When Black Does Crack, part two

A discussion on how aging has accelerated in the Black population, how Americans became the sickest we’ve ever been and what we can do…

A discussion on how aging has accelerated in the Black population, how Americans became the sickest we’ve ever been and what we can do about it.

Photo by Emmanuel Ikwuegbu on Unsplash

In part one of this discourse, I shed light on one of the major factors that has contributed to the accelerated aging I have observed in African Americans, that has contributed to what has made Americans the sickest we’ve ever been as a nation, amongst other quantifiable and non-quantifiable factors.

Toxins.

Many of the thousands of chemicals that we assumed were regulated before they were released into our food, packaging, toys, soil, makeup, and skincare, were later found to be the cause of many diseases, cancer and developmental disorders. Unfortunately, as with many other stats, African-Americans are disproportionately affected, on top of the added stress they already face from other health and wealth disparities. And while they used to “wear it” well, possibly due to their strong spiritual faith, pride and genetics, signs of accelerated aging are becoming evident not only in Blacks but in every race and in younger and younger populations.

Fortunately, we are beautifully unique creations and we are intelligently designed. No computer in the world can do what our bodies can do. It would take over one trillion iPads to plot the wiring of our brain. No amount of toxins has the right to permanently alter our health unless we give it permission to do so. We have the power to change our health if we choose to do so. And it starts with our mindset.

Our intelligent body has its own built-in detox pathways via various organs: lymphatics, kidneys, colon, skin, lungs, liver, brain. Typically, our bodies don’t need our help to remove old waste regularly, like the garbage truck removes trash from your neighborhood regularly. However, if there was a storm and extra debris came flying in or you had bulky trash from renovations, you’d need the city to come remove the bulky waste from your curb. If not, it would congest your sidewalk, it’d be unsightly and your HOA would fine you and your high maintenance neighbors would talk about you.

In the same vein, your body is inundated with excess chemicals that are created every year, some of which disrupt your hormones, some of which stay around forever, some of which are inhaled, some of which are swallowed with abandon, some of which are slathered on your skin, some of which are storing your food, some of which are playing alongside your kid’s toys and baby food, some of which are running freely in your running water…you get the picture. That is when your body’s detox pathways need to schedule the “bulky trash removal” service.

Detoxing is a very ancient practice that dates back centuries in Eastern medicine.

Nowadays, the practice is considered part of the alternative medicine movement. There are dozens of different methods of detoxing and every single method have their pros and cons depending on the individual. As I always say, there is more than one way to skin a cat and there is no one-size-fit all. Everyone has a unique physiology, toxic load, medical profile, and desired outcome. The requisite disclaimer follows: this article provides educational and informational purposes only and does not intend to treat or diagnose any disease, or constitute providing medical advice. As always, please consult your physician in matters relating to your personal health.

The purpose of discussing detoxing is to give a beacon of hope that dramatic improvements in health can be realized with simple detoxes rather than merely treating downstream effects of disease of a highly toxic body. That being said, if you are already on a treatment plan for an illness, it’s important to continue that plan unless cleared by a provider. Alternative medicine is always complementary to one’s regular treatment regimen if you are on one. As always, however, preventing illness is always ideal. Health is not merely the absence of disease. Many people “feel fine” but they are a walking time bomb because it can take up to a 40% loss of function before a person starts to feel symptoms. Health is a complete physical, mental, spiritual and social well being. That is a tall order. But not one that can be fulfilled when one is full of toxins…so let’s start to detox, shall we.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of various holistic detox methods that I use to detox my body. Some I use daily. Some I’ve used once or twice a week or month. Some a few times a year. I use my body as a scientific experiment a lot and I enjoy biohacking, which is basically doing incremental changes to my body using biological experimentation for more curated results, which falls outside of traditional medicine. Biohacking allows me to upgrade my body, mind and spiritual life.

I’ve listed detox hacks per organ system. Try them out and experiment with what works for you, eliminate what doesn’t work for you and your lifestyle. Some do require an initial investment of certain contraptions. As I mentioned in part one, taking charge of your health means we pay either way. Either on the front end, or the back end.

However, there is always a cheaper or free alternative to every hack. Not all methods have to be used. It’s important to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. This is especially important for women, because we have hormonal shifts in our cycles every month. It is perfectly normal for us to have changes in our moods, cravings, water retention, desires, skin texture, etc based on our cycle. Rarely can, nor should, any pattern of eating/detox be done exactly the same way every single day of the month for women. It would behoove women to study the monthly cycle’s hormones, whether they are menstruating regularly, are on birth control, are menopausal or have had a hysterectomy, and track yours because it is a game changer.

Men have a cycle also. It just doesn’t fluctuate as much as women.

Lymphatics: lymphatic massages, rebounding with mini trampolines, vibrational plate, inversion asana, Essiac tea

Kidneys: drink lots of electrolyte fluids, ACV, kidney beans, dandelion. Important: protect your kidneys from high blood pressure, high sugar, high smoking is the best detox for your kidneys. Kidneys are very sensitive to injury!

Colon: gentle colon cleansers and fiber rich diet if constipated, lots of fluids, diet rich in fermented foods, prebiotics, probiotics, eat 200 different types of foods a month, decrease lectins (legumes, grains) if weight loss resistant, decrease added sugar and processed foods. Practice intermittent fasting and if you are a woman, Fast Like A Girl. Allowing the body to switch between sugar and fat as its fuel source helps restore gut health, reduce brain fog, improve insulin sensitivity, and can result in weight loss.

Skin: Sweat regularly with vigorous exercise several times a week, preferably with HIIT. Infrared sauna, red light therapy, dry brushing in the direction of lymphatic flow — which is towards the heart. Epsom salt baths. Pulsed electromagnetic Field Mat (PEMF). Earthing. Replace sweat loss with lots of electrolyte fluids.

Lungs: CO2 is toxic waste so deep breathing is a way of removing toxic waste. Practice deep breaths with meditation everyday, even for 5 min. Most CO2 is expired during sleep, therefore adequate sleep 7–9 hours of sleep is essential to remove toxic waste through our lungs. Most people breathe shallow throughout their lives, including during sleep and the increase in CO2 in their system causes lots of health problems.

Other methods include humidifiers if you live in dry climates or during winter, steam therapy, avoid mouth breathing when you work out, HEPA filter for your home.

Liver: The liver works very hard to neutralize harmful chemicals it gets exposed to everyday. It has two detox phases, and people can have a deficiency in one or both phases. This may be evident in daily symptoms they’d never attribute to a liver detox deficiency. Examples include getting a headache when they smell a strong perfume. Or getting flushed or easily tipsy after drinking alcohol or being very sensitive to caffeine. Or having terrible seasonal allergies. Or being easily bloated or fatigued or having brain fog.

Liver detoxes can be as simple as taking detox supplements that include milk thistle and dandelion root. You can also use castor oil packs over the liver overnight. Another option is a coffee enema once a week to boost glutathione by 600%. Of course, it goes without saying, if your liver is highly congested, avoid further injury by avoiding the toxins you can control: heavy metals, alcohol, smoking, certain OTC drugs such as Tylenol, toxic cleaning products, weed killers, etc.

Brain: The brain is not considered as an organ that directly removes exogenous (outside) toxic chemicals from our body, but during sleep the brain does the equivalent of a “spring cleaning” every night by removing unnecessary waste that would otherwise clog up our precious brain space to make room for new neural connections and to assimilate all we learned that day into long term memory.

Therefore, if this only happens when we sleep, you can imagine what less sleep has done to the brain’s ability to spring clean. Our brains are FOS when we sleep poorly. You can make out the acronym.

The solution is what you already know but I’ll remind you. Get off your devices one hour before bed. In fact, charge it outside your bedroom if you dare. Cool your room to 69–70 F (whether you sleep cold or hot) because your body has to be cool for deep sleep. Use background noise if you are a light sleeper so every little sound won’t wake you.

Don’t use a shrieking alarm clock. Use a gradual alarm clock that uses a simulated sunlight to brighten the room first. Protect your sleep like you do your money. It is the bedrock of health that every other component of wellness is situated upon.

The brain is also important in terms of adopting a Growth Mindset. Understanding that nothing is fixed, and you are not your disease. Targeted meditation exercises, and taking advantage of The Placebo Effect can do wonders in healing the body.

This short list gives you a starting point for practical tools you can use to regain power over your health outside of traditional medicine as we navigate what it means to live in our modern overstimulated, ever distracted, over exposed, dont-know-what-we’re-actually-eating/breathing/drinking society.

In the meantime, it is important to hold the FDA responsible for the chemicals they approve to be in our food supply. You can sign a petition or add a comment on this website:

https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/dockets-management/comment-proposed-regulations-and-submit-petitions

But on the real, barring that one guy I went to college with that I didn’t recognize 20 years later, for most of the Black people that I know and love, BLACK STILL DON’T CRACK! Let’s keep it that way by reversing the signs of aging and reclaiming our health, one biohack at a time, no matter our race.

• I’ve linked my favorite health books to this article so check them out!

• Tell me what your favorite detoxing biohacks are in the comments. Follow me at www.medium.com/she-writes-she-travels for more!