Living Healthy in a Toxic Environment — Part V: Exercising and Sweating

Editor’s Note: Please see the end of today’s post for links to Parts I-IV in this series.

Living Healthy in a Toxic Environment

Part V: Exercising and Sweating

The human body has its own filtration systems for eliminating toxins. The two primary filters are the liver and kidneys. The liver is packed with enzymes that can break down many toxins, including alcohol and some medications, such as acetaminophen. Blood carries the toxins to the liver, where enzymes break down or neutralize the hazardous compounds so they can be excreted safely via the kidneys. The kidneys filter toxins and other waste products out of the blood and concentrate them into the urine, which is then excreted through the bladder and urethra.

While the liver and kidney are responsible for processing most toxins, some toxins can be eliminated from the body through the sweat glands. The primary purpose of sweating is to cool the body, but sweating provides and additional way for the body to excrete toxins.

You can induce sweating in any number of ways — via exercise, sauna, a hot tub or hot bath, or simply wrapping yourself in several layers of clothing and blankets and cranking up the heat. However, we recommend exercise, specifically:

• High Intensity Interval Training, which stimulates a natural surge in growth hormone that helps the body repair damage, including damage at the genetic level.
• Exercise that incorporates balance, because such exercise stimulates the cerebellum, which is already under attack from our stressful lives, tainted food sources, toxic environment, and sedentary lifestyle.

At Restoration Healthcare, we offer  Foundation Training for those who are interested in training their bodies to move more efficiently, powerfully, and in balance so that the injuries and weakness that are currently holding them back virtually disappear. Like Yoga, Foundation Training involves specific poses and movements, aimed at lengthening and strengthening your body. Unlike Yoga, participating in Foundation Training makes you stronger at everything you do in life.

Guided by our Foundation Training-certified staff, we take you through a series of postures, poses, and movements, all of which are aimed at restarting your muscle chain and then teaching your body to move efficiently, powerfully, and in balance.

The combination of exercise and sweat places your body in detox mode, increasing blood flow through the kidneys and liver, and increasing the flow of sweat through the sweat glands to maximize the elimination of toxins.

After reading Parts I through 5 of this series (see below for links), you now have a complete guide to avoiding and eliminating toxins all by yourself. To summarize:

1. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins both inside and outside your home.
2. Eat healthy foods, mostly plants, during a six to ten hour window every day, fasting for 14 to 18 hours a day.
3. Enter a deep state of relaxation every day for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Engage in a high intensity interval training session at least every other day for at least 30 minutes to sweat out any toxins not filtered and eliminated through your liver and kidneys.

While you can make great strides to detox on your own and achieve optimum health, partnering with a knowledgeable medical team that is committed to improving your health and not just snuffing out symptoms can help you achieve optimum health more quickly and easily and maintain it. The key is to find the right doctor, which is the subject of our sixth and final part of this series: “Living Healthy in a Toxic Environment: — Part VI: Teaming Up with the Right Doctor.”

For the previous parts in this series, please see:

• Part I — Recognizing the Problem
• Part II — Reducing Your Exposure to Environmental Toxins
• Part III — Food and Fasting
• Part IV — Mindfulness and Meditation