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21 February 2008

Detoxification - Why is it Important?

Written by Dr. Amanda Guthrie, ND

Detoxification has become a popular topic lately, and from a health professional’s point of view, there are both positive and negative aspects of this current trend. Certainly many people could benefit from ridding their bodies of unwanted chemicals; however, detoxification is not appropriate for everyone, and it is essential that it is done safely to ensure that you don’t end up feeling worse than when you started!

Before considering whether to detoxify your body, you should understand where toxins are coming from. What is a toxin, you might ask? It is any compound that has a detrimental effect on the function of your body’s cells. All of our cells produce waste that must be eliminated from the body. In optimal health, wastes are broken down and excreted from the body. When our detoxification and elimination processes become impaired or overwhelmed the level of waste toxins in our blood increases.

What illnesses are associated with toxicity?

• Immune System Dysfunction: allergies, chemical sensitivities, chronic infections, autoimmunity, certain cancers (B cell malignancies especially)
• Nervous System Dysfunction: headache, cloudy thinking, depression, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease
• Hormone Dysfunction: hypothyroidism, premenstrual syndrome, painful periods, difficult menopausal symptoms
• Energy Production Dysfunction: fatigue, diabetes, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome

Where are toxins coming from?

1. External Environment – chemicals (from dry cleaning, car exhaust, food preservatives and colourings, petroleum products, pesticides), drugs, alcohol, heavy metals (from contaminated fish, dental fillings, cosmetics, pesticide sprays, cigarette smoke, cooking utensils, paint, solder in tin cans, batteries, antacids and cookware
2. Internal Environment – substances produced by the body such as food byproducts, hormones, acids, and toxins produced by bacteria and yeast in the digestive tract
3. Emotional Stress – lowers your threshold to tolerate even low dose exposure to internal and external toxins

What can you do about it?

Avoid toxicity in your environment:

• Purify your work and home environments
• Remove toxic materials at work, such as stored chemicals, paints, solvents, glues, acids
• Remove household offenders like garden chemicals, cleaning agents, dry cleaning, secondhand smoke
• Regularly replace furnace and air conditioning filters, or use HEPA filters that reduce dust and molds
• Consume meats from organically raised animals and organically grown fruits and vegetables to avoid pesticides, herbicides, fumigants, hormones and antibiotics

Eat Plenty of Nutritious Foods:

• Drink plenty of purified water (eight glasses a day)
• Eat plenty of vegetables, moderate levels of protein and healthy fats
• Avoid eating excess fat, sugar and foods containing additives and preservatives
  Remove food allergens from your diet

Enhance Detoxification:

• Reduce Stress – effectively managing stress, getting adequate rest and practicing meditation are means to reduce the negative effects that the stress response has on our bodies
• Use liver supportive herbs and nutrients – Specific herbs have a detoxifying effect by stimulating bile flow and liver regeneration. Liver supportive nutrients help the liver to do its job of detoxifying the blood

The Detoxification Program is a medically supervised 4-week detoxification program that will improve your health, leaving you feeling energized and rejuvenated.

Includes:
1. Health monitoring with a medical professional to ensure safety and efficacy: 4 visits with a Naturopathic doctor.

2. Infrared Sauna: nine sauna sessions (1 hour each) at elmspa a hidden gem at 557 Church Street, just north of Wellesley Street, Toronto.ON.

3. Detoxification Diet: 2 containers of MediClear (a professional quality hypoallergenic detoxification nutritional supplement) and thorough education of how to eat a whole-foods healthy detoxification diet.
Natural bristle dry skin brush to improve circulation and detoxification.

4. pH paper for daily monitoring of your salivary and urinary pH at home.

5. Detoxification Patient Guide: an educational binder including your personalized detoxification prescription, information on detoxification, tips on how to maximize the program to achieve success, and daily tracking sheets to monitor your progress.

Amanda Guthrie, naturopathic doctor
acupuncture ~ herbal medicine nutrition ~ counselling ~ homeopathy
The Chung Centre for Vibrant Health
28 park rd Toronto on
M4W 1M1
t 416.944.9186
f 416.944.2072

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