Detox Experiment: What am I putting in my body?

       2011! It's a new year and for many, that means new beginnings. During the month of January we are bombarded with commercials telling us it's time to get healthy and loose weight. It's actually a lot of pressure! I don't necessarily think you need to immediately join Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig, but it does tend to be a good time of year to reflect on your life and start making healthier choices. 
       I came upon an article in Austin's Natural Magazine about how to detox your diet. There were lots of good tips and some sorta far fetched ones... (buy a calf, take it to a butcher and put all the meat in your freezer?? Good idea, but not sure that's gonna happen for a lot of folks.) 
       So, here's a question: Why should I care about detoxing? 
-When you fill your body with toxins, you overwork your liver. So eliminating those toxins allows your liver to catch up on its task of detoxifying and in turn your body functions better, you feel better, and have more energy! [Toxins include processed foods, chemicals, alcohol, and parabens (preservative ingredients in some cosmetics that have been proven to lead to breast cancer) and anything foreign that is difficult for your body to process.] 
       The article suggests eating organic foods as much as you can, avoiding processed foods whenever possible, taking a daily probiotic, and cleansing your body once a year. A cleanse can be done in a variety of ways. It can be as simple as having a "clean" diet for a period of time: 7, 10 or even 21 days. Clean foods are the ones found in nature- fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Its also important to avoid breads, dairy and alcohol during this time. You could describe this diet as mostly Vegan. Some choose to take this detox even further by doing a liquid diet of Miso soup, no sugar juices and then supporting your body with supplements. In addition you can add in colonics which really ensures your body to expel all toxins. This is definitely a difficult plan and tough to stick with, however people with fungal and yeast problems, digestive problems and/or parasites will notice huge differences in the way their body's function. 
     Don't forget about the toxins in your cosmetics! What are the ingredients in your soap, shampoo, toothpaste, lotions and make up? 
     So this got me thinking: What am I using on a day to day basis? Here is a short list of what I did just today. I'll designate a - or + sign to signify either -chemicals or +chemicals. (from the majority of ingredients) 
     Morning routine: Jason Sea fresh toothpaste (-), Yardley Lemon Verbena bar soap (-), Enfusia Organic Pomegranate Berry body wash (-), Kevin Murphy shampoo and conditioner, and detangler spray (-). Eminence skin care (-) including cleanser, toner, serum, and moisturizer. 
     Makeup: Eminence sun defense powder (-), Sephora Mineral Pressed Powder (-), Nars eye shadow and blush (+), Clinique eye liner (+), Josie Moran Argon Mascara (-), Eminence lip balm (-)
     Foods: Organic Zhi hot tea White Pomegranate (-), Central Market Flax Seed Oatmeal (-), Sun maid raisins (-), Wallaby Black Cherry Yogurt (-), Grilled Cheese Sandwich w/ Eziekel bread (-), HEB cheddar cheese (+), HEB Genoa Salami (+), with spicy pickles (-) and Smart Balance butter (-), and Loaded Baked Potato with chopped beef (+). More Zhi tea (-)
      Obviously there are things I can do differently. And each day is a little different for me. This might be a fun experiment for you to try too! Just think about everything you put in or on your body in one day. Maybe there are small changes you could make to put less toxins in your body? It doesn't have to be all or nothing!