Are you poisoning your health by absorbing toxic chemicals through your skin from personal-care products such as soaps, sunscreens, toothpaste, plastic products? Or by ingesting them from food and drink contaminated with synthetic preservatives? Many of the preservatives or synthetic additives in personal care products are known to be “endocrine-disrupting chemicals” that mimic the female sex hormones – estrogens – or in other cases act as anti-androgens – the male sex hormone – and interfere with the male reproductive system.
According to the researchers at the Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, male infertility has been on the rise since 1991 – male sperm counts have dropped 50% in less than 50 years. Confirming this connection between chemically laced household products and male infertility, the EMBO Journal (European Molecular Biology Organization) of the Center of Advanced European Studies and Research in Bonn, Germany, recently found that household chemicals had a direct effect on the “catsper” protein which controls the sperm cell’s motility and its ability to enter the egg cell to trigger fertilization. The study also showed that in human body fluids, even low concentrations of endocrine-disrupting chemicals have the same toxic effect – scientists have now coined the term “cocktail effect” to identify the pattern of chemicals working together to amplify the individual effects of each chemical, even when found in very minimal low doses.
The disruptive effect of environmental chemicals on our personal health have long been known to the ancient ayurvedic siddhantas. Vaidya Mishra has written about xenobiotics or garavisha at length – see his blog dated March 20, 2014 on Garavisha, or click here. A xenobiotic is a foreign chemical substance found within an organism that is not normally naturally produced by or expected to be present within that organism. For example, industrial grade preservatives that are used in personal care products, such as Parabens; or medical drugs such as antibiotics. These are all xenobiotics because they are found in the blood stream – they either get ingested orally, or get absorbed transdermally. The human body does not produce these itself, so they are external synthetic toxins, not part of a normal diet. Due to the increasing number of environmental toxins, xenobiotics, that we are exposed to, people are driven to adopt one or another type of detox protocol to cleanse their systems.
However, Vaidya explains that detox crises are as big as detox protocols nowadays. Before detoxing, one has to know the origin of the toxins. SVA emphasizes the importance of first identifying the type of toxin that may be causing problems in the physiology and then adopting a detox protocol. The symptom of a rash may just as well be caused by eating heavy indigestible food as by an overexposure to EMF! But the treatment methods to address and eliminate the rash will vary depending on what the cause or etiological factor that brought about the rash were. Doing a liver cleanse with lemon and cayenne (a problematic cleanse in and of itself), or taking milk thistle, or fasting, will only make things worse!
The ayurvedic siddhanta is very practical when it comes to recommending. It says:
The vedas are the means to total knowledge, and the main point about knowledge is its experience, the “prapti sadhanam” otherwise it defeats the purpose of knoweldge. Yet another sutra says:
the first line of treatment is try to identify in order to avoid the etiological factor.
This is the first step of detox that even those who are keen on detox always forget: stop doing or using the product that is resulting in the accumulation of toxins in your body in the first place. But for that to happen, you have to be able to identify the root cause.
If you lead a good balanced lifestyle – you have balance in your routine of rest/sleep and activity/work, you maintain a good diet and eat on time, but are still experiencing imbalances, you may be poisoning your body through environmental toxins: toxic fumes that may be present in your home or your workspace ranging from: personal care; detergents; perfumes; carpet; upholstery; etc.
Granted you identify the source of your toxic build-up, what can you do next?
Our bodies are not only made up of Nature herself – all the elements that make up the entire world around and above and below us are the same ones that have gone into making every particle and molecule in our body. But our bodies are also equipped with the intelligence that allows it to interact as well as protect itself from toxicity in the environment. Our body is set up to recognize and protect itself against any ingredients or molecules that are identified as harmful and/or unnatural. This could be an edible ingredient, or an ingredient that is applied to the skin and trying to penetrate transdermally.
When the body is exposed to external toxic elements, it has the ability to identify them as being alien and harmful and it will try to eliminate them via several routes: a) the urinary tract; b) bowel movement; c) the sweat glands. However, there is a limit to how much the body can detoxify itself through these routes effectively. Particularly when it comes to synthetic lab made molecules and chemicals that are slow acting and have the power to linger in the body, penetrating long and deep.
In this sense, 2 things matter: a) quantity, and b) frequency. We know now that scientists have identified the “cocktail effect” where even small amounts in conjunction with other small amounts can result in greater harm, as the chemical molecules amplify each other’s effects. But frequency matters a lot: when you repeatedly expose your skin to toxic molecules through toothpaste, soap, shampoo, perfume, detergent residue on your clothes, again and again, every morning, you are making it hard for your body’s own detox mechanisms to cope with the amount of toxicity it can eliminate in a given day. These xenobiotic chemicals are highly virulent and sharp, they very quickly cross the dhatu or tissue barriers. They first penetrate transdermally to the rasa dhatu, first tissue, and then appear in rakta or the blood. The blood tissue is very intelligent and tries to eliminate toxins through the urine, but if its load is higher than it can tolerate, then the toxins are able to travel deeper into the next tissue, mamsa or the muscle tissue. If the physiology is lucky and supported by good diet and routine, then the toxins will not be allowed to travel deeper. But again, if there is daily exposure to even minimal quantities, and the toxins are allowed to penetrate deeper into the tissues, then they go into the fat tissue, or meda. At this stage it becomes even harder to eliminate them because most toxins are fat-soluble, this means they get absorbed and stored in the fat tissue very easily. The fat tissue is a very good host or home for them. The fat tissue is programmed to eliminate its toxic overload through sweat, but it all depends on how much any how frequently it can do it – if an individual’s channels are clogged due to heavy foods or a bad physical routine, or high stress, then the toxins in the fat tissue will just get to sit there!
From the fat tissue to the bone or asthi tissue is just a step away. When the toxins are allowed to travel that far, they can create all kinds of problems the most common of which are familiar to us: inflammation in the joints and the bones, osteopenia, osteoporosis.
However, it is when toxins are allowed to travel even deeper into the human physiology that the most serious situation can arise. When toxins are allowed to sit and dive deeper into the bone marrow or majja dhatu, they can create severe auto-immune imbalances such as MS (multiple sclerosis), eating away at the nerves. When toxins cross the shukra or reproductive tissue, in both men and women, that’s when infertility issues arise, and then the overall ojas of the physiology is affected, throwing off the entire hormonal system, and then cancer can result.
Shield yourself from over-exposure to toxic environmental chemicals. Choose carefully what you apply on your skin every morning while getting ready for your day. Use only natural products. Most vegetarian soaps have a base of castor oil and caustic soda. These ingredients suffocate the outer layer of the skin, taking away the good environment for the friendly bacteria. Vaidya’s soaps have an edible base not only safe to use on a daily basis, but nurturing for the skin, which supplies a good environment to the friendly bacteria of the skin, enhancing the skin’s own intelligence to interact with sunlight. SVA soaps will clean, nurture, and balance your skin without drying and imbalancing it. Vaidya Mishra’s soaps are made of shea butter base, not lard or any other undesirable ingredients. And only natural foaming agents like soap-nut, is used in his shampoo. Read all about his natural personal care products on www.chandika.com. The additional benefit of Vaidya’s SVA soaps is the choice of ayurvedic herbs you get. You are not only cleaning your skin, but you are giving your body an opportunity to absorb the therapeutic benefits of Ashwgandha, Turmeric, Brahmi, Neem, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Ashoka, Rose, Jasmine, Chamomille, and so much more. The fast traveling macromolecules of these herbs enter your body via the transdermal delivery system. When used everyday, they carry a beneficial cumulative value. Discover the world of goodness in the unique SVA personal care products. If you already use good and safe personal care products but are looking to detox from xenobiotics then you can try Vaidya’s “Garavisha Tea” to help support your physiology in its daily detox.
