Pretoxing - How To Avoid The Damage Before It Starts
I know Urban Dictionary disagrees with me on this definition, but I’m co-opting the word “pretox” for an entirely new way of thinking about how we treat our bodies. And by this I mean, let’s cut the crap!
There are entire industries and brands dedicated to “helping” you put MORE toxins into your body (I’m looking at you, $93 billion dollar American alcohol industry!). And while there are plenty of cultural pillars that normalize putting junk into our systems, and some people even seem to live a life relatively unaffected by this, those of us with chronic health concerns cannot afford to make our bodies work even harder than they have to to get the viral load and endotoxins out. (For more on detoxing, you can see my 6-part detox series here.)
In 2022, life is already pretty toxic. M’right? Our air, water, food and politics are full of junk. Just by living a normal modern existence, our bodies are constantly busy cleaning out chemicals, pollutants, pesticides and other inorganic compounds that enter our systems. For most of us, we take on a lot of additional toxicity without even realizing it, through some of the common skincare or other household items we use.
Today, there is one main acceptable cultural moment for pretoxing: pregnancy. This is the first time that most women and families consider switching to organic eating, changing their beauty products, and of course, taking a break from alcohol. When we are creating a new life, we are willing to really take a deeper look at our habits. We want to give this new little life its very best chance in the world. It’s a little strange how we place less value on our own health as we move through the phases of life. Add to that the cultural expectations, particularly for women, on how we look, eat and drink - we end up mindless guzzling or slathering on dozens of products each day without a second thought.
For those of us fighting a raging virus like Epstein Barr, taking a similar approach as a pregnant woman might - thinking through your daily products and environment, will give your system much needed relief from the distractions of toxins and allow it to focus more energy on the virus or pathogen. I’ll be sharing much more about the concept of pretoxing and specific ideas on each of these areas, but beginning with a simple personal inventory is a great place to start. For most of us, this can be expensive and overwhelming. Start first by considering this list and jot down all the products you are using. (For example, as a fairly “au naturale” woman, I was SHOCKED at the number of beauty products I was using each day without taking much note.) Unless you are a bajillionaire, it’s worth taking this inventory and prioritizing and budgeting where you’ll get the best bang for your buck as you make changes. Print this list and use an app like Think Dirty to check and give your current products good/bad/worst score. Decide which of these you can afford to prioritize first and make your way through the list.
For me, I noticed the most impactful differences when I switched up my body and skincare products, as well as putting an air filter in my room. These were relatively small, but meaningful changes that were pretty easy to swap. Something more significant, like purchasing new cookware, might need to go on your wishlist down the road. And some of these are totally free - you’ll notice a HUGE impact by moving electronics out of your sleeping space, for example. Start and consider what works for you and begin your path to pretoxing!
Air
In-home/In-office air quality
Avoiding inhaling car exhaust
Avoiding smoke and particulates
Body
Washing & grooming products
Lotions & Sunscreens
Deoderant
Dental health
Laundry products
Feminine Care products (disposable tampons are especially full of junk)
Food
Organic produce and meats
Limiting (or “clean as possible”) package and processed foods & seasoning mixes
Avoiding hidden gluten, starches, MSG and other inflammatory ingredients
If eating - ensuring dairy, meat and eggs are from “happy animals” - raised with healthy, grass-fed, pastured practices
Limiting or avoiding Seed Oils (I’ll post more on the “Hateful Eight”) in the weeks ahead
Limiting microwaved food (and NEVER microwaving plastics!)
Avoiding teflon pots and pans
Water
Filtered Water, free of contaminants
Avoiding plastic bottles
Lifestyle
Household cleaners
Electro-magnetic pollution (you don’t have to be a psycho about this to notice a big difference)
High-quality supplements (avoiding unnecessary fillers)
DOWNLOAD MY FREE PRINTABLE PRETOXING CHECKLIST HERE
