How To Lower Your Toxic Burden

I’ve spent the last 8 years living a very clean and low tox lifestyle, but I was curious if what I was doing was actually moving the needle. I experience chronic symptoms, slow lymphatic drainage and my body is on the more sensitive side, so I was hoping to get some more answers in order to further improve my symptoms. That’s why I decided to measure my toxic burden. I decided to do an EnviroTox Panel through Geviti (where I also got my recent bloodwork done) to gather more data.

Let’s start with the basics because “toxic burden” gets thrown around a lot without much of an explanation. I like to think of it like a bucket. It’s the amount of total environmental chemicals your body is carrying at any given time. Every day, we are exposed to chemicals like pesticides, heavy metals, synthetic fragrances and plastics. Most of these exposures are tiny but they can add up overtime.

Our bodies are pretty good at filtering these chemicals out via our organs and detox pathways, but in our modern world, it is unfortunately pretty easy for our bodies to get overwhelmed and not be able to keep up with the toxins being thrown our way. That’s when our bucket overflows, which can cause several different symptoms. If you’re like me, you may already be sensitive and your body might have trouble keeping up with processing all of the toxins.

Think about it- your neighbor probably sprays their lawn with pesticides, our air is polluted, our water is full of chemicals, there are toxins in our food, make up, etc. I am not saying this to scare you I am saying it because it is the truth. A lot of people throw up their arms at this and say “well everything is toxic I’m going to just live my life”! That’s why I started my Sunday Swaps series. Because it’s not about achieving zero exposure, it’s about making swaps where we can, slowly and understanding what might be filling our toxin buckets so we can lessen the load.

What does the EnviroTox panel show you? It screens for a range of environmental toxins your body has been exposed to including heavy metals, phthalates and plastics, pesticide residue, VOCs and mold or mycotoxins. The test was super simple. It was just an at-home urine sample that I mailed into the lab.

The best part about using Geviti is that you get a discount on any functional testing. Every specialty test includes an interpretation and protocol recommendations from one of their Specialists (so you don’t have to pay an extra few hundred dollars to meet with a provider to go over it). LESSWITHLAUR also gets you a 20% discount on your first membership purchase with Geviti.

Let’s dive into some of my results:

Starting off with the good news. Bisphenols and parabens tested were all non detectable, meaning I’m doing a great job avoiding those, which is cool to see!

Most of the phthalates and VOCs that were tested were non detectable, but a few popped up, which is not surprising since we just moved into a house that was completely redone. A lot of the products used were low VOC, but not all of them. I am going to continue to do what I can to ensure we continue to offgas our home including air purifiers and running our ERV.

Most pesticides were non detectable, except for glyphosate. I was honesty surprised about this because I eat like 99% organic, but it just goes to show that we are absorbing what our neighbors are spraying on their lawns as well. I would like to get this level lower and I tested my water this week out of curiosity.

The worst finding was the mycotoxin panel, which I honestly wasn’t too surprised about since I have had several mold exposures and my body struggles to detox mold.

So that’s the real unfiltered look at my personal results. Some wins and other results that I wasn’t too surprised about. Getting this testing isn’t about panicking over every number, it’s having the real data to make changes and improvements in my health.

Based on my results, here’s what I’m focusing on:

• Washing my produce better, even when it’s organic

• Taking shoes off at the door to make sure I’m not tracking in pesticides

• Continuing to support my body’s detox pathways

• Continuing to work with a provider on the past mold exposures and being proactive with my current environment

Here are some big picture swaps that can help anyone’s toxin bucket:

• Swap one thing at a time instead of overhauling everything

• Support your own detox system through movement, water and sleep so your body can keep up with the load

• Prioritize your biggest daily exposures- the food you eat, the air you breathe and the water you drink

• Reduce synthetic fragrance exposure (toss the toxic candles, air fresheners and body products)

• Aim for progress, not perfection!

Should you get tested? If you’re already living pretty clean and you’re curious where you stand, testing can be a great way to confirm. If you’re doing all the things and you still have symptoms, I think it’s even more beneficial.

If this panel sounds overwhelming, start small with comprehensive lab work. If you are struggling with chronic symptoms and your provider is still running only 20 labs, you need to dig deeper.

Comprehensive guides to making non-toxic swaps:

This newsletter was kindly sponsored by Geviti!