Spring always brings to mind the need for a good cleaning after the long winter; opening up the windows, getting rid of the dust, and shining up the house. Spring is also a great time to clean something even more important than the house….our bodies. Detoxification has been practiced in many cultures for thousands of years as a way to encourage health and prevent disease.
Detoxification is the process of encouraging the removal of toxins and waste that have built up in the body. We are exposed to toxins daily in the environment, our food supply, the air we breathe, household cleaning products, and our clothes. These toxins are linked to many health conditions including allergies, asthma, digestive disturbances, cancer and autoimmune conditions. Our body naturally has the ability to remove these toxins through the kidneys, lungs, skin, bowels, and liver. However, increased exposure can burden the organs and prevent them from doing their job resulting in toxin buildup in various body tissues. Detoxification supports the body’s natural ability to remove these toxins that have built up.
Any good detox involves three specific components:
- Decreasing exposure to toxins through clean diet and minimizing chemical exposure.
- Specific diet choices, targeted supplementation, and IV therapies that encourage the removal of toxins from the body.
- Supporting detoxification pathways to maximize the ability for toxins to leave the body including the liver and digestive system.
This is done through a variety of different treatments:
Diet
Diet is one of the original forms of detoxification. Eating organic minimizes the amount of toxins the body is exposed to. Quality protein and various fruits and vegetables help to encourage the removal of toxins from the body. Refined and processed foods are avoided as they are nutrient deficient.
Supplementation
Specific vitamins, minerals, and herbs support the body’s detoxification pathways. These nutrients are required to bind to toxins and remove them through various pathways. Therapeutic doses of the nutrients are required when the body is working to remove toxins. As the toxins are released from various tissues, it is important to ensure that the pathways are working efficiently to remove the toxins from the body entirely.
IV Therapy
Intravenous vitamins allow for the delivery of higher level of nutrients and 100% absorption. Using IV therapy is a very effective method of providing the body with the required ingredients for detoxification. IV glutathione is particularly important during a detox. Glutathione is made naturally by our body to support the liver pathways that remove toxins from the body. The delivery of high levels of glutathione supports the glutathione naturally made by the body and protects the liver as toxins are being removed.
IV chelation is also used to aid in the removal of heavy metals. Metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and arsenic are deposited in various tissues of the body and are difficult to remove without the use of a “chelating agent”. Chelating agents act as magnets to help draw the metals out of the tissue so the body can remove them. IV DMPS, and EDTA are used as chelating agents to aid in the detoxification of metals.
Colonics
Colonics are an excellent way to support one of our body’s main detoxification systems; the digestive system. Toxins can build up in our colon over time. Colonic hydrotherapy uses water to gently cleanse the bowels and remove old material where these toxins accumulate. The removal of this old material also allows for our digestive system to work more effectively and improves conditions such as constipation and diarrhea.
Remember, as you are cleaning the clutter from your house that it is also important to remove the clutter from your body to stay healthy and happy.
