Virtually every chronic health condition can be related, at least in part, to toxicity. So, the answer is a resounding, "YES!"
Everyone Needs to Detoxify…But How?
"Detox." It has become a rather popular and very misused word.
It seems to me that if a product or program has the word "Detox" or "Cleanse" connected with it then many people assume it has to be ridding the body of impurities and making the individual healthier. This is not true. Often times the product or program can even be detrimental. A case in point is the "Master Cleanse"- a nutritionally-bankrupt diet consisting of water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. Great name but an unscientific & dangerous program.
What about "colon cleansing"? Is that real detoxification? There are many approaches that may be classified as colon cleansing. The very best of these is incomplete at best. The colon is only one organ of detoxification. Others include the kidneys, lungs, skin, and most importantly, the liver.
In reality, detoxification is a basic biological function that every cell in the body continually performs. The body needs to protect itself from potentially injurious substances and eliminate them. Detoxification is an energy and nutrient-demanding process. Therefore, the cornerstone of detoxification is good nutrition.
There are many different types of toxic substances. What is most obvious are xenobiotics or foreign chemicals. These are the tens of thousands of man-made chemicals that simply did not exist 100 years ago. Extremely small amounts of these chemicals can have damaging effects. How extensive is exposure to these chemicals? A study of umbilical cord blood of ten newborns from U.S. hospitals in 2004 found an average of 200 chemical pollutants, including flame retardants and residues of pesticides that have been banned for thirty years! Environmental toxicity is a major concern.
Other sources of toxicity include food antigens, dietary sugar-damaged (glycated) proteins and fats (see You Are What You Eat, So Don’t Eat Crust: Will Strategies to Suppress Advanced Glycation End Products(AGEs) Prove to be Our “Fountain of Youth”?), our own hormones and other biochemicals, waste products from the 100 trillion bacteria inhabiting the human intestines, prescription and street drugs, and mercury-containing dental amalgam fillings. A surprising source of toxicity is our own tissues. Fat soluble toxins get stored in fatty tissues of the body. With weight loss, these toxins are released into circulation and the body must be equipped to detoxify and eliminate them. Nutritionally-inadequate weight loss diets commonly leave the body ill-equipped to cope with the surge of toxic chemicals. A lower grade type poisoning may occur from toxic metals like lead being released from thinning bones.
Toxicity can be boiled down to two things: what you are being exposed to and your ability to eliminate what is present in your tissues. We need to take steps to reduce our exposures by drinking and bathing in filtered water (contact my office for a referral to a good water filtration company), using a quality air purifier, and eating food that is natural and organic. Choose natural household cleaners as well as personal hygiene and make-up products: See the website of the EnvironmentalWorking Group (EWG.org).
We also need to empower the other half of the "detox" equation: elimination. This is a complex subject but very simply, many nutrients are required to process, neutralize, and eliminate toxins. A nutrient-rich, modest calorie, unrefined whole foods diet is critical. The diet should be rich in plant foods and contain adequate protein - amino acids are perhaps the single most important class of nutrients for detoxification. Eggs, garlic, onions, beans, green tea, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli are a few important foods to power detoxification. A good supplement can add quite a bit to this approach. The product I commonly recommend is Clear Change Daily Essentials. Exercise and stress reduction are also important contributors to the detoxification process.
The preceding recommendations are things to do on a daily basis. For chronic health conditions and for those desiring optimal health, a short duration, intensive detoxification program is needed. This can be done by almost anyone for 10 days or more every year. I have been putting my patients through metabolic detoxification programs for more than twenty years. I recommend a bit more intensive diet and use of a lot of detoxification supplements. The foundational program I most commonly use is Clear Change® 10 Day Program with UltraClear® RENEW. This is also available in a 28 day version. Sauna therapy, Swedish massage, rebounding, and other treatments can further aid detoxification. If testing has been done to identify the presence of specific toxins or involvement of specific body organs, then specific treatments are employed.
A Neurological Toxicity Test: Functional Acuity Contrast Test
The Functional Acuity Contrast Test measures visual contrast sensitivity. It is an objective tool for determining if an individual is suffering neurological effects of toxicity. The test assesses the person's ability to see shades of gray. This ability involves the optic nerve, which is an extension of the brain. The test works like this: A card is held at a certain distance and one eye is tested at a time. The card has rows and columns of circles with gray lines that are arranged at different angles. The intensity of the gray shading varies from circle to circle. The test subject has to state which direction the gray lines are pointing: straight up and down, up to the left or up to the right. Toxicity has been found to impair the ability to see subtle shades of gray. Published research has demonstrated a connection between failing this test and a variety of toxins, including mercury, lead, styrene, organic solvents, and biotoxins.
I perform the Functional Acuity Contrast Test in my office. I have seen improvements on this test after a few months of targeted nutritional therapy.
The Functional Acuity Contrast Test