By Courtenay Turner

Your “toxic load” refers to the accumulation of chemicals, toxins and other substances in the body that are ingested or absorbed through the skin. We encounter many of these harmful substances in our daily lives, whether it’s from second-hand cigarette smoke, urban pollution, conventional cleaning products or your daily makeup routine. In fact, even the food and water that we consume to nourish our bodies can sometimes contain harmful toxins.

While the body works hard to eliminate and detoxify itself from these substances, it can easily become overloaded. If it remains in this state for extended periods of time, you’ll not only experience unpleasant symptoms, but may in fact develop chronic health problems. For this reason, it’s important to actively reduce your toxic load at home, while simultaneously supporting your body’s own detoxification system.

Embrace green cleaning products

Swap harsh chemical cleaners for natural, plant-based products and you’ll do your body a world of good. While occasional contact with commercial cleaning products is unlikely to cause any harm, it’s best to avoid daily use and make the switch to toxin-free products for long-term use. Many common cleaning products actually contain chemicals that are known to be harmful, especially for pregnant women and children. Certain chemicals in the ‘phthalate’ class, for example, have been linked to breast cancer, asthma and fertility issues. Surprisingly, phthalates are commonly found in household cleaning and beauty products. By embracing true green cleaning brands like Bondi Wash, you can dramatically reduce your toxic load. Bondi Wash is crafted using Australian botanicals, essential oils, plant-based soaps and sugar-derived alcohol, all of which are kind on the body.

Ditch the perfume

Those attempting to embrace a more natural lifestyle have likely moved on from the use of commercial perfumes – and with good reason. Some of the chemicals used in conventional perfumes are known hormone disruptors and can irritate the skin. For this reason, they’re a surefire way to increase your body’s toxic load. In fact, many common perfume ingredients are actually listed on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s “Hazardous Waste list”. If applying perfume is your thing, why not go down the natural route? Pure essential oils can be diluted in a carrier oil, such as coconut, and applied to the skin for a therapeutic, toxin-free scent.

Detox your beauty cabinet

It’s a little ironic that the products we use to enhance our outer beauty may be doing the opposite to our insides. In Australia, cosmetics are regulated by the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS). In short, if a product is on the shelf, that means it’s been deemed safe to use by the NICNAS. However, many of the chemicals used in skincare and makeup products are known to be dangerous in high concentrations. While “safe”, conventional cosmetics may only contain small doses of these chemicals, we’d rather avoid them altogether! If the mechanism for detoxification in the liver gets sluggish, these toxins may remain active longer than our systems can handle. Make the switch to green beauty products to avoid allergic reactions and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which may have negative side effects, even at small doses.

Fix your gut

Your gut plays an integral role in the detoxification process. While attempting to reduce your toxic load, it’s important to keep the bowels moving regularly, as this is the main way to expel waste and toxins from the body. If your bowel movements are a little sluggish, or you suffer from leaky gut, IBS or similar conditions, fixing your gut health is a crucial step on the path to reducing your toxic load. For starters, drink warm water rather than cold or room-temperature water, incorporate chia seeds and freshly ground flaxseed into your diet and exercise regularly. If you’re not consuming enough fibre, you won’t be able to adequately to eliminate waste, which can lead to reabsorption of these toxins. To help the body’s elimination process, enjoy two teaspoons of our fibre-rich CLEANSE Inner Beauty Powder per day. Our unique phyto-greens blend works to support the liver’s second phase of detoxification and nourishes your gastrointestinal tract for more efficient removal of toxins.

Incorporate detoxifying foods and nutrients

Clinical evidence shows that cruciferous vegetables, such as watercress, garden cress and broccoli, aid detoxification. Other foods such as beetroot, kale, barley grass, rosemary, St Mary’s thistle and dandelion all contain crucial components that support the liver’s phase 2 detoxification pathways. Incorporating more of these foods into your daily diet will aid your body’s natural elimination process, meaning that it can better expel toxins. In conjunction with a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, a purifying powder like CLEANSE Inner Beauty Powder can help to lower your body’s toxic load. CLEANSE provides a concentrated dose of these “detox” foods and is rich in prebiotics and soluble fibre which feed beneficial bacteria and promote detoxification.

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