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Detoxification

There are many suggested methods of detoxification,

including fasting, all vegetable diets, all fruit diets, elimination diets, rotation diets, master chlorophyll diets, herbal formulas to speed elimination, fibers or bulk additions to the diet to increase stool volume, lymphatic supports, enemas or colonics, parasite cleansing, body and lymph massage. 

The organs of elimination are the kidneys, the liver, the bowel, the lungs, the lymph and skin all fed by the blood. These organs are compensatory organs, they will work hard, bend over backwards, beg borrow and steal from each other to keep the body functioning. They will do this quietly as long as possible, with only a whimper until they are in maximum trouble.

Internal detoxification is often neglected, overlooked or misunderstood. In the past, "detox" was used clinically for recovering alcoholics/drug addicts, or individually as a once in a while cleaning for general health maintenance.  Today detoxification is becoming necessary simply because we are continuously surrounded by an involuntary toxic load and because health depends on how well the body takes care of its internal environment.
 
In order to detoxify successfully,
open the channels of elimination before stirring up too much accumulated waste material. Healthy bowel, liver, lung, skin and kidney function are necessary to successfully eliminate waste.  Specific methods designed to achieve this depend on the individual, but cover the basic eliminative channels no matter what the condition.
 
We should cleanse two to three times per year, ideally when fall turns to winter, when winter turns to spring and when spring turns to summer. Presented in this document are suggested applications of food source assistants that are safe, non-toxic, easy to obtain and effective if applied in the order given. 
 

Kidneys: 
Waste Removal Specialists

The kidneys, located below the waist on either side of the spine, have the job of maintaining a constant and healthy internal environment in the body. Our blood is filtered through the kidney at the rate of 450 gallons per day (1500 liters). The kidneys select and use nutrients then pass the rest out through the urine. The kidneys, assisted by the liver, excrete waste from protein metabolism, excess hormones, excess vitamins and minerals, foreign substances such as food additives, chemicals and drugs. They regulate electrolyte balance, maintain the body pH, regulate blood pressure, produce hormones, convert vitamin D into a hormone and maintain water balance in the body. 

Chemical wastes need to be removed from the body so they don't build up and contaminate cells, according the American Medical Association Family Guide. The blood flow transports wastes from the liver to the kidneys where wastes are filtered out and mixed with excess water to produce urine. They work at this constantly. If this filtration capacity is damaged or not enough pure water is circulated, kidneys can be damaged. Coffee, alcohol, orange and grapefruit products, red wine and rhubarb along with excess protein (which burns inefficiently as a fuel, leaving nitrogen ash behind) all damage the delicate apparatus of the kidneys.  Parsley tea is one of the most
effective botanical kidney remedies known.

Parsley is regarded highly by herbalists but unappreciated by the general consumer. It is concentrated chlorophyll, has B vitamins and vitamin K, and is a rich source of potassium. It has a broad healing activity, is a strengthening diuretic and specific for liver, kidney and bladder problems. It is an effective stone dissolving agent and solvent which can clear the filters housed in the Bowman capsule (one million in each kidney).  It is a digestive aid (have you seen it on your plate when you eat out?), breath freshener, blood tonic and immune enhancer. It is believed (research pending) that parsley has a particular chemical and electrical imprint that is specific to the kidney, which may assist in the restoration of correct function to that organ and thus improve all kidney dependent metabolic activity.

Support the kidneys with 1/2 to 1 gallon of fresh clean non-chlorinated water daily to increase fluid exchange.

THE LIVER: Our Chemical Filter

The liver is the key channel of elimination and a very versatile organ. It is involved in the storage, synthesis
and metabolism of food, in destroying red blood cells and in detoxifying the system. Everything we breathe, eat and absorb through our skin is purified and refined in the liver. The heavy metals we breathe, drugs we take in, pain killers and sleeping pills have a profound effect on the liver.

Blood flows directly from the digestive tract through the portal vein to the liver so chemicals can be altered or stored before they are distributed to the rest of the body for elimination. Everything that enters the liver must be detoxified and transformed.  Our high protein diets impose a considerable load on the digestive system. The combustion of protein as a fuel does not burn cleanly, leaving nitrogen "ashes" behind. Toxic nitrogen (blood urea nitrogen, i.e. uric acid) must be altered into simple compounds and eliminated. If not, it settles into areas of slower circulation to irritate the surrounding tissues, creating inflammation and pain.

Only a fraction of ingested chemicals are altered on the first pass through the liver, they recirculate until altered and eliminated by the kidneys or through bile in the intestine. When we feel slightly nauseous or "sick to the stomach" or just fatigued and out of energy these symptoms are an indication of the liver working to release stored chemical waste for elimination in the bowel.

Liver injury can cause vague symptoms such as digestive problems, constipation, low energy, allergies and hay fever (caused by the inability of the liver to detoxify harmful substances). Liver dysfunction can cause mental disturbances because the liver is unable to detoxify excess hormones entering the blood and traveling to the brain.  A healthy liver inactivates hormones when they are no longer needed protecting the brain cells from damage.   There are hundreds of clinical studies showing that Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) will assist the liver in clearing a broad range of potentially damaging substances, act as an antioxidant, and neutralize free radicals.

Support the liver with known and researched chologogues like Milk Thistle, Dandelion or Beet Leaf in capsule or tea form as well as whole food antioxidants which take some of the pressure of daily work from the liver while it is processing stored chemical waste in the early stages of cleansing.
 

BOWELS:  Toxin Eliminator

It has been said that death begins in the colon. How often have we experienced gas, bloating, heaviness, tiredness, sour stomach, and other digestive upsets? These are all symptoms of imbalance in the intestinal organs as a result of parasites, inefficient digestion, absorption or eliminations. The colon, or large intestine, is an organ very much neglected until real trouble has begun. The symptoms of constipation or diarrhea are often treated with over the counter preparations advertised on television and in magazines. This may relieve symptoms temporarily, but does nothing to address the cause of the condition, and may allow this condition to become serious. Degenerative conditions resulting from colon dysfunction take many years to develop.

The colon is considered the storage organ for semisolid dietary waste products waiting to be eliminated. It absorbs fluids, minerals (calcium, phosphorus and magnesium) and electrolytes from that residue. Blood levels of cholesterol are managed in a healthy colon: B-vitamins are synthesized and digestive enzymes are produced. The colon also takes up short-chain fatty acids produced by intestinal bacterial colonies during the fermentation of fibers. The body then uses these chains for energy .  There are over three pounds of intestinal microbes present in a healthy large bowel. These populations are required to manage pathogenic microbial, parasitic and chemical activity produced and hosted as a by-product of inefficient digestion, putrefaction and fermentation of proteins and carbohydrates.
        
The two primary things that happen in the colon are:

Colon stasis, which is lack of good movement of material through the bowel, allowing waste to remain in the colon for along time and eventually reabsorbing as toxic material and preventing the absorption of quality material. This occurs generally because of too little fiber in the diet. Colon stasis is often the first phase of more significant problems such as colitis, diverticulosis and diverticulitis.

The second primary problem occurring in the colon is putrefaction and abnormal bacterial colonies in the bowel. This condition is generally the result of consistent insult to the bacterial populations without reinoculating of probiotic cultures and from maldigestion of excess refined carbohydrates in the form of white sugar and flour products producing an inhospitable environment for healthy gut bacteria. In this environment parasites can establish a presence using the nutrient stream to proliferate while slowly starving their host.
        
Detoxification programs assist in the elimination of parasitic infestations and long-standing accumulations of hardened fecal and rubbery mucous waste materials from the bowel, thereby increasing the ability of the body to absorb necessary fluids and nutrients required for optimum health while reducing or eliminating the inflammatory process that is damaging to health and restoration.

The large bowel must be stimulated gently to eliminate all the undigested, stored, hardened, plasticized and mucous material that is absorbed into the bloodstream as toxins. Bowel toxemia is believed to contribute to autoimmune and immune complex disease as well as inflammatory conditions. Parasitic infestations can range from mild and hardly noticeable to serious and potentially life threatening. Worms (pinworms, roundworms, hookworms, threadworms, whipworms, tapeworms, Guardia lamblia) are parasites that live and feed in the intestinal tract while other parasites (blood flukes, protozoa) can move freely throughout the body, including into the brain.
        
Fiber is a vitally important part of a healthy colon program.
 
What exactly is fiber?
 
Fiber is the part of food which is not broken down into nutrient quality chemicals by the body, but instead like a broom sweeps through the intestinal tract, some without being absorbed or assimilated and some being absorbed, binding bile acids, increasing fecal bulk, diluting the concentrations of sugars and fats, decreasing bowel transit time and much more. Fiber consists of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectin, and gums. Fiber's ability to neutralize, absorb and facilitate the elimination of toxic wastes is a documented medical fact. Medical studies offer compelling and clear evidence that adequate fiber intake is vital to quality health. Many researchers believe that chronic degenerative disease such as cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, diverticulosis, high blood pressure, ulcers, food allergies, candida, acne and many others are related to fiber deficient diets.  The dietary fiber intake of the average American is 6-12 grams daily.
 
With our modern diet of fiber-deficient, processed, refined, denatured, cooked, fried, fat laden and junk foods, and main dietary components of meat, poultry and dairy foods with No fiber, we have escalating degenerative diseases.

Whole grains are an excellent source of fiber, but most grain products made into breads, muffins, pastas and desserts have been stripped of their fiber through the refining process. One half cup of lettuce contains 0.3 grams, one half cup of broccoli has 2 grams, one half cup of brown rice provides only 2.4 grams. One medium banana has 2 grams of fiber.

Scientists and health practitioners recommend between 35-60 grams per day. It isn't as easy as it might seem to get enough fiber to improve digestion, eliminative, and metabolic processes while gently sweeping, cleansing and toning the entire intestinal tract. Psyllium husks, slippery elm bark, and fructooligosacharrides (F.O.S., these promote colonization of healthy bacterial groups) combine well to help increase fiber grams and intestinal tone.

Some herbs for a healthy colon include Cascara Sagrada, barberry, ginger, fennel and cayenne. There are many bowel formulas to fit each and every need.  If you experience changes in bowel habits such as temporary loose stools, or seeming constipation in the early stages of detoxification, this will pass with sufficient water and fiber intake. Most individuals report an immediate improvement in bowel habits with the addition of fibers and herb combinations. Once the parasites and waste have been removed and the digestion and elimination is functioning better, it is time to reestablish the healthy inoculant bacteria that is natural to the large intestine.
        
Probiotic foods are designed to assist your bowels in reestablishing healthy bacterial colonies and managing the pathogenic fungus and microbial populations.

Bifido Bacterium Bifidus is a probiotic culture we are initially inoculated with from breast milk. If you were bottle-fed or had antibiotic care before five years of age, this culture was probably not well established. It is largely concentrated in the colon, the large intestine. It is here that cellulose is broken down and mixed with the unused portion of food material, toxic accumulations and older retained food wastes, then processed for elimination. Water is absorbed through the colon.  Some people will experience thirst and/or temporary constipation as this organ is rebalanced.

Remember that coffee and caffeine are diuretics; so if you experience thirst, drink clear clean, non-chlorinated, non-fluoridated water in large quantities.  You are reestablishing digestive and eliminative balance; help your body as much as you can. Good digestion, absorption and elimination equals the greatest chance to build healthy new cell material for maintenance and repair of the body.
 

Support the digestive system

1. Find your personal protein, carbohydrate, and fat                formula for optimum digestion.

         2. Choose foods that are genetically compatible with your                   blood type, and combine for healthy digestion.

         2. Cleanse the colon and tissues of accumulated wastes

         3. Remove parasites and fungal overgrowth, rebalance the              bacterial environment.

         4. Support the removal of decomposition products with                      drainage remedies for matrix health.

         5. Reinoculate with high quality probiotics designed to                      implant and reproduce themselves to healthy levels.

 

LYMPH SYSTEM: 
Foreign Substance Fighter

 The lymphatic system is our major "garbage-disposal", our immune system. When healthy and in motion, it is enormously powerful. In health, this system is a flexible, complex communication network responding moment by moment to the ever-changing environment of the body.  This wonderful protective network is designed to help us resist disease and infection, fight off viruses, bacteria, fungi and foreign substances to which we should be resistant.

 
The immune system has three different duties. Surveillance is done by white cells, which act like sentries, identifying and attempting to overcome both internal traitors like malignant cells or any outside invaders. Defense is next, white blood cells locate invaders at the site of infection, engulfing them and breaking them apart for further processing. Next the job of repair is done by a strict routine of housecleaning. Different white cells engulf both the offending and defending cells, removing them from the site of infection to eliminate the toxins or other harmful substances. This process will also remodel and repair those parts which need it.
 
 White blood cells (produced by the lymph glands tonsils, spleen and thymus) are the primary surveillance team. Their job is to travel through blood and tissues looking for invaders and cellular disorder.  Antibodies are produces to disable and defend. The lymph glands do the job of collecting this material from our cells and bloodstream. Lymph fluid has the ability to go deep into the tissues where blood cannot penetrate and pick up toxic material in the form of acids and catarrh that has to be eliminated for our protection. The body has an inner and outer lymph system, which circulates like blood but separate from the blood. Identified and isolated toxins are passed through the eliminative channels of the lymph glands, collected there and then dumped into the bloodstream.  The waste is then transported to the colon, kidneys, lungs or skin to be eliminated. If any of these channels are compromised, the workload is increased, leading to immune diseases. When there is a real challenge to be addressed, the lymph can be overtired and unable to do a good job for us.  Sometimes it's too much for the system and the body gets sick!
 
We also challenge our lymph with the absorption of undigested food particles through the wall of the small intestine. When this happens the lymphocytes have to complete the job of digestion for us. The minicomputer called a lymphocyte has to identify, neutralize and break each substance into a simple substance that the tissues can accommodate. We have the heart to pump our blood, but only our major muscle movement or massage pumps the lymph fluid.  Exercise really does help!  Enzymes with meals are the best protection we have against over tired lymph. Vitamin C is an excellent assistant to the lymph as are the herbs Echinacea, garlic and ginseng, taken as tea, tincture or capsules. Coenzyme Q10 also affects cellular vitality, circulation and lymphatic health.  A well-absorbed mineral rich diet is the best lymphatic health insurance.
 
Nutrient support for active infections may not relieve symptoms but can prevent complications and enhance immune function. Fluids and rest, Vitamin C, Coenzyme Q10, Selenium, Antioxidants, Chlorophyll rich super foods, Echinacea and Goldenseal (somewhat antiviral), Garlic (antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial). Plant oils eucalyptus globulus and robisonella for chest, nose and lymph area are antiviral and effective in thinning releasing mucus. Robinsonella aromatica used in a glass of water several times a day seems to lessen some symptoms. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen, which are used to alleviate head and body aches, actually suppress the immune system and increase the chance of illness returning.
Therapeutic Massage
for lymph drainage
Through massage touch, warmth and movement of tissues starts the body chemistry through blood and liquid moving faster through the muscles. This mobilizes toxins stored in the tissues to be eliminated from the body. The massage environment also hits the receptor cells, which convert information into electrical signals going to the brain, giving feedback to allow both physical and emotional release from the muscles.
 
LUNGS: The Vital Oxygen Pump
We can live for weeks without food, days without water but only 7 minutes without oxygen.  Oxygen is a vital fuel, which drives every cell of our bodies.  90% of the oxygen utilized by the cell is consumed by the mitochondrial electron transport system, which is literally the electrical force that keeps us alive. Most of our oxygen comes from the process of respiration. The lungs and the kidneys expel the greatest percentage of metabolic by-products, turning them into harmless gasses or fluids. This actually keeps the blood fresh and clean, the bone marrow stimulated to produce healthier bone marrow and the metabolism operating at peak efficiency.
 
The lungs are protected by mucous membranes, and function as two-way filters. As the body tries to rid itself of toxins, mucous becomes an excretion. Inefficient digestion of starchy food and milk products can overload the liver and kidneys with toxic excretions, so the lungs pitch in and help by producing a large amount of mucous to carry bacteria, virus, fungi and all kind of air born pollution out of the body. The lungs along with the skin, the bowels, the kidney and the menses work to rid the body of these mucus accumulations.  Restricted intake of oxygen results in malnutrition, low energy, osteoporosis, and wasting diseases like asthma, pneumonia, emphysema and finally death.      
 
Breathing is something we don't think about until we are confronted with some disease that affects our ability to breath oxygen. It is the most essential nutrient for life all bodily functions depend on, especially energy production in the muscle cells.  Deep breathing massages the internal organs, tones the diaphragm and abdominal muscles. The high volume of oxygen absorbed by the lungs cleanses and revitalizes the organ systems. Since 70% of the body's many toxins are released through exhalation, deep breathing is also a natural and powerful detoxifier.
        
We restrict our breath with every real or imagined trauma, and many of our emotional challenges are recorded on and connected to an altered or restricted breathing pattern.

As psychoanalysts have long observed, the body constricts in areas experiencing uncomfortable emotions. (1) Dr. Alan Hymes has suggested in Science of Breath that there are identifiable associations between specific mental/emotional states and holding patterns of tension in the body.

Tension in the neck, for example, announces a different emotional experience than tightness in the chest. Since much of our emotional experience registers in the abdomen and torso, our responses interact constantly with our breathing.

We hold our breath, pause in the normal sequence of inflow and outflow, or breathe shallowly. These patterns of breath avoidance become habitual over time. The brain eventually withdraws attention from areas of isolated feelings in order to protect the nervous system from trauma.  The resulting pattern is self-repeating.

Dysfunctional respiration reinforces chronic tension, which then suppresses full respiration. Emotional responses become increasingly inhibited. The body loses energy. Organs and tissue structures can be adversely affected and overall immune response weakened.  It is estimated that over 90% of the population exhibit restricted breathing patterns. A test in a Minnesota hospital of 153 heart patients revealed them all to be shallow breathers. (2)
        
Exercise is the proper way to build healthy lungs and produce a wonderful sense of physical and emotional we being. Breathing patterns can also be trained to redirect body resources toward health and transformation.
1. Rama, Ballentine and Hymes. Science of Breath (Himalayan Institute, Honesdale, PA: 1979)
2. Hendricks, Gay. Conscius Breathing (Bantam Books, New York City: 1995)
Skin: The Biggest Kidney
Our skin is the largest nourishment and detoxification organ, covers the largest area and acts much like the kidneys to eliminate blood waste. The skin's three layers protect your internal organs, regulate temperature, and help rid the body of toxins in the form of gas, vapor and perspiration. (Up to two quarts per day in the form of sweat, gases and vapor if the pores are clean and free of cosmetics, toxic oils and grease and/or dead cell buildup). Poor diet and circulation, constipation, harmful bacteria, internal toxicity (digestive or lymphatic congestion), lack of tissue oxygen and acid/ alkaline imbalance all contribute to skin, hair and nail problems.
        
The care and nourishment of beautiful skin, lustrous hair, sparkling eyes, and strong nails requires a food source rich in mineral, vitamin and amino acid building blocks.  Glowing skin tone depends on a clean, hydrated system, flushed of toxic wastes and a pH balanced body. Remember that your skin is an equal channel to the inside as it is to the outside (as proven by Nicotine and other types of medicinal patches).  Take care in the cosmetic products you apply to the skin, they may carry toxic materials and bacteria to the inside as well. There are many fine natural and pure skin care products available in the marketplace. 
        
Cleansing and alkalinizing the bowel helps to purify the bloodstream.  If wastes are eliminated through the skin, it is an indication that more water and more high fiber foods may be necessary to assist in the removal of those toxins.
Blood: The River of Life
The blood transports nutrients to all the organs, eliminates toxic waste material and sends messages throughout the body with hormones released by the endocrine glands. Boils, acne, tumors, cysts, dermatitis and cancer along with many other diseases come from a polluted blood stream and a congested matrix. When the matrix is opened, blood is purified and toxins and acids are neutralized, health will return to the body.  Since blood quality depends on a healthy matrix, quality food, clean water, digestive and eliminative health, these are attended to first when applying restoration therapy. It takes 120 days to replace the bloodstream from the dietary, digestive process.
        
With a change in nutrition and support of the liver, bowel, kidneys and skin, restoration may occur at the cellular level from this refreshed bloodstream. Good herbal support for the blood stream is the same as good bowel help. There are many excellent herbs and foods, which assist in blood health. Red Clover flowers are a good blood "sweetener," usually taken as tea.

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