Under normal circumstances, our body’s natural detox waste disposal systems works pretty well at removing the many various toxins that we are subject to in our environment from our body. But what can go wrong if our internal system gets overloaded with more toxins than they can deal with, or with new ones that they do not recognize?

Unfortunately, this scenario is becoming more and more prevalent as more toxins are releases into our environment – in the water we drink, preservatives and fertilizers in the food we eat, and in the air we breathe. If you recognize any of these symptoms you may want to consider a more regular program for detoxing your body.

Under functioning lungs

When they are assaulted daily by air pollutants, the cilia and the mucous membranes in the respiratory system become less effective. The alveoli get furred up with tarry substances, meaning that less of the surface area of the lungs, across which oxygen is absorbed to the blood, is available. Less oxygen in the system makes us get tired more easily, so our muscles ache more readily on exertion. Overall, we feel more sluggish.

The incidence of asthma has been rising steadily since 1970. It is now four times higher in adults and six times higher in children than it was back then. According to Asthma UK, environmental pollution may play a part in causing it and certainly makes symptoms worse. The weight of medical evidence suggests that active or passive exposure to cigarette smoke in the early years of life increases the risk of developing asthma.

About 15 per cent of the population in industrialized countries now suffers from hay fever. It has a much higher prevalence in urban areas than rural settings and increases are particularly striking in areas of high pollution.

Like asthma, it is an allergic disease, but it seems that our atmosphere is making us much more prone to these conditions, and, once you have a respiratory disease like this, it becomes harder for your lungs to fight off other toxins.

Leaky gut

Only a few substances are absorbed directly through the stomach, and these include alcohol, aspirin, cigarette smoke and certain other noxious chemicals. Most other substances are absorbed through the intestines.

If the stomach lining has been assaulted too often in this way, it can become ‘leaky’. Further down in the intestine, the same thing can happen due to our intake of antibiotics, caffeine, chemicals in processed foods, prescription corticosteroids, or even just a diet that is full of highly refined carbohydrates, such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, white bread and pizza.

Once you have a ‘leaky gut’, the spaces between the cell walls are larger than normal, and they can allow larger molecules of bacteria, waste matter and undigested food through into the bloodstream. Your immune system views these substances as ‘alien’ and acts to eliminate them. Antibodies are made against these proteins derived from previously harmless foods, and these antibodies can trigger an inflammatory reaction next time the corresponding food is eaten.

If you have an actual food allergy, you will get an immediate and usually severe reaction, but intolerances may have less clear-cut symptoms, manifesting in different parts of the body over the longer term. They are generally not life-threatening but can make you feel unwell. The only way to diagnose an intolerance is to avoid food you suspect fora period of months and see if symptoms clear up.

Clogged-up colon

A common symptom of toxin overload and a diet that is dependent on processed foods is a clogged-up colon. Normally the colon produces just enough mucus to move faeces along, but when toxins, drugs or stress irritate your colon, it produces excess mucus which can bind with starchy waste materials to make hardened faeces. These become impacted in nooks and crannies in the colon, meaning that the villi cannot absorb nutrients so efficiently and the gap through which waste material has to pass becomes narrower.

The build-up becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and parasites (such as tapeworms and flukes), and you become constipated. In some people, a hard mass can actually be felt in the lower abdomen. They will probably suffer from flatulence, as the trapped food ferments, giving off gases and sulphur-containing compounds which give that characteristic smell.

Another problem with a clogged-up colon is that the longer waste material sits around without being eliminated, the more chance there is that the toxins in it will be reabsorbed by the body. Some people have faecal material in their colons that has been there for several years!