals but also their elimination. Therefore if we can support internal and external organs involved in detoxification processes and reduce our toxic load we are on the way towards a clearer complexion and radiant, youthful skin.
As our world continues to develop in agricultural practices so do the levels of environmental toxins. Environmental toxins accumulate through food chains and include things like heavy metals, the use of agricultural pesticides on our food sources, synthetic chemicals, genetically modified foods, hormone enhanced foods, food additives and preservatives all of which influence an increasing burden on our body to adequately detoxify these insults.
Lifestyle factors also play a contributing role to toxic accumulation. Reduced physical activity, increased alcohol consumption and smoking also impair digestive functioning and influence detoxification pathways and further deplete the body of its ability to absorb and receive adequate intake of nutrients required for health and leave us feeling fatigued, lethargic and sallow in appearance.
Our metabolism and energy pathways slow down and we feel clogged and bloated as we then frequently turn to quick dietary fixes such as caffeine stimulants, soft drinks and energy drinks or high glycemic foods such as processed and refined sugars to combat the fatigue and to enable us to get through the day placing increased burden on our bodies and organ systems.
The process of a cleanse or a detox involves dietary and lifestyle changes that reduce the intake of toxins and improve the clearance of toxins from the body by neutralizing these toxins through the liver and facilitating their removal via the gastrointestinal tract, urinary system and the skin. Think of it as an annual spring clean of the house that has years of accumulation!