"toxins" news and stories

With Valentine's Day coming up, there's a good chance that you'll have a little more chocolate around the house. A recent article in the Star-Gazette serves as a well-timed reminder for dog owners to be careful where they leave that oh-so-thoughtful Godiva gift box. As someone whose (small) dog has taken down half a bag of Tollhouse morsels, I can tell you that the after-effects are not at all fun. At least it wasn't a chocolate lab (I'm sure there's a vet joke out there somewhere).

As some of you may know, it's the caffeine and theobromine in chocolate that can elevate your dog's heart rate to dangerous levels, induce seizures, vomiting and other stomach problems and, in some cases, even kill them. The darker and purer a chocolate is, the higher the levels of caffeine and theobromine and the more toxic it is to your pup. According to the Star-Gazette article, it would take a pound of baking chocolate to do in a 30-pound dog. Really, any amount is too much. Keep the sweets out of your pooch's reach.

From my own personal experience, when our jack russell-chihuahua mix ate several ounces of chocolate chips, he became hyper (ok, more hyper) and shaky (ok, more shaky). On the advice of a vet who was nice enough to call us back on a Sunday afternoon, we force-fed him small doses of hydrogen-peroxide to induce vomiting. After much snorting and spitting and sneezing, our dog gave back far more chocolate than we suspected he had eaten. He's fine now. Lesson learned.

A detox diet is almost exactly what it sounds like: a diet designed to cleanse your body of toxins. Proponents of detox diets believe that seemingly ordinary foods – from meat to processed sugar – contain toxins that build up in your body and prevent it from functioning normally.
According to new studies, though it has previously been suspected by many people, detox diets don’t work. At least, they do not work in the way that they are purported to. The general way the diet works is that you eat large amounts of fruits, vegetables and drink huge quantities of water, which will flush out, or detoxify, your system, removing toxins and improving your skin, preventing headaches, reducing cellulite, helping you lose weight and raising your overall level of heath.
Since many people do not drink nearly enough water to remain thoroughly hydrated, it is no shock that drinking much more water would help people feel better and experience fewer headaches. The high levels of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables probably improve skin and add to a general feeling of well being. And the feelings of lightness that people report after several days on such a diet are most likely from insufficient calorie intake. But the most misleading part of the diet is simply the claim that meats and fish have a large amount of naturally occurring toxins, while in fact, vegetables like cabbage and onions can have far more. The liver is the most vital organ for detoxification, and it processes meats and proteins most effectively, in addition to metabolizing carbohydrates and fats.
Substituting healthier foods, like fruits and vegetables, for overly processed junk food will make you be healthier and feel better, without having to give up cooked foods or meat.

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