What is Body Burden?
Do you ever have those days where you feel sluggish, like you just can’t seem to bring yourself to even get out of bed? You know, those days where you wake up exhausted after what felt like a great sleep, and you can barely find the energy to plop down on the couch. You might even be suffering from such things like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and eczema. If this is the case, then what’s really plaguing you is something called – body burden.
What is Body Burden?
Body burden is essentially an overflow of chemical toxins in your body. This happens when your body is unable to process things like the food you eat or the water you drink. It could even be the smells in the air that you breathe that can overwhelm your body as much as the products that you put on your skin.
Your body can become so over-saturated with chemical toxins that it slows down your internal systems, and it’s this slowing down process that makes you feel like your full night sleep was only just a catnap.
Your Body is an Ecosystem
You might be wondering what this all means. You assumed that the salad you had for lunch was good for you and that the bottled water you drank after the gym was going to rejuvenate you, but what you need to consider is what components make up the very things we assume are good for our bodies.
Your body is composed of the same elements that make up much of the world that surrounds you, and like any healthy system there is a certain amount of any given element or substance that can be part of the body until it becomes over-saturated. Unfortunately, in our chemically laden world you’re constantly at the mercy of these various chemical components.
Elements Aren’t Inherently Bad
You’ve likely heard about lead and mercury poisoning and might also be up-to-date on the fluoride discussion, but that’s not where it ends. There’s also other radioactive elements like uranium, neptunium, polonium, and more. With an unlimited number of combinations, the period table can seem a bit scary.
The most important thing to remember is moderation! Like I mentioned, a healthy ecosystem needs to stay balanced in order to function, and your body is no different. Since you’re constantly hit with chemicals in your life, then the easiest thing to do is expose yourself to less of them. There’s no way to be free of chemical compounds since you’re an ecosystem too. Remember?! There’s no need to start fretting about every little thing such as the chair you sit on or the shopping cart you use. Just be mindful.
How to ease body burden
If you are concerned that you may be experiencing body burden. You can take the clean path and make healthy choices.
Eat Healthy with Organic Choices
This means you should opt for food that isn’t grown with chemicals, so opt for organic food options. That way only the elements that the earth loves and your body loves will be what fuel your internal systems.
Clean Healthy with Natural Products
Instead of using the top-of-the-line brand name cleaning chemicals, instead, think about the alternative path. Or even better, make your own cleaning supplies. When you clean with chemicals they end up permeating your home and your body, so be kind to yourself.
Healthy Skin with Natural Body Care
Even the products you put on your skin will be absorbed, so be sure to consider what you use as part of your personal care line. Even what you are brushing your teeth with can affect your body burden. You don’t want to eat healthily and use chemical-free cleaning products just to turn around and saturate your body with other chemicals.
The rule of thumb is, if you can pronounce it and if you actually know what the ingredient is, then likely it is something your body will jive with.
It’s never too late to start changing your habits! Body burden is real, but your body can recover from hundreds of body issues including mental health issues and physical issues quickly, if you just give it a boost and help it to un-burden.
Start Small
Don't feel like you have to change everything at once to make an impact on your health. Small changes add up.
One of my favorite quotes puts it this way:
“If you stop using two of the ten products you use every day, you're reducing your body burden by 20 percent. Multiply that by 365 days of the year, year after year.”
– Dr. Myron Wentz and Dave Wentz (The Healthy Home)
