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Better Health Update #15 - Monte Kline, Clinical Nutritionist

Detoxification

Many view natural medicine as popping 50 vitamin pills a day for a variety of different concerns. While I am most definitely an advocate of taking needed and compatible nutritional supplements, that approach is a little like building the second floor of a house before completing the foundation. The foundation of natural healing is not putting nutrients into the body, but detoxifying the body.

Would you lay down new carpeting over a dirty floor? Probably not, but that's exactly what people do with their health when they bombard their bodies with nutritional supplements without first cleaning their body. In this article we want to look at sources of toxicity and methods of detoxifying.

GETTING TOXIC

There are two basic methods of getting toxic:

1. External Toxins - These are toxins taken into your body from the outside. This group would include industrial chemicals, food additives, medical drug residues, hydrocarbon chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, and the like. These toxins come into your body from the food you eat, the water you drink, the air you breathe, the medications you take, etc.

2. Internal (Self-Produced) Toxins - These toxins primarily result from a poorly functioning digestive tract, along the lines of the following formula:

Poor Digestion + Poor Assimilation + Poor Elimination =
INTERNAL TOXICITY

The digestive function of the average person has been greatly compromised by years of (1) eating the wrong foods, (2) eating foods in the wrong combination, (3) eating too much, and (4) eating while stressed or in a hurry. Improperly digested food comprises just another toxin in the body. And, frankly, that improperly digested food can produce as much (or more) toxicity than all the various external toxins like chemicals, drugs, and heavy metals.

CONSTIPATION & TOXICITY

If you put food into the body three meals a day (not counting snacks), does it make sense that having a bowel elimination once per day or once every other day is adequate? Under the advise of very stupid medical doctors, most people have been led to believe that "normal is whatever is 'normal' for you." That has to be the most inane statement ever made by medical doctors!

Those who have studied primitive peoples generally find they have one bowel movement for each meal they eat (for them that usually means two per day). If you have less than two bowel movements per day, you're constipated. If you have less than one bowel movement per day, you're really constipated! I often see clients having one movement every three, five, seven days or longer. That creates a tremendous amount of "recycled toxins" that other body organs must deal with.

DETERMINING TOXICITY LEVELS

You may be wondering how you can determine your toxicity levels . . . just how toxic are you? We have used two methods with the Electro-Dermal Testing at Pacific Health Center relative to toxicity:

1. Biological Score Test - The first test we do with all clients is measure the Biological Score Index to use as a monitoring tool. The first number on the Biological Score is for Overall Toxicity on a 1 to 10 scale, with 10 being the most toxic. The ten test vials consist of homeopathic dilutions of different venoms, with the most toxic ones being at the upper end of the scale. With the detoxifying aspects of our program this Overall Toxicity number will come down, usually by one or two points the first month of following the diet and supplementation recommendations.

2. Dysbiosis Test - Dysbiosis refers to having a "bad bacteria" imbalance in the intestinal tract . . . which most people do. This test would perhaps be the best measure of the internal, self-produced toxicity. It is measured by testing homeopathic dilutions of two intestinal by-products of toxicity, indol and skatol.

SOLUTIONS TO TOXICITY

There are several key steps that can be taken to detoxify the body:

1. Stop the Toxic Input - Detoxifying the body is a wasted effort if you're not going to stop the toxic input. Diet-wise that means you stop eating refined sugar, refined flour and food additives. Water-wise it means you stop drinking tap water and instead use distilled. Breathing-wise it may mean you use an indoor air purifier. Dental-wise it means you don't put in any more mercury amalgam dental fillings or root canals. Skin-wise, it means you avoid harmful chemicals in terms of the regular soaps, shampoos, cosmetics, and aluminum-containing anti-perspirants.
Keep in mind that you can only detoxify the body so fast, so you can't be "shoveling the toxins in" faster than a detoxifying program can "shovel them out" and make any real headway.

2. Restore the Digestive Tract - As mentioned earlier, our internal, self-produced toxicity is a function of the digestive tract. Therefore, the digestive tract needs some help. Several possible supplements might be considered, understanding that, as always, different products are appropriate for different people at different times. Individual Electro-Dermal Testing tells us specifically which are right for you now.

(1) Acidophilus - Since dysbiosis means you have too much of the "bad bacteria" in the intestinal tract, we want to re-implant the "good" bacteria.
(2) F.O.S. - Fructooligosaccharides encourage good intestinal bacteria growth and generally have a repairing effect on the digestive tract, particularly with so-called "leaky gut syndrome."
(3) Digestive Enzymes - Since a lot of toxicity is simply the result of inadequate digestion of food, putting the enzymes in you need can greatly help the root cause.
(4) Psyllium Husk - This non-digestible plant fiber powder is used in a glass of juice for providing bulk and thus stimulating better bowel regularity while it cleanses deposits from the colon.

While other possible products might be used these are the most common for correcting the digestive tract.

HOMEOPATHIC DETOXIFICATION

Homeopathy refers to the use of micro-dilutions of different plant, animal or mineral substances as remedies. When applied to toxicity, homeopathy uses a dilution of the particular toxin that is a problem. This dilution has a stimulating effect on the immune system to kick out that particular toxin. It's like hanging up a "wanted poster" for the culprit you're after.

Due to their high dilution, homeopathic remedies work on an energetic level, not on a chemical level, so you're not really adding more of the toxin to the body. I would be lost in my practice without homeopathic detoxification for toxins like Candida albicans, Epstein-Barr virus, formaldehyde, heavy metals, and many others. This, I believe, is the most effective method for going after specific toxins.

SEVEN DAY CLEANSING DIET

One of the most successful aspects of our programs from the beginning has been the Seven Day Cleansing Diet. This is good for general detoxification by almost anyone. Do not use this diet if you are pregnant, diabetic, or have a serious health problem without consulting with a health practitioner, however. Basically, this is a diet of fruits, fruit juices, steamed vegetables, and vegetable broth as follows:

DAYS 1 & 2 - Two day juice fast. No solid food is eaten.
Fruit Juice (fresh or frozen unsweetened): 4 oz./hour till 7 PM
Distilled Water: 4 oz./hour in between drinking juice (stop at 7 PM except as needed to quench thirst)
Pro Bulk M (psyllium/herbal formula): 1 heaping tsp. in juice upon arising and at bedtime
Ultradophilus Forte (acidophilus): 1 capsule upon arising and at bedtime.
DAYS 3 & 4 - Two day fruit diet. No other solid food is eaten.
Eat a variety of the following non-citrus fruits (as much as you feel hungry for): grapes, pears, plums, peaches, apples, and nectarines.
Distilled Water: 4 oz./hour (stop at 7 PM except as needed to quench thirst)
Pro Bulk M: 1 heaping tsp. in juice upon arising and bedtime
Ultradophilus Forte: 1 capsule upon arising and bedtime

DAYS 5, 6, & 7 - Fruit and vegetable diet.
Distilled water: 4 oz./hour (stop at 7 PM except as needed to quench thirst)
Pro Bulk M: 1 heaping tsp. in juice upon arising and bedtime
Ultradophilus Forte: 1 capsule upon arising and bedtime

Breakfast - Citrus fruits only
Mid-Morning Snack - Any other non-citrus fruit
Lunch
(1) Salad of 3 to 6 vegetables (e. g. green leafy lettuce, red leafy lettuce, romaine lettuce, raw spinach, tomatoes, grated carrots, raw cauliflower, raw broccoli, diced cel- ery, alfalfa sprouts, etc. No iceberg head lettuce.
(2) Vegetable Broth (see recipe below) - 2 cups
Dinner
(1) Two or three steamed vegetables
(2) Vegetable Broth - 2 cups

VEGETABLE BROTH RECIPE

2 large unpeeled potatoes, diced
1 c. carrots, diced
1 c. celery, diced
1 c. of any other vegetable (e.g. beet tops, turnip tops, parsley, swiss chard, etc.)
1 - 2 cloves garlic
1 - 2 tsp. Herb-Alt Seasoning (available from our clinic)

Cook the above in 6 cups distilled water. After bringing to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain out and discard vegetables leaving only the broth. Cool until just warm before drinking. Refrigerate what is not immediately used, and warm before serving.

DETOXIFICATION SYMPTOMS

During particularly the first day of the Cleansing Diet, you may notice some slight discomfort, since you have changed your regular pattern of eating. About the third or fourth day the bowels and kidneys will begin to move freely.

There may be symptoms of headache, perhaps nausea, gas, and aches and pains, but don't be alarmed. These signs just mean the cleanse is working. Rest as much as possible.

Your energy may feel lower because your normal muscular energy is being diverted to cleaning the body out. Most people will experience a surge of energy after going through this initial cleansing stage.
Remember, detoxification is foundational to your health.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose illness nor prescribe treatment. Rather, this material is designed to be used in cooperation with your nutritionally-oriented health professional to deal with your personal health problems. Should you use this information on your own, you are prescribing for yourself, which is your constitutional right, but neither the author nor publisher assume responsibility.