Welcome to the Second Part of a Three-Part Series
By Jackie Totilo, Breast Cancer Survivor Advocate & Personal Health Coach
Part 1 of this series discussed the alarming statistics on breast cancer and how endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been tied to breast cancer. In the first article, I introduced Step 1 of my Four Step Healthy Living Roadmap which covered the importance of fueling our bodies with solid foundational nutrition consisting of nutrient-dense foods. In this article, we are going to cover Steps 2 and 3 of the Roadmap which addresses the importance of reducing your exposure to EDCs, how to optimize your body’s detox pathways, and how to reduce your toxic load.
It helps to look at detoxification as a three-pronged approach:
- Decreasing exposure
- Increasing the body’s capacity for eliminating toxins
- Detoxing your existing toxic load
It’s important to recognize that not all chemicals are bad but let’s look at what I call the toxic terrain we all live in:
In the US alone, there are approximately 86,000 chemicals registered for use. The EPA has required testing of fewer than 200 of those registered (less than 1%) and has only banned or restricted 5 substances. A substantial portion of these harmful substances falls into the category of endocrine disruptors (EDCs) with a notable subset being referred to as xenoestrogens. Remember xenoestrogens are chemical compounds that mimic human estrogen, are not produced by our own body, nor can our body distinguish these from human estrogen.
Translated to our daily lives this means that on average a woman applies 168 chemicals to her body PER DAY just by using her everyday personal care products: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, moisturizer, eye crème, SPF, makeup, foundation, eyeshadow, mascara, lipstick, perfume, nail polish, hand crème, hair products like anti-frizz gel, hairspray….. the list goes on and on. These chemicals build up in our bodies over our lifetime and mess with our endocrine system. While not all chemicals are harmful, the only law regulating cosmetics is the Food and Drug and Cosmetics Act which was written in 1938, that’s 80 years ago. It’s safe to say we have no idea how all these chemicals are affecting our health.
AVOIDANCE is the single most important thing you can do
It’s simple, start small but start today to decrease your exposure to EDCs. Swapping out your personal care products for those that don’t have the phthalates, parabens, fragrances, etc is the first place to start! Making an intentional decision to choose “cleaner” products can lead to big impacts. Earlier this year, a new research paper was published about how reducing exposure by swapping personal care products to phthalate and paraben-free versions for only 28 days resulted in a person’s cancer-associated genes returning to a “normal” profile.
There is no one source of determining whether a product contains harmful chemicals but as you educate yourself on what toxins are lurking in your products there are two APPs that are very helpful. While they are not perfect, they rate thousands of products and provide extensive details on their ingredients. My suggestion is you start by scanning the products you are currently using.
Our detox pathways are designed to eliminate toxins
Our bodies are very efficient at eliminating toxins through five main detox pathways. It is important that we incorporate healthy living to properly support them.
- Our liver is the workhorse of detox and we have to provide it with the proper nutrients needed to do its job. That means eating a diet high in nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables and foods high in antioxidants.
- Our lymph system is the river on which all our bodies’ cellular waste gets transported to the various detox organs. Since the lymph doesn’t have its own pumping mechanism we have to help move it along by moving our bodies.
- Drinking good quality filtered water keeps us hydrated and helps our kidneys flush out those water-soluble toxins.
- Sweating daily is beneficial. Some toxins, especially those that have been deposited into your fat cells have to be sweated out.
- POOP EVERY DAY. Eating a diet high in fiber and maintaining regularity is essential in eliminating your body’s waste including toxins.
Couple all this with reducing exposure and you’re on the fast track to decreasing the overall body burden of chemicals.
Decreasing your Toxic Load
In order to emphasize this point, let me tell you about my first meeting with my functional medicine doctor. I had filled out an intake form, so he knew how old I was and that I had breast cancer. One of the first questions he asked me was “What kind of hairspray did you use in the 80’s? My initial thought was – is this guy serious? I have been dealing with a cancer diagnosis, I just had a double mastectomy and he’s asking me about hairspray from over 30 years ago!? The point he went on to make was that all the chemicals I was exposed to over my lifetime had been building up in my body and ultimately reached a tipping point and I got breast cancer.
Your body starts to develop a toxic load when your detox pathways get overwhelmed and can’t eliminate all the toxins you’re exposed to, as a result, your body deposits the excess into your fat cells. These toxins build up over time and start to affect your health. There are blood and urine tests that can measure your toxic load. As part of my assessment, we ran a simple urine test that showed extremely high levels of 14 different toxins including phthalates, parabens, toluene, and styrene among others. The only way to get rid of the toxins in your fat cells is to sweat them out. After three months of infrared saunas, ensuring I was getting the best foundational nutrition and reducing my exposure to EDCs the results of the next urine test indicated there was over an 80% reduction in my toxic load.
I am sharing this to emphasize the point that we all live in a toxic environment, we can’t escape it. What we can do is make a conscious decision to reduce our exposure to toxins wherever we can, support our body’s natural detox pathways and reduce our toxic load.
Conventional medicine got rid of my breast cancer and saved my life but it’s the alternative protocols that are giving me the opportunity to be truly healthy.
Jackie Totilo is a tireless advocate for breast cancer survivors and a personal health coach. Jackie’s journey through breast cancer and incorporating holistic and functional medicine has strengthened her conviction that prioritizing prevention is fundamental to decreasing the alarming rate of breast cancer and the cornerstone of a healthy life. Jackie’s unique approach to prevention focuses on optimizing the body’s internal systems and adopting a non-toxic lifestyle. Her advocacy focuses on the power of nutrition, exercise, stress management, and mindfulness in maintaining a robust immune system for overall wellness and prevention. To learn more about her approach, get started with her free guide: The Four Step Healthy Living Roadmap.
