by Tina Wellman, Ph.D., PNE
External Detoxification
Unburdening the Total Toxic Load on Your Body
The most famous book in the world
states “my people perish for lack of
knowledge.” We are the recipients
of chemical intoxication through our
careless use of chemicals at home and at
work. We are often deluded into thinking
we are gaining ground on eradicating germ
warfare and bug infestation through our
excessive use of antibacterial soaps, germicides
and chemicals. But do we really
consider the impact our excessive exposure
is wreaking on our health and longevity?
Do we know how our actions contribute to
the onset of diseases and predispose our cells
to mutate through our own un-healthy
“health” practices? Everything we use, everything
we eat, everything we subject our
bodies to in our immediate environment
affects our total state of health.
We can begin cleaning up our immediate
environment by checking our own backyard
first. When a child spills something,
s/he is taught to clean up the mess.
Neglecting to clean up messes manifests
in bigger spills and bigger messes. These
bigger “spills” have gone through a pseudometamorphosis
in our adult years, gaining
new ground as oil spills, toxic dump sites
and waterways polluted by products from
detergents, chemicals and sewage from our
negligent habits. Do we ever seriously
consider the effect of our individual
health habits, their effect on the greater
environment and the resulting effect this
will have on the health of future generations?
We often forget our daily practices
have long-term effects that ripple through
the years, leaving positive or negative
effects for others to battle.
The most practical place to begin
external detoxification is “naturally” in the
home, a place of refuge, a site for recharging,
relaxing and resting. You may also
consider the home to be a place of safety for
your health and healing until you find your
level of home health hazards to be an
unexpected surprise. Yet, statistics suggest
the proportion of indoor to outdoor pollutants
is increasing, a fact worth considering
since our greatest exposures may be found
within the confines of our own home.
Symptoms ranging from a common
headache to the flu can be associated with
day-to-day products used to clean our furniture,
bathrooms, detergents to wash
clothing and air fresheners to keep those
lavatories smelling sweet.
The simplest way to identify household
toxins is to categorize your house. That is,
take each room separately and analyze its
contents for potential “toxicity.” This
process allows you to conduct your own
home study, learn the offending substances
and replace them with safer products to
minimize your health risk. You can also
learn to distinguish just how safe you are in
your own home or whether you are
using ingredients that are a recipe for
disaster, according to consumer advocate
Debra Lynn Dadd, who notes that your
“houses or apartment could be full of
everyday products made from materials
and substances that cause cancer, birth
defects and changes in genetic structure
and that weaken the immune system,
leaving your body vulnerable to many
kinds of diseases and infections.”1
For example, take a bathroom which
houses multiple toiletries including shaving
cream, perfume, toothpaste and mouthwash
(commonly fluoridated), aerosol hair
spray, shampoos, cosmetics and hair care
products, bubble bath, toilet bowl and glass
cleaners, deodorants, fluoridated dental
products, feminine hygiene douches and
bleached sanitary pads—note the number
of chemicals in this room alone. You could
fill a shopping list with them. Detoxifying
a bathroom would include replacing toiletries
with simple items that may not
require your medicine cabinet be filled to
the brim but stocked with simple natural
products that often have multiple uses.
Here is a potential plan: Toothpaste is a
homemade recipe combining redmond salt
and clay put in an old glass spice jar. For
flavor you can add a few drops of clove or
sage or mint oil (such as you find in toothpaste).
Additionally a natural mouthwash is
available at health stores or you might
consider using a “cleanser” made with
grapefruit seed extract due to its antimicrobial
effect. One to two drops along
with your toothpaste and your mouth feels
quite refreshed and sparkling clean. Rinsing
with an anti-microbial such as tea tree oil is
another option. Tea tree flavored dental
floss and toothpicks are available at health
stores.
Aluminum-free deodorants using herbs
or grapefruit seed extract make a delightful
deodorant or antiseptic spray for scratches,
rashes and bites. As a deodorant grapefruit
seed extract works quite well—it kills the
source of the odor, namely the bacteria.
Unbleached dioxin-free toilet tissue is
widely available as are organic cotton ear
swabs, balls and make up pads. Natural
shampoos and conditioners are available in
a wide variety of scents (calendula, rosemary,
etc.) or your can buy a plain Castile
soap and mix in your own favorite essential
oils. Natural hair care products that address
all hair types are now widely distributed.
How about enjoying a luxurious natural
bath with chlorine free water using a
shower filter? Fill the tub and add your
favorite organic essential oil (i.e. lavender,
rose, bergamot, etc.), some redmond bath
salts, light a few beeswax (as opposed to
paraffin) candles, turn on the nebulizer
with your favorite aromatherapy oil
combination and drift off into a relaxing,
healthy, rejuvenating hydrotherapy session.
Depending on one’s odor sensitivity, health
stores stock a variety of incense aromas
that can also be added for ambiance and
fragrance.
There you have in a nutshell—the natural
bathroom. Who needs air fresheners with all
these wonderful scents available? It is worth
noting with the increased incidence of MCS
(multiple chemical sensitivity) one should
always consider individual tolerance and sensitivity
to fragrances of any kind.
No need to work like a mule to clean the
bathroom—20 mule team borax to the
rescue. An old standby for deodorizing and
disinfecting the commode—pour in a half
cup, swish a few times, leave in the bowl
overnight and flush in the morning. White
vinegar and water diluted 50/50 is a great
over all countertop and floor cleaner. Try
Bon-Ami (the old kind made with feldspar is
available directly from the company) for
tough jobs when scrubbing the tub and sink.
Another cleaning alternative is a low-odor
degreaser (AFM) diluted with water according
to directions. A mister composed of purified
water and essential oil (i.e. lavender, tea tree,
etc.) is a superb air freshener. A few drops of
lavender or eucalyptus directly into the toilet
bowl, a drop or two on the inside of the
toilet tissue, and a few muslin bags filled with
lavender or rose petals from your organic
garden or herb shop should accommodate
the most discriminating fragrance connoisseur.
While you’re at it put a few drops of an
essential oil on an organic make-up pad or
ball and slip into your bathroom drawers—
you’ll be pleasantly surprised next time you
open the drawer to find a pleasant aroma.
You may also wish to keep a book on
aromatherapy handy to read in the bathtub
or in the famous lavatory room to browse for
your favorite essential oils. Specifically look
for antiseptic, germicidal, fungicidal and
virucidal properties of oils that keep these
toxins from proliferating. A combination of
several oils can go a long way to detoxify and
clean your bathroom and keep you safe.
The laundry room is yet another toxic
time bomb, loaded to the gills with
phosphate detergents and caustic chemicals
including bleach, spot removers and fabric
softeners. One German-based natural laundry
care manufacturer notes that all cleaners
are detergent-based, including most environmental
cleaners (as opposed to soap based),
the consequences of which manifest by
way of polluting the environment some 50
times more than soap-based products.
Additionally, the use of the word “biodegradable”
has been misused since by definition it
only means the detergent will cease to foam
at some point and has little to do with environmental
impact. Equally as concerning are
the suspected carcinogenic compounds
(byproducts) yielded by detergent-based
cleaning supplies.
As we race for the “cure” (pardon the pun)
to clean up the environment, keep in mind
that water treatment plants are unable to
break down many of the toxic chemicals that
find their ultimate home in our oceans and
lakes. So much for sparkling spring water.
Aside from polluting our waterways, environmental
consequences include decimating
fish, vegetation and microorganisms.
Detoxifying the laundry room minimizes
the waste and destruction incurred by
unhealthy practices employing the excessive
use of chemicals for cleaning. Therefore your
laundry room shopping list should include
laundry soap, a safer bleaching agent such as
sodium percarbonate, a water softening
agent such as zeolite (a mineral rock which
deserves a page of its own to describe its
many uses) and a chemical-free spot remover.
Another alternative to consider are
laundry discs which operate by releasing
electrons that reduce the water’s surface tension
when agitated during the wash cycle.
Many users of these discs note their clothes
seem brighter and last longer. For those with
chemical sensitivities this method offers a
viable alternative to the fragrances and
potential allergens found in soaps and detergents.
An average disc lasts 500–700 washings.
Some advocates of the discs combine it
with a papaya enzyme-based spot remover
for added cleansing.
When using soap-based laundry products
one can also supplement with such disinfectants
as grapefruit seed extract (20 drops per
load), eucalyptus oil (especially helpful for
mites) and tea tree oil. Instead of fabric softener
or scented sheets, try a few drops of
your favorite essential oil (i.e. lavender) on a
hanky or sock and toss it in the dryer--you’ll
be delighted with the aroma emitted when
you open the door.
Other helpful spot removers and cleaners
to stock up on include white vinegar, baking
soda, club soda, fresh lemons (the juice
works wonders on many types of stains), salt
and cornstarch (if you want to make homemade
spray starch). Salt and vinegar often
work effectively for removing perspiration
stains. The type of stain (grease, wine, blood,
chewing gum, meat broth, tea, etc.) dictates
which natural cleaner works best.
Lastly, a common question relates to
alternatives to dry cleaning. At minimum
consider hanging your clothes in the air for
an hour or two to at least vent the fumes
from the perchlorethylene used in conventional
dry cleaning. Additionally, consider
looking for a “wet cleaners” in your area that
provides professional, solvent-free cleaning.
This system uses cleaning methods that
claim to generate no hazardous waste.
Garments are pre-sorted by fabric type since
the washer/dryer cycles are pre-programmed
and controlled by microprocessors.
Wascomat, the world’s largest professional
laundry equipment manufacturer, produces
one of these systems which they note has
been developed in cooperation with the EPA,
the EPA in Canada and with the Hohenstein
and Krefield Textile Research Institute in
Germany. Authorized dealers offer these
“green cleaners” as an alternative to dry
cleaning. Toxic overload directly affects the
results and maintenance of any health
restoration program by creating more burdens
than our bodies can tolerate.
By saturating ourselves with chemical
burdens we sabotage the mechanism by
which healing takes place. For any health regimen
to succeed we must limit our exposure
to chemicals in our immediate environment.
In our endeavors for health and longevity, let
us remember we are individually and collectively
responsible for the quality controls that
tip the scales in either direction.
Tina Wellman, Ph.D., PNE
Author of Psychoneuroendocrinology: Copper
Toxicity and Premenstrual Syndrome.
She has been fervently engaged in complimentary
medicine for 32 years. Her life’s work, “How Your
Mind Makes You Ill” has blazed a trail through
the labyrinthine maze-work of alternative medicine,
conventional wisdom and complementary
methods. Dr. Wellman blends nutritional support
with environmental detoxification to achieve
wellness. Her efforts in this field are groundbreaking
and provide hope for healing and wellness
emanating from one of the least favorite categories
of profit-making pharmaceutical enterprises:
Prevention. Dr. Tina Wellman may be contacted
by e-mail at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or by
telephone at 817-652-3792.
References:
1. Home Safe Home, Debra Lynn Dadd, Penguin Putnam, Inc., New York, 1997.
2. Life Health and Longevity, Kenneth E. Seaton, D.Sc., Huntington, WV, 1994.
3. Health and Healing, Vol. 7, No. 4, Julian Whitaker, M.D., Phillips Publishing, Potomac, MD, April 1997.
4. Clean Your House Safely and Effectively Without Harmful Chemicals, Randall Earl Dunford, Magni Group, Inc., McKinney, TX, 1993.
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