Hello, wake up. Spring is here! The beginning of spring is March 21st, the time of the spring equinox, when day equals night. For the next six months day light, the sun and yang principle, will be dominating our lives. You may now feel a new spark and power and be filled with inspiration and energy to act upon your ideas. Spring is the green season. It’s a time for planting. After the rain and snow of winter the seeds begin to sprout from the depths of the soil, trees bud and nature awakens in her green, flowering beauty. In Chinese medicine spring is the season correlated with gall bladder and liver. Spring is the perfect time of year to ‘spring clean’ your house and to ‘spring clean’ your body.
The human body is a miracle. For all the body’s parts and abilities there are corresponding systems designed to monitor what they’re experiencing and then decide whether what the body is experiencing is beneficial or detrimental so that it can function well and without interruption as a whole. Dr. Rodak, ND states that it is “an amazing piece of engineering design.”
These systems - the circulatory, digestive, endocrine, immune, integumentary (hair, skin, nails), lymphatic, muscular, nervous, reproductive, respiratory, skeletal, and urinary systems are discussed frequently by all of us. In particular, when someone asks how we’re feeling, we usually point to something, a symptom, that’s affecting one or more of these systems because they so readily help us check in on our bodies, giving us a sense of how well we are (or are not) at any given time.
What’s Happening When We’re Not Feeling Well?
When we’re unwell, understanding systemic symptoms can help us to determine where to look for the underlying issues. Sometimes we talk about our skin breakouts, hair thinning or falling out, or nail splitting showing signs of ill health. Or, we might complain of feeling sluggish, heavy, uncomfortable or constipated. Signs like these show us there’s something deeper going on in the body. It’s becomes important to then explore these more deeply, to look to the organs that support our systems and keep them functioning effectively and to take care of them when they’re showing us signs that all is not well.
The organs help the body maintain overall health, and of course organs like the heart, brain, and lungs are responsible for some of the most fundamental functions of life. Without them, well - we wouldn’t be here! But, the organs do other important jobs as well such as neutralizing and eliminating toxins and irritants. The organs that help most with these functions are the lungs, the skin, the digestive tract, and most importantly: the liver and the kidneys. When you start tracing back the symptoms of sickness to the organs that help keep the body functioning optimally, you can start to see the connections to possible underlying weaknesses and issues.
How Does the Body Cope When Faced with Toxins and Irritants?
The simple answer - detoxification. One of the things the body is especially good at is sweeping out any toxic elements and chemicals that can compromise overall health. That’s a big part of what our organs are designed to do - and most of the time they do it extremely well!
However, not all toxins are equal and of course there are many factors that can affect how the body responds to them at any given time. Also, toxins don’t come from only one source. In fact, the definition of a ‘toxin’ is surprisingly simple and broad: anything that the body doesn’t find useful or that harms its integrity is toxic to the body. The fact is, we’re combating toxins all the time both internally and externally.
The most common types of toxins we all encounter regularly come from: poor diets and poor digestion, undigested food that ferment in the digestive tract and create an acidic environment in the body, medications, drugs, alcohol and tobacco, environmental toxins like air and water pollution, smoke, pesticides, animal and insect bites, and - more and more - electromagnetic frequency and radiation like from appliances and tools such as microwaves, cell phones, computers, wireless internet, and TVs. Even negative thoughts and emotions if they persist long enough have been shown to be toxic to our bodies because they turn into significant sources of stress - the number one root cause of illnesses. This toxic burden is an inescapable part of modern life, and we know it can sound pretty scary!
When subjected to all of these forms of toxins at once - as most of us are - it’s easy to see how our bodies can become inundated with chemicals from which we need to protect ourselves. It’s also easy to understand why, even though we might be doing everything we can to sustain a healthy lifestyle and keep our toxin-fighting organs in prime condition, our bodies sometimes need help in the battle.
How Do I Know if I’m in Toxic Overload?
As we said before: the body is constantly detoxifying. Day in, day out, all day and all night long! Our organs are designed to do just that to keep us healthy. But, we all experience toxic overload at one time or another. Who hasn’t been super stressed out and fell to a poor diet or more frequent glasses of wine? Who hasn’t experienced an illness that compromised their health to the point where they just don’t seem to get better? These are just some instances when toxic overload makes our organs’ daily battle much harder to win. Sometimes toxins that we experience daily become a combined, overwhelming force while at other times we experience a mixture of toxins in particularly high doses. Ongoing situations like this can lead to chronic toxin overexposure. Learning to identify and properly respond to toxin overload can make a huge difference in our ability to heal from it.
Are you in toxin overload? Ask yourself these questions:
- Do you have persistent brain-fog, lack of focus, mental clarity, or migraines?
- Do you have ongoing fatigue, muscle aches or pains, general lack of motivation or feelings of depression that just won’t go away?
- Have you noticed an increase in body odour, foul fecal odour, pungent or bad breath?
- Are you experiencing skin reactions or acne in ways you haven’t before?
- Have you recently become newly sensitive to chemicals, fragrances, or scents?
- Have you developed new allergies of any kind?
These are just some of the common changes you might notice and they’re some of the ways your body is trying to tell you: Help me! I’ve had enough!
When you’re experiencing symptoms like these, it’s the right time to visit our clinic. We want to help you reactivate your body’s natural defence mechanisms so that you can experience optimal health every day. Sometimes, our organs need extra help in their work combatting toxins. We have lots of ways to help you ensure that toxins are kept at bay, and that your organs are happy, healthy, and strong. Call or email us at 416-234-1888 or wellnessreception@sympatico.ca and we’ll be happy to have a detailed consultation with you to find the right pathway to your optimal health.
Yours in good health,
Wellness Institute
