Detoxifying the Body for Health
If we lived in a pristine forest, eating non-sprayed organic foods, non-factory farmed, medicated meats and heavy metal-free fish like our ancestors, we would be so much healthier. Today, we are exposed and therefore ingesting toxins from our food, water, air, body products, cleaning and air freshening products. These toxins are increasing cancer rates, causing birth defects, linked to autism spectrum disorder and causing infertility in humans, fish and amphibians. Toxins are linked to a running list of health issues such as: Chronic fatigue, Memory loss, Premature aging, Skin disorders, Arthritis, Hormone imbalances, Anxiety, Emotional disorders, Heart disease and more.
How do we deal with toxicity?
Avoiding exposure to toxins is the first step. Using an effective water filter such as reverse osmosis for our drinking and cooking water, air filters in our homes and offices and eating clean, un-sprayed, local, healthy food. Protect yourself at work if you are exposed to toxins there. Use healthy cleaning and body products and consider making your own which is inexpensive and simple to do.
Infra-red saunas allow us to sweat phthalates, a toxin in plastics that may not be eliminated otherwise. If you are exercising regularly and producing a sweat, you may not need to use a sauna. Infra-red saunas produce a sweat much faster than traditional saunas by sending specific infra-red rays into the body.
Juice fasting for one to three days or as often as needed allows the body to eliminate toxins by giving the digestive tract a break from the amount of energy needed to digest food. This energy can then be used to process and excrete toxins instead. Fresh vegetable juices such as celery, cucumber, carrots and beets, are excellent. Add in garlic, ginger and/ or turmeric for even more detoxifying support. Between juicing days eat as close to a raw vegan diet with plenty of raw broccoli, cabbage, kale and brussels sprouts, asparagus, lemon juice, beets and carrots.
Epsom salt baths, as often as possible not only deliver much needed magnesium to the tissues, but also draw toxins out through the skin. A twenty-minute bath with one cup of Epsom salts in hot water. You can add clay to the bath to enhance detoxification even more.
Dry skin brushing with a natural fiber brush or luffa before a shower or before bed will stimulate the lymphatic system which carries the toxins for elimination. This also brushes off dead skin cells making the skin feel softer. Start by brushing the soles of the feet and then the legs in an upward motion, three strokes on each location. Brush in circles in the groin, upward on the abdomen, up the sides of the body, figure eights around the breasts, strokes from the hands to the arm pits and circles there. Strokes downward along the neck towards the heart on the left side of the chest.
Re-bounding on a quality, mini trampoline will help the body eliminate toxins via the lymphatic system. Muscular contraction through physical movement and exercise also stimulates the lymphatic system.
Detoxification products
Certain supplements such as N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), alpha lipoic acid (ALA) and glutathione are key detoxification support which work to stimulate the chemical detoxification pathways within the cells – glands, organs, tissues and particularly the liver. Herbs such as cilantro, turmeric, milk thistle, artichoke, dandelion root, spirulina, Atlantic dulse and barley grass extract algae are all very supportive. Activated charcoal and chelating minerals like calcium and magnesium bind heavy metals and pull them out through our digestive elimination systems.
Colonics are a very good idea, before, during and after detoxification and as often as necessary, along with a proper detoxification program. Colonics are performed by trained professionals and deliver water through the rectum into the colon in order to loosen the impacted fecal matter that adhere to the bowel walls. This fecal matter builds up over time forming a thick, toxic layer. Taking oral laxatives may not effectively remove it.
Fresh wheat grass juice works as a general detoxifier and blood cleanser to help keep the large and small intestines functioning well, alkalinizing the body and donating electrons for cellular regeneration.
During a detox, we need to be drinking one ounce of filtered water for every kilogram of body weight per day. Water is needed to flush the toxins from the body.
Heavy metal detoxification can be done orally and through intravenous chelation. Lead, mercury, aluminum, and other metals accumulate in the organs, glands, bone tissues and brain and can be very difficult to eliminate. Heavy metal toxicity is a serious problem affecting many organ systems and is another major component of disease. It feeds viruses such as Eptein-barr and is one major cause of dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimers, ALS and MS.
Mercury is considered “the most toxic substance known to man”. Mercury (silver) amalgams continuously leak and off gas into the blood stream and mercury accumulates in the kidneys, liver and brain. If there is another metal present in the mouth, (braces, retainer, gold or other metal fillings), this creates electrical currents between the metals causing mercury vapor to increase. Chewing, teeth grinding, and hot foods and drinks also increase the release of mercury vapor as well as brushing, drilling and teeth polishing. Mercury vapor when swallowed in saliva may react with hydrochloric acid in the stomach creating mercuric chloride which kills beneficial gut flora (probiotics) causing an overgrowth of yeast, parasites and harmful bacteria. It also causes HCL to decrease leading to indigestion of protein, causing heart burn, bloating and other digestive problems. When HCL is deficient, protein is not broken down into amino acids which are required for the body to produce, hormones, neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, the feel good hormones, and allow muscle to build and tissues to be repaired. The body will break down and age at a much-increased rate without adequate HCL.
Research studies are showing degeneration in the basal ganglia found in Parkinson’s disease is reactive to Mercuric Chloride, therefore it is present in those with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and in fact all neurodegenerative diseases. Bacteria and yeast in the mouth turn methylate mercury into methylmercury which in addition to the leaking mercury vapor from the fillings, can be a major contributor to many chronic physical, mental and emotional diseases especially nerve-related and immune-related.
For the past 160 years, mercury has been used in dentistry causing these diseases to increase. Phenylmercury is used in root canals to kill bacterial leaks out of root canals. Titanium dioxide is also a common allergen and is used as white coloring agent in dental products, toothpaste and pain medications. A properly trained and equipped dentist can safely remove mercury amalgam fillings and prevent the adverse effects of mercury spillover by up to 90%. Replacement of dental amalgams with mercury-free fillings has been shown in numerous studies of thousands of patients to improve a wide range of chronic diseases up to 6-12 months after mercury removal.
In terms of toxicity, it’s not a matter of whether we have toxins in our bodies, but rather, to what degree? How toxic are we? There are lab tests that indicate toxicity levels. One is a hair analysis where non-dyed or bleached hair is analyzed for mineral deficiencies as well as toxic elements. The other test is a 24-hour urine test where urine is collected over 24 hours after taking a provocative agent to stimulate heavy metal toxin release. The urine is tested to see levels of each heavy metal present indicating tissue levels in the body. These tests are used as a guideline for how long and how intense the detoxification program needs to be. It is important to heal the gut before starting a detox as this will help to reduce or eliminate negative symptoms associated with detoxifying. These symptoms can be fatigue, headaches, malaise, skin eruptions and aching joints.
After a detox you should feel younger and healthier with more energy, clear, glowing skin, bright eyes and much reduced or no more aches and pains.
Sleep: Make sure you get enough sleep generally and during a detox to allow your body to repair itself and replenish growth hormone and thymus hormones (immune system) fixing the wear and tear your body has endured during the day so that you are rested, repaired and recharged for another busy day.