Detox & Cleansing

Frequently my patients come in with a laundry list of chronic symptoms which they’ve been struggling with for a very long time. The first question is always, which do we tackle first? Sometimes the answer is obvious, but not uncommonly, the best place to start is to hit “the reset button,” as it were.

What does this mean? Many chronic conditions all stem from the same root: inflammation. This inflammation is often a result of living in a toxic world and eating a standard American diet high in the wrong kinds of essential fatty acids and full of processed chemicals. Before healing really becomes possible, we’ve got to remove the obstacle to cure.

That’s why I have to have a good protocol for cleansing. I use a line of medical foods called Metagenics because of the many years of solid research behind their products as well as the good results I have seen with my patients. The ten day protocol I implement, using a combination of regular food and medical food, has been shown to help balance the two phases of detoxification in the liver (Phase 1 and Phase 2) such that toxic chemicals are rendered harmless and are excreted from the body rather than stored in the tissues.

In addition to the “fast,” your protocol may also include:

1. Supplements that may be necessary for you, especially if you tend towards hypoglycemia or constipation. Fasting does not have to wreak havoc with your blood sugar, and it’s vitally important that your bowel movements are adequate in order to get rid of the toxins we’re trying to eliminate.
2. Constitutional hydrotherapy. The application of hot and cold towels in succession causes a sort of “pumping” action in the blood vessels, delivering nutrients to and eliminating waste from the internal organs and the peripheral tissues at an increased rate. This helps to mobilize the toxins released in the sauna, as well as through the cleanse itself.
3. I may send you for far infrared sauna treatments and/or a series of colonics if you struggle with constipation, or just as a means of increasing the body’s elimination. Even if your bowel movements are regular, colonics increase the release of bile so that the bile itself and the toxins bound to it don’t get recycled. It’s a great way to get the most out of your cleanse.

Once the ten day protocol is over, we will determine whether a longer and more sustainable cleanse is necessary for your specific condition, or whether it’s time to move into the next phase of your healing.