Every day your body is exposed to hundreds of toxins in your food, in your personal care products, and in your environment.
These can range from heavy metals to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), hormone-disrupting chemicals in cosmetics to industrial toxins and pollution.
Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned over the long-term effects of our exposure to thousands of different chemicals.
Our bodies are being constantly taxed by these chemical burdens.
So what can we do to help ease the burden on our bodies? To help them detoxify from constant exposure to pollutants?
The simplest way to help detoxify your body from everyday pollutants is to eat more colourful fruits and vegetables.
This might simple simple and fairly intuitive, because it is. Many of the natural ingredients found in fruits and vegetables can help our bodies to cleanse themselves of their toxic load.
Here is a list of 6 powerful phytonutrients (i.e. good stuff found in plants) that can help your body detoxify from everyday pollutants.
Flavanoids are found in many fruits and vegetables. These antioxidant compounds bind to heavy metals in the body, and aid in their removal from the body through urine. They also fight harmful inflammation in the body caused by toxic overload.
As the bioavailability of flavanoids may be reduced by overheating (i.e. nutrition is lost), it's best to eat your fruits and veggies raw. If you cook them, just make sure that they don't loose their rich colours and become overcooked.
Foods high in flavanoids include...
2. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG)
EGCG is a phytonutrient that triggers increased production of certain genes and enzymes responsible for POP detoxification, helping the body’s natural systems to clear the body of these dangerous toxins more efficiently. EGCG is also a powerful antioxidant and boosts anti-inflammatory activities in the body.
The richest source of EGCG is green tea.
Quercetin is a powerful anti-inflammatory compound and antioxidant that binds to heavy metals to facilitate their removal from the body. Like EGCG, it also boosts detoxifying enzymes in the body and helps prevent cancer.
Quercetin is mostly concentrated in the skins of fruits and vegetables.
Foods high in quercetin include...
- citrus fruits
Curcumin is an antioxidant that binds to heavy metals in the body, fights inflammation from toxins, and increases the production of enzymes responsible for POP detoxification. It has also been shown to have cancer preventative activities in human studies.
Curcumin is the active compound in tumeric.
5. Organosulfur compounds
Organosulfur compounds are rich in antioxidants that can reduce inflammation, bind to and aid in the excretion of heavy metals, and boost the production of POP-detoxifying enzymes. They also defend the body against cancer-causing agents, and they protect the liver and reproductive system from toxic invaders.
You can generally recognize foods that contain organosulfur compounds (or, more simply, sulfur) by their pungent aroma and slightly bitter taste.
Foods high in organosulfur compounds include...
- bok choy