Where does our waste go? Just like the plastic that is causing pollution in our seas, our body also collects waste. Cellular waste leads to damage in the body creating inflammation, we pollute from the inside out. We age. Inflammation is a root cause of chronic dis-ease. Below is a very silly story depicting the routes of elimination and hopefully demonstrate how patterns of dis-ease build within our body.
Lots of waste was produced yesterday so the cells and their vitamin friends helped to transport the rubbish to the dump. When they arrived they were greeted by Mr. Liver who was the boss at the rubbish dump. He spends his day going with the flow, sorting and recycling the rest for export. He gets angry sometimes with the work load. “It takes such as long time for the rubbish to be transported; there is always a problem on the road these days which hold me up! Bloody immune checks, stagnant lymph, nutrient deficiencies slowing me down. I honestly don’t know where all this waste comes from!"
What tiring work! Thankfully, Mr. Skin, Mrs. Lung and Mr. Colon are all on hand to help or are they? “When they aren’t busy” grumbled Mr. Liver! “Mrs. Lung is always busy working in the back office and you never see her. "Yes, where I get taken for granted!" said Mrs.Skin. "I have my own work to do! It is a good job, I look after myself with yogic breathing and inhaling the fine sea air, who helps me with my workload?"
"What about Mr Colon"? said Mrs Lung. "Oh, don’t mention him, he is always letting those boxes pile up. He spends more time than ever in the toilet these days, constipated he is! It’s like he just can’t let go! I keep telling him to drink more water!"
"Never mind, I will go and ask Mr. Skin". "He is very dependable but he perspires so much yet he is so slow. Let's not mention his terrible dermatitis, it is such a shame"
"Mr Immuno should really get the blame", said Mr Liver. How dare he allow that rubbish to build up!".
In response, Mr Immuno said "I am sure you can find an unused cupboard to store your rubbish for now. If you can't, I will try and heat things up a bit - but I am sure you will cope.
_________
Although that was a very silly story hopefully it demonstrates that the liver, intestines, lungs, skin and the immune system are the roots of elimination, a way to rid waste. Our liver has to process everything that enters our body and deal with all our waste; in the form of bacteria, toxins, food, emotions, chemicals and metabolic remains. 70 trillion cells in our body all needing to clean and remove their waste is significant yet our body is designed to remove waste perfectly. In Allopathic medicine we view 'symptoms' negatively but actually when managed appropriately they benefit the body.
The Symptom Family
The body will always work to our highest good. If toxins build up in the body they eventually have to be stored and we move into an inflammatory state - the root cause of chronic dis-ease. Could we perhaps consider chronic dis-ease as a protective way to keep us alive?
We create additional stress by stopping our natural responses and innate mechanisms which are deigned to keep us alive and functioning well.
How could Mrs. Lung ask for help? Well, mucus is created to trap rubbish, we could exercise and exhale toxins or produce a short-lived cough. Most often though we take a medicine to stop us coughing and so the body will try else where.
How could Mr. Colon ask for help? Well, he might invest some energy and water into removing the rubbish as fast as he can and so long as he can re-balance and hydrate quickly he will feel better soon. Most likely we would take an anti-diarrhoea tablet but that stops the removal of waste.
Those toxins is they are not removed just end up back at the liver, one way or another. The liver will then try and pass them through the skin, commonly in a rash or dermatitis of some kind. We could sweat toxins out and exercise could help more so. If the skin became inflamed from the toxins exciting we might apply a steroid cream which would stop the symptom.
Each time we stop the removal the body loyally tries another route. If the toxicity builds the immune system could bring about a temperature; in doing so thins out stagnant lymph and open up our cells so toxins can be passed out quickly. Raising a temperature makes the environment less hospitable to bacteria to the body has the upper hand. The body hopes for a resolve and invests energy into an 'acutes'. Acutes are short-lived 'symptoms' or' cleanses', helping us to remain vital. Perhaps most likely we respond by taking a paracetamol
And, of course society expects us to keep up with our fast paced lives, we don't have the luxury of being allowed to be ill and taking time to rest. So we get on with it. Mr. Liver gets on with it. For so long. And during this time we perhaps witness 'symptoms' which we view will see as separate dis-eases, yet really it is all part of the same problem. And, all symptoms must always be managed appropriately as they have the power to be serious, such as an infection. I am in no way saying we ignore symptoms, just perhaps find a way to deal with them rather than suppress them.
To create health and reduce disease we need to change our environment. We need to clean the fish bowl and change the water so that fish can heal....
Chronic Disease
If we stop listening to Mr. Liver and his friends toxicity is stored inappropriately - the path to chronic dis-ease. Why? Well, the body requires less energy to 'maintain' toxicity by storing it in fat cells and 'unimportant' areas away from our major organs, such as the bones. If we had a constant barrage of 'acutes' we would tire easily and become weak. It may seem strange but chronic dis-ease is a protective mechanism. Our blood must stay pure and in homeostasis as must cellular pH for correct replication - vital processes. Our body is doing its best.
If we begin to see symptoms as a form of communication then we can begin to understand our body and track dis-ease and deal with it accordingly. Reduce toxins in our environment. Reduce the toxins we put into our body. And, increase the good and our diet is also a big part of this. We are literally the difference of what we eat and excrete!
Supporting Mr. Liver & Mr. Skin
We can make some easy changes reducing the amount of rubbish in our environment. Small changes can help. Each morning many of us take a nice hot shower to open our pores and then smother chemical laden cleaners all over our skin which are absorbed and end up at the liver. Moisturisers stop toxicity beings removed from inside out. Maybe a roll of an aluminium deodorant to stop perspiration (cleansing), that will most likely end up in the brain. Most mornings consist of a coffee which dehydrates us before rushing around and likely eating on the go.
Just in one morning we have given the liver quite a lot of work to do. Perhaps my best tip would be treating Mr.Liver to a slightly-warmer-than-room-temperature water to wake him up! Just a cup each morning; you can spoil him with a little lemon once in a while too! Think about how happy he will be with natural cleaners that actually benefit the body, a little skin brush to boost circulation or even a sauna session, maybe? Give him a little downtime with a 5 minute mediation to calm the body or eating some nourishing food.
Supporting Mr. Colon
We should be aware of what we are putting into our body and an awareness of what is coming out. In an ideal world we should have a stool formation at least twice a day, sometimes after each meal. ibre helps to absorb bile which binds to toxins and creates bulk to stools so they can regularly be passed out the body. A lack of fibre we are allowing toxins to sit in the colon and literally be reabsorbed. A second aspect to this is hydration. Hydration means that we can pass a stool without worrying about dehydration. Constipation is an example of severe hydration. The colon holds on to water as that ensures survival so the body has to chose whether to release a stool and lose water or conserve it. Imagine a waste pipe becoming more and more stagnant and compacted and toxins absorbed - just like our oceans.
Eating lots of antioxidants from vegetables can help to reduce cellular damage. Eating a variety of healthy proteins such as legumes, organic meats, fish gives the body what it needs to repair itself. There are so many things I could mention but perhaps the easiest thing to change is out outside environment - start small and just become more aware. The world is toxic but I think we are waking up and demanding healthier, smarter and calmer ways to live. We are the change we want to see in the world. Start by cleaning your own ocean and then help others to transform from a voracious caterpillar to a butterfly by making a lighter footprint and a more organic way of life on the Earth.
References
Goyal, A., Sharma, V., Upadhyay, N., Gill, S., & Sihag, M. (2014). Flax and flaxseed oil: an ancient medicine & modern functional food. Journal of food science and technology, 51(9), 1633–1653. doi:10.1007/s13197-013-1247-9
Parikh, M., Maddaford, T. G., Austria, J. A., Aliani, M., Netticadan, T., & Pierce, G. N. (2019). Dietary Flaxseed as a Strategy for Improving Human Health. Nutrients, 11(5), 1171. doi:10.3390/nu11051171