Sep 15, 2023
3 minute read
#Not NecessairlyFinancial
We all know how important water is to you. After all, we are made of the stuff! We nag our children to drink more and feel worse when we don’t drink enough of it.
One of the reasons people eat too much is because the feeling of dehydration is commonly confused with hunger. As a result, when our body is craving more water, we give it more food, which may or may not include some water but also includes a whole load of other things you didn’t need. As a result, if you can ensure you are fully hydrated, you will find that eating the right amount of food and avoiding snacks becomes much easier.
Why not try it yourself? Correctly hydrating yourself can make you feel years younger! This tool is the best method I have found to calculate how much water I need:
https://www.camelbak.com/en/hydrated/hydration-calculator
And remember to add some lemon to your water when you drink it to help keep your blood alkaline!
Eliminate Toxins
Finally, before I set you a two-week challenge of my own, I want you to eliminate some more toxins in your life. In this modern world, we are exposed to countless toxins that gradually build up in our body. Like pouring tea from a teapot, these gradually build up in our bodies over time, and they usually go unnoticed. It is only when the cup overflows or, worse, cracks that we get an outpouring of ill health all at once.
This is one of the reasons a detox can sometimes make you feel worse before you feel better, as you are getting an outpouring of toxins from your body. This overflow could be a cold or the flu, and the cracks could be developing cancer or heart problems. There are lots of toxins to be aware of, but I’ll cover a few toxin sources to be aware of, ones that are linked to some serious cracks in your health.
Bisphenol A
Plastics touch our food in so many forms and ways, and it is difficult to imagine life without them. Don’t worry, I am not going to tell you that you aren’t allowed to use plastics at all. Generally, from what I have read, I believe most to be perfectly fine, with one exception.
When plastic is heated up, it causes some of the chemicals to leach or migrate to our food—namely, the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA). Laura Vandenberg, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in biology at Tufts University in Boston, explains that ‘studies show that high doses of BPA disrupt reproductive development and function in laboratory animals. Levels in humans were thought to be too low to be of concern, but more recent research has challenged that perception’. www.WebMD.com
There are some simple steps you can take to minimise this without causing any disruption to your life:
- Don’t cook anything in plastic.
- If you are freezing food in plastics, allow the food to cool first before you transfer.
- Never drink water from a bottle that has been warmed up, whether that be in the car or anywhere else.
Aluminium
In 1988, one of the UK’s worst pollution disasters occurred at a water treatment works in Bodmin Moor. Twenty tonnes of aluminium sulphate leaked into the water supply near the town of Camelford. Sadly the health implications were far reaching, with aggressive forms of Alzheimer’s seen as a result of higher-than-usual aluminium levels in the brain.
Professor Exley, a world-renowned expert on aluminium, hoped that the case would highlight how little we know about the implications for our health of the most prolific metal on the planet. Aluminium, he argued, is now added to or used in almost everything we eat, drink, inject or absorb. At high levels, it is an established neurotoxin—yet no one knows whether the levels we are ingesting are safe.
‘When the amount of aluminium consumed exceeds the body’s capacity to excrete it, the excess is then deposited in various tissues, including nerves, brain, bone, liver, heart, spleen and muscle,‘ he explains. ‘We call it the ‘silent visitor’ because it creeps into the body and beds down in our bones and brain’.
Source: Liz Bestic, The Telegraph, 5th March 2012
The accumulation of aluminium in the body is a risk factor not only for Alzheimer’s disease but also, possibly, for neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis. It’s therefore best to reduce our exposure to it. Whilst aluminium naturally occurs in many foods, it is the increased exposure that gives more cause for concern.
There are a couple of simple ways to do this without disrupting your life too much:
- Use aluminium-free deodorant, as this has a high level normally.
- Cut out or cut down on the amount of fizzy drinks you consume.
- Minimise cooking with foil.
Parabens
Another nasty you are probably unconsciously topping up your body with is Parabens, because they are hidden in so many everyday products. ‘Parabens have been widely used since the 1950s to control bacteria growth, and are mainly found in our cosmetics. In 2004, British cancer researcher Philippa Darbre, Ph.D., found parabens present in malignant breast tumours. As a result, experts in many countries are recommending limits on paraben levels in cosmetic products. What’s more, watchdog organisations worry that if parabens can be stored in the body, over time they could have a cumulative effect and pose a health risk’.
(Source: www.realsimple.com)
Whilst the research is still inconclusive, it is worth being mindful limiting these chemicals because in the long run, it can only help rather than hinder you. Use products that are labelled ‘paraben-free’, for example, ‘Aveda’ and ‘The Little Bubble Company’.
