There are a lot of buzzwords out there today surrounding health, toxins, essential oils, and more.  And that means there’s a whole bunch of information that’s not only misleading, but downright untrue.  Today we’re going to take a quick look at what toxins actually are, how we can get rid of them, and how a chiropractor plays into all of that.

What are Toxins in the Body?

We’re programed to be scared of getting toxins in the body.  The word itself is close to “toxic” and we know that’s bad stuff, right?  It’s only reasonable to think that if you happen to get toxins into your body, that’s bad news and you need to do everything you can to cleanse.

Here’s the thing, though.  Toxins are natural.  They’re a part of living.  You literally cannot survive without having toxins in your body.  Through the process of creating energy from the food you’ve consumed, your body makes carbon dioxide – a toxin.

When you’re digesting protein, your body breaks that down into ammonia – a toxin.

Bacteria are everywhere, some are good, many are bad and infiltrate our bodies as we eat.  They’re toxins.

If you drink alcohol, your body breaks it down into acetaldehyde – a toxin (and a large part of the reason you suffer from a hangover the next day).

The point is, we are exposed to toxins daily, and we even create our own toxins simply through the processes that are bodies go through.

How do we Cleanse our Bodies of Toxins?

Which leads us to the question of how to cleanse toxins from our bodies?  If we’re ingesting and creating so many of these things, even by eating healthy, we have to cleanse, right?

Not so fast.  Our bodies have methods of cleansing themselves.  Every time you breathe, you expel carbon dioxide – which your red blood cells have done an amazing job of gathering throughout the body and transporting to the lungs.

Your kidneys and liver filter many of the toxins, and you expel them when you use the bathroom: number one or two.

For the most part, you don’t have to worry about toxins, because your body is rapidly capturing them and eliminating them without your help.

Do Cleanses, Detoxes, Oils, or Foot Soaks Work?

If that’s the case, then why are there so many products out there that claim to “detoxify” the body?

The bottom line: money.  It’s easy to convince people that toxins are bad and therefore we shouldn’t have them.  So, let’s make up a product that does little or nothing more than your basic salad, and claim that it helps to rid the body of these evil toxins!

They’re the modern-day equivalent of snake oil.

Do some of them “work?”  They certainly do, the same way a multi-vitamin or supplement does.  But there’s no properties of any of these things that are going into the body, seeking out the toxins, grabbing them, and eliminating them.  Even those fancy foot soaks that show you the water changing color as it “pulls the toxins out” – by the way, there’s no evidence toxins can excrete through the skin like that – they have a chemical in them that changes color when it reacts with sweat.  Yep, the brown water is merely because you have sweaty feet.

There are times when your body is failing to do its job, and the toxins can build up (think about a patient on dialysis – the kidneys aren’t functioning, so medical intervention is needed to remove waste from the blood).

If that’s the case, if your body isn’t doing the job properly, and toxins truly are building up in your body, no number of supplements, over-the-counter pills, or miracle cures are going to work.  You need medical treatment so you don’t die from organ failure, cancer, or some other disease or condition. 

How Does a Chiropractor Cleanse Your Body?

Now you’re saying, “Hol up, the title of this article is about releasing toxins with the help of a chiropractor, isn’t that exactly what you said doesn’t work?”

Sort of.

A chiropractor isn’t going to be a miracle cure that will suddenly take away everything that ails you.  But what your local chiropractor will do, is ensure that your body is properly aligned.  Now that your joints are aligned, nerves aren’t pinched, and the body isn’t spending mass amounts of energy trying to fix those problems, it can function the way it’s supposed to and dedicate energy toward optimizing functions of daily life.

Visting your chiropractor isn’t going to cleanse the toxins – it’s going to set your body up so your body can more effectively cleanse the toxins all on its own.

Make an Appointment with Dr. Durbin Chiropractor in Billings

Let’s cleanse toxins together.  Call our office at 406-545-2128 and we’ll get you scheduled for the next available appointment that fits your schedule.  Or, just hop on over to our Contact form and let us know what works for you.

By the way, a fantastic article on the truth about toxins from Rush.edu provided insights for this post.