ADVANCED TOXINS + DETOX
Environmental Toxins
Today, we are living in a toxic soup—from the water that we drink and bathe in, to the air we breathe, the food that we eat, the products that we clean our homes with, and the personal care products that we slather on before we leave the house. It is estimated that women apply 168 chemicals (on average) to their bodies daily. On average, women use double the amount of personal care products than men do, and they these products do not require independent review for safety before being sold. These chemicals contained in these products can be endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, and neurotoxins.
Tap water is loaded with unsafe levels of chemicals and toxins. Air quality is significantly impacted and is unsafe in many areas. Our food is sprayed with glyphosate, a known carcinogen. Our cleaning products that we use in our homes are also filled with known carcinogens. Fragrances that we use on our bodies are filled with additional chemicals that do not have to be labeled, because they are protected “by trade secrets.” Our bodies were not designed to detox from such an intensive toxic burden.
All of these toxins accumulate in our systems, and our bodies were not designed to detox from such an intensive toxic burden, contributinge to the rise in neurodegenerative disease, especially in women— (which makes sense since women apply double the amount of chemicals in comparison to men). The rise in cancer and autoimmune conditions also may be linked to our current levels of toxins.
For better health, it’s critical to lower your toxic burden. You can find a non-toxic home checklist on the next page, but there are also apps that you can use to scan products to show their toxicity levels. I often reference the Environmental Working Group or the Think Dirty Appapp. It will give you either a green, yellow, or red indication. Stay in the green zone. The app will also give you a breakdown of what the ingredients are and tell you more about why they are potentially harmful, which will educate you on specific ingredients to look for when you are shopping. You can take it slow with swapping out products as it fits in your budget or do a complete overhaul.
Even the clothing that we are wearing can be loaded with toxic chemicals. Please see the chart on the next page. Most cotton clothing comes from GMO cotton, which is heavily sprayed with glyphosate (a known carcinogen). Many fabrics also contain chlorine bleach, formaldehyde, VOCs (volatile organic compounds), PFCs (perfluorinated chemicals), ammonia, and other harmful chemicals. Heavy metals, PVC, and resins are also involved in many dyeing and printing processes.
Alcohol and Drug Use
Alcohol is a neurotoxin, f. For optimal brain health, I recommend zero to minimal alcohol – and zero recreational use of recreational drugs. As a society, we have tried our very best to find ways that alcohol is beneficial to our bodies, but the straightforward answer is that alcohol is a form of poison. It is a neurotoxin. When the benefit of resveratrol is touted, it’s important to know that you would need to drink around five gallons of wine to consume enough resveratrol, and that would be a disaster for your brain and body. If you are interested in resveratrol, you can simply opt for a high-quality supplement.
Studies show that even as little as one alcoholic beverage per day can decrease the size and function of your brain. he deterioration worsens with an increase in alcoholic beverages.
Cannabis can negatively impact your memory, both short term and long term memory. Cannabis also decreases brain blood flow. Healthy brain blood flow is essential to brianbrain health. Chronic cannabis users also experience an increase in anxiety. Initially cannabis may reduce anxiety, but over time, it can increase anxiety. Depression also increases overtime.
First, as a society, we have been conditioned to think that in order to enjoy ourselves with friends, we need to be inebriated. This is a false narrative. If you begin to change the way you define fun, you can easily remove this roadblock.
Like most people, I used to think drinking with friends was a way to unwind and loosen up. And alcohol does lower inhibition in the forebrain, so sure—it can make you more social, but are the detriments to your sleep and your functioning the next day and in the future worth it? I don’t think they are, at least not on a regular basis. I have one to three glasses of organic wine every six months or so. This is a reasonable rate of consumption, but I have also reframed how I define having a good time. I would just as soon head to the gym with a friend for a morning workout or grab a dinner without alcohol and have equally as much fun.
If anyone reading this has an Oura ring or other sleep tracker, that should be enough data to persuade you, even if you’d prefer to ignore the science and choose more fun nights of drinking. When I first began wearing an Oura ring about four years ago, on nights that I would consume one to two glasses of organic wine, my HRV (heart rate variability) would be cut in half. This is the opposite of what we would like to happen. My sleep score and readiness would also be cut in half. I have often heard that people use alcohol to relax for sleep; however, alcohol in fact will significantly disrupt your sleep. As the sugar and alcohol begin to wear off, it will send your blood sugar on a roller-coaster ride. We all know the feeling of waking up unrefreshed the next day, even after moderate alcohol consumption.
The second reason that I believe many people turn to alcohol and recreational drugs is: they are mind-altering substances, and many people are so unhappy with their lives or stressed by their current situations that they need the escape. That is a major mission of this book—to help you determine how you can begin living a life that you don’t need to escape from. If you are finding yourself resorting to alcohol or other mind-altering substances to escape your life or situation, the best option is to realize that you are using it as an escape, identify the areas that need improvement, and implement a plan to get there. I know this is not as easy in the short term as buying a bottle of wine and downing it every night, but the long-term benefits will significantly outweigh the short-term escape.
Quitting Porn
The observation of sex, triggers a release of dopamine and testosterone. With continual exposure, This repeated behavior and dopamine seeking behavior diminishes the dopamine and testosterone release diminishes with continually exposure. The act of observing sex instead of engaging in sex, can make it more difficult to actually engage in the act. Pornography seems to create sexual dysfunctions, especially the inability to achieve erection or orgasm with a real real-life partner. Marital quality and commitment to one’s romantic partner also appear to be compromised. Porn, like addictive substances, are is a hyper-stimulating triggers that lead to unnaturally high levels of dopamine secretion. This can damage the dopamine reward system and leave it unresponsive to natural sources of pleasure. This is why users begin to experience difficulty in achieving arousal with a physical partner.
General Health
During one of my interviews with Dr. Dale Bredesen, a renowned expert in neurodegenerative disease mechanisms and the author of The End of Alzheimer’s, we discussed at length his ideology around neurodegenerative disease. We both believe that neurodegeneration is caused by constant insults to the brain.
At the time of writing this book, we have received the ground-breaking news that one of the hallmark studies used in Alzheimer’s research seems to have been fraudulent . The study in question concluded that we should focus on one specific beta-amyloid plaque that has been identified, and billions of dollars have gone into developing drugs to target this beta-amyloid plaque; however, they have all failed to cure Alzheimer’s, despite actually reducing the amount of the plaque. Why is this? Dr. Dale Bredesen and I believe it is because the plaques are simply a protective mechanism of the brain when it is injured. For example, if you receive a brain concussion, in the healing process beta-amyloid accumulates around the injury; then l. Later, you may have toxic overload, possibly from heavy metals or an excessive amount of toxins in the home, or maybe you have undiagnosed Lyme disease or blood flow issues. These can all be contributors to neurodegeneration.
The interesting thing about Alzheimer’s is that it disproportionately affects women. We are still learning much about why this is, but Dr. Bredesen and I believe there are a few possible reasons. One is the substantial shift in hormones for women. During menopause, women’s hormones take a steep plunge in a short period of time, whereas men’s hormones decline at a much slower pace. During menopause, women can age 20 to 30 years biologically. The second contributing factor for why women are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s is their disproportionate use of products containing toxins, such as personal care items and fragrance.
When I last spoke to Dr. Bredesen, we discussed his most recent clinical trial—the first ever of its kind—in which they are using the pillars of brain health outlined in this book, along with precision medicine, to address the root causes of specific illnesses with which participants were struggling. In his trial, 84 percent of participants had improved markers of cognitive decline—a number that is completely unprecedented. On average, there were between 5 to 15 different contributing factors that they addressed. The contributing factors ranged from high inflammation levels to low blood flow, underlying conditions, and toxic environments.