Lifestyle Changes for a Non Toxic Lifestyle

A toxin is a substance which can damage a living organism and the damage created by the toxin depends on the amount of exposure (or the dose).
For us, a toxic lifestyle is one in which we are exposed either externally, internally or both to anything causing harm to our body by damaging or downregulating our ‘DNA’ and possibly switching on genes which can cause us harm.

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A toxin is a substance which can damage a living organism and the damage created by the toxin depends on the amount of exposure (or the dose).
We are energy beings and our food is a source of energy. Every cell in our body is laden with genetic material known as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) which is stored in the nucleus of every living cell. DNA contains the instructions that make up who we are and these instructions can be changed by messages coming from outside the cell (the environment) and although our DNA doesn’t change, thousands of variations of a single gene are possible and a single gene can be quickly switched on or off.
For us, a toxic lifestyle is one in which we are exposed either externally, internally or both to anything causing harm to our body by damaging or downregulating our ‘DNA’ and possibly switching on genes which can cause us harm.
We all desire a healthy non-toxic life and we need to be aware of potential toxins. External toxins may be present in ingested food and drink and also pollution from smoke, chemicals or electromagnetic radiation. Internal toxins can include negative thoughts, feelings and emotions.
Toxins place stress on our bodies and have a negative effect on our energy field and subsequently our health. Awareness of anything having a toxic effect on us is very beneficial in maintaining optimal health and wellbeing.
External Toxins – food, pollution and electromagnetic radiation.
What, when and how you eat and drink (and any food supplements you take) can change the way certain parts of your DNA are read and implemented. So, even if you have a predisposition to obesity or other health problems, you can make them ‘inactive’ just by improving your diet and lifestyle which subsequently changes the behaviour of the cells in your body. When these genes are switched on or off they stay in this state when passed to the next generation so it is of high importance for would-be parents to be nutritionally aware.
Foods to be aware of are refined sugars as these bind to cells and triggers release of chemicals which can cause autoimmune conditions, and also chemicals either sprayed on our foods (such as insecticides) or present in our foods (such as artificial sweeteners) which can be harmful to us especially if consumed regularly.
Eating a variety of vitamins preferably from organic fruit and vegetable will help your body to heal itself and as mentioned in my previous nutrition article, some examples of foods changing gene expression are:
* Vitamin B and Vitamin D to keep DNA healthy by preventing damage.
* E vitamins prevent DNA damage and may even repair damage already occurred.
* Antioxidants (A, C, E and Beta-carotene) silence oncogenes (cancer causing genes) and increase expression of cancer suppressor genes.
* Phytochemicals (in fruit and vegetables) directly influence our DNA in a positive way.
* Reservatol (found in cacao powder) activates longevity genes.
* Anthocyanins (berry components) protect DNA.
* Capsaicin (active components of chilli and hot peppers) protects DNA from damage.
​* Ellagic acid found in strawberries, grapes and raspberries neutralises carcinogens before they damage DNA.
Studies have shown that pollution from smoke can also contribute towards damage to the DNA in our lungs by causing DNA strands to break creating weakness in this part of the body and it is being shown that electromagnetic radiation can also negatively affect our DNA too and whilst research is still ongoing, mobile phones should also be used with care avoiding excessive time on them and being sure to switch off your phone at night or place in airplane mode so as to avoid excessive electromagnetic radiation exposure.

Internal factors – thoughts, emotions, stress and interactions with others.
Our thoughts and emotions have a direct effect on our body and health too. Our thoughts and emotions trigger the production of neuropeptides which directly affect every part of our body. Our thoughts and emotions also have the power to switch our genes on or off and create new neural pathways in our brains which can lead to healing or other changes in our body.
‘Love’ emotions such as gratitude and joy bring positive changes to our body and mind and switch on genes needed for optimal health but ‘fear’ linked emotions such as anger and worry, which are derived primarily from stress hormones, knock both the brain and body out of balance and downregulate genes needed for optimal health. Continued negative thinking and prolonged stress can be toxic to us and have severe effects on our health.
Stress also contributes towards a toxic lifestyle. Stress is a name given to a combination of emotions linked to survival which can be responsible for negative effects on us both mentally and physically and as individuals, although it is difficult, we need to be able to take responsibility for managing our own stress levels for optimal health.
Generally, we can’t help but give too much time and energy thinking about potential problems and subsequently creating associated emotions which cause our natural energy vibration to drop which in turn affects our general health and wellbeing. When the body becomes highly stressed, it releases adrenaline (stress hormone) which prepares the body for action (also known as fight or flight response). This speeds up heart rate, causes blood pressure to rise and releases fats and sugars into the bloodstream ready to fuel the muscles. This means that with prolonged stress, fats and cholesterol are being constantly released into the bloodstream increasing risk of potentially serious problems such as heart disease and stroke.
Interaction with other people can also affect us to a greater extent than we realise. We are energy beings so greatly influenced by the energy of others and this can be either toxic or very beneficial to health.
Positive interactions with others, feelings of having social connections have been shown to have a significant effect on our health. A study by Fredrickson et al in 2008 involved a group of case study subjects experiencing a class practising a loving, kindness meditation an hour a week once a week. The meditation cycle was: ‘May I be filled with loving kindness, may I be well, peaceful and at ease, happy and free of suffering’ This was done 3 times for self, 3 times for a neutral person and 3 times for someone you don’t really know, 3 times for a difficult person and 3 times for all world beings.The conclusions which arose from this study were that recurrent self- generating positive emotions with increased feelings of social belonging, give the parasympathetic nervous system a boost which results in lower blood pressure, slower heartbeat and reduced stress hormones which all contribute to good health. By reducing susceptibility to heart disease, cancer and infection. So feelings of having positive social connections have a significant impact on our physical and emotional wellbeing whereas loneliness or interacting with others who upset us has a negative, toxic effect on our health and wellbeing.

To conclude, we can keep our bodies as free as possible from toxins by making lifestyle changes which may include eating diet rich in anti-oxidants (which counteract toxins), avoiding known toxins such as cigarette smoke and artificial sweeteners, switching off your mobile phone or placing in ‘airplane’ mode whilst you sleep and spending quality time with people whose company you enjoy. These are all highly beneficial as well as making any necessary changes from anything causing a constantly low or fear based emotional state (including your own thoughts) so you can feel and enjoy the benefits of a healthy non-toxic lifestyle.

©Lisa Elmore
Forest Therapies and Wellbeing