Ray & Terry make a number of suggestions for protecting your health from the onslaught of environmental pollutants. To help detox your system and prevent future buildup of toxic waste:

Air Pollution

• Don’t smoke and avoid places where people do smoke.
• Try to live in a less polluted part of the country or in a less polluted part of the city.
• Use air filtration systems in your house and place of work.

Water Pollution

• Use a purifying, alkalinizing water filter for drinking and cooking uses.
• Install a filter to remove chlorine and fluoride from your other household water.

Food Pollution

• Favor plant-based foods over animal products.
• Trim obvious fat from red meat and remove the skin from poultry
• Eat organic foods whenever possible and soak fruits and vegetables for a few minutes in water mixed with a commercial produce cleanser (available at health food stores).

Electromagnetic Pollution

• Minimize exposure to hair dryers, electric shavers, etc.
• Sit at least ten feet away from big screen TVs.
• Do not sleep under electric blankets or on a heated waterbed.
• Reduce your total cell phone usage and use “hands free” connection with air tube, ferrite choke, and external antenna.

Heavy Metal Pollution

• Limit fish and seafood to those with lower mercury content.
• Do not use aluminum cookware. Replace aluminum containing anti-perspirants with non-aluminum containing products (available at natural food stores).
• Consider oral or injectible chelation therapy.

Misformed Proteins

• Assist energy production by taking nutrients that assist in the formation of ATP, such as coenzyme Q10, NADH and carnitine.
• Include mineral and vitamin co-factors, such as the B vitamins, magnesium and manganese for mitochondrial resuscitation.
• Remove heavy metals toxins by chelating agents.

Strengthening Your Detoxification Capacity

• Diet
  o Garlic, onions, lemon, rosemary and green tea can help strengthen the liver’s enzymatic functions and assist with elimination of heavy metals.
  o Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and bok choy have detoxification properties.
  o Cilantro is a natural heavy metal chelator.
• Nutritional supplements include
  o N-Acetylcysteine (NAC), which boosts levels of glutathione, one of the liver’s most important Phase II detoxifiers.
  o Milk thistle (silymarin) and alpha lipoic acid give the liver a helping hand.
  o Adequate levels of vitamin C, many of the B vitamins, magnesium and selenium, which are critical for optimal detoxification enzyme function.
• Drink adequate water and avoid constipation.
• Vigorous aerobic exercise and saunas help remove toxins through sweat.
  

It is useful to measure your body burden of toxic metals to determine how aggressively you need to pursue their removal. There are several ways to screen for toxins.

Hair Mineral Analysis

• Tests for heavy metal toxins in the body
• Can be done at home
• Uses 1 gram of hair

Environmental Pollutants Panel

• Evaluates body levels of environmental pollutants
• Healthcare practitioner must administer
• Urine test

Hepatic Detoxification Profile

• Assesses the liver's ability to eliminate toxins
• Patient takes three mild toxins: caffeine (NoDoz), acetaminophen (Tylenol), and aspirin
• Saliva sample taken a few hours later to evaluate the caffeine ingestion
• Blood and urine analysis done the next morning evaluates overall detox function of the liver
• Consult a physician for testing. For more information on finding a health practitioner, click here. This link goes to a blank page. Should go to:

Detoxification Capacity

• Consider testing for genomic detoxification abnormalities
• Learn to boost your detoxification potential.

No one can avoid exposure to toxins, whether from external or internal sources. Our planet has sadly become so toxic that everyone's health is in danger. Pollution comes in many forms: air, water, food, heavy metal, and electromagnetic. Assessing your level of contamination and your detoxification potential is an important part of evaluating your current health status. Decontaminating and preventing further accumulation of toxins is essential to pursue longevity.

Air Pollution

Polluted air has both direct and indirect toxic effects on the body. It haunts the air you breathe, but also causes acid rain and smog, and pokes holes in the ozone layer, leaving you more vulnerable to skin cancer. The EPA lists 188 hazardous air pollutants including formaldehyde and benzene. These toxins cause cancer and contribute to respiratory disease, birth defects, and other serious health problems.

Water Pollution

Prolonged exposure to waterborne contaminants has been linked to cancer and liver, kidney, and reproductive-tract problems. Polluted water may contain pathogenic microbial organisms, which can cause hepatitis, gastroenteritis (stomach "flu"), and cholera. Most tap water is not ideal for health. Chlorine and Fluoride are routinely added, and chlorine can be absorbed directly through the skin. Tap water should be filtered before use, including bathing and showering.

You can find water filters, reverse osmosis systems, kitchen faucets and more at Advanced Water Filters

Food Pollution

Pesticides and herbicides are toxic chemicals. These poisons are regularly used to grow mass market produce. This is just one more reason why organic foods are very highly recommended for optimum health. The Environmental Working Group identifies the most contaminated produce items and is an excellent resource for information about various types of environmental pollution.

A diet high in foods such as animal protein, sugar, caffeine, and processed products also creates acidic waste in the body, which leaves you more vulnerable to chronic and degenerative disease.

Heavy Metal Pollution

Toxic heavy metals have been shown to increase free-radical activity, which is a big contributor to rapid aging. Heavy-metal toxicity can lead to abnormal immune function, learning disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Mercury is particularly toxic. We recommend limiting the consumption of fish and seafood to certain species that are lower in mercury. Wild fish is highly preferable to farm grown because it's relatively low in fat and high in omega-3 fats. But it also lacks the antibiotics and other additives often found in farm-raised fish. Fish oil supplements should be tested for minimal contamination.

Most salmon available for sale is farm-raised and higher in mercury and other contaminants than wild salmon.
Vital Choice Fine Seafood is an excellent resource for several varieties of frozen wild salmon and halibut.

Electromagnetic Pollution

What do computer displays, cell phones, hair dryers, electric razors, waterbed heaters, and electric blankets all have in common? They bombard you with electromagnetic (EM) radiation. We are constantly exposed to EM radiation from these and many other immediate and remote sources, including cell phone towers, television stations, and radar signals.

There are ways to avoid some of this pollution. For instance, we don't recommend using electric blankets or sitting within ten feet of big-screen televisions (even during the Super Bowl). Using a hands-free headset for your cell phone may sound like a partial solution, but the wire can actually send an even more concentrated dose of radiation to your ear and brain.

Air tubes used for cell phones keep potentially harmful radiation away from your head. Sound is delivered to the ear through an air-filled wireless tube, replacing the wire of a regular headset. We recommend the Block EMF air tube to help eliminate your exposure to cell phone radiation.