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POPs
Dioxins are very dangerous environmental pollutants that linger at unsafe levels in many of the foods we eat—they even sneak into healthy diets!
These toxic dioxins or POPs (persistent organic pollutants) can store in the body’s fat cells for up to 11 years before they break down naturally. (1) More than 90% of human exposure is through food, mainly meat and dairy products, fish and shellfish.
There have been 419 dioxins identified in the environment but, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 30 of them are considered a serious health threat. (1)
These dioxins are fat-soluble toxins that scientists call “lipophilic toxicants.”
These fat-soluble toxins slowly accumulate over many years both in the environment and the fat cells of animals and humans. They are linked to hormone disruption, immune system suppression, reproductive and developmental disorders, mutations and cellular division abnormalities. (1,2)
While these toxins have been banned in the US for decades, they still linger in animal food products, other foods, and even baby foods. (3,4,5) While only trace amounts are found in vegetable-based baby foods, dioxins accumulate in the fat cells over time in both babies and adults.
Baby foods with meat carry a much higher risk, as do meat products for adults. (4) They are also found to be higher in “fast foods,” suggesting that these foods may carry an even greater health risk than we are already aware of. (3)
As recent as 2008, Ireland recalled many tons of pork meat and pork products when up to 200 times the safe limit of dioxins were detected in samples of pork. This led to one of history’s largest food recalls related to chemical contamination. The contamination was traced back to contaminated feed. (1)
In one study, it was estimated that up to 1,114 incidents of cancers per year may be linked to dioxin-laced foods in the US, where one-third of the population is likely to develop cancer sometime in their lives. (6) It remains unknown how many hormonal, reproductive, developmental and immunity concerns are related to dioxin exposure.
Why Cleansing Dioxins with Ghee Works
As stated above, POPs, dioxins and other environmental toxins, such as pesticides, preservatives, heavy metals and industrial toxicants, are all fat-soluble or “lipophilic” (lipo = fat, philic = like).
Studies on Ayurvedic detoxification with ghee suggest that these fat-soluble toxins can be removed from the fat cells using a “lipophilic-mediated” detoxification procedure. This is where a healthy fat, like ghee, is used to pull out unhealthy fats and/or toxins. (2)
Increasing amounts of grass-fed ghee are ingested daily for a week to actually pull (detox) or chelate fat-soluble toxins from the body. While more studies need to be done on lipophilic-mediated detox methods, there is strong evidence supporting the effectiveness of this type of detox. (2)
In one study with 88 subjects, 48 of them underwent a 7-day detox of ingesting ghee (clarified butter) while on a no fat, meat or dairy diet. The researchers measured 9 different environmental PCB dioxin toxins and 8 pesticide toxins.
They saw a significant reduction in the 9 PCBs and the 8 pesticides after the 7-day ghee protocol. (2)
The results suggest that lipophilic-mediated detoxification using ghee may be effective in reducing body burdens of fat-soluble toxicants. (2)
At LifeSpa, we offer two lipophilic-mediated detox programs: the 4-day Short Home Cleanse and the 2-week Colorado Cleanse.
Following Ayurvedic tradition, both of these programs use ghee as the chelator that pulls fat-soluble toxins from storage sites in the fat cells.
The Short Home Cleanse even comes with a free eBook to guide you through the 4-day ghee and kitchari cleanse. >>> Learn more here
The Colorado Cleanse is a comprehensive Ayurvedic digestive reset, liver and lymph cleanse, intestinal restore and detox for those pesky fat-soluble chemicals living in your brain and your fat cells throughout your body. >>> Learn more here
