DETOXIFICATION AND CLEANSING
Our modern world threatens to overwhelm our body’s natural detoxification mechanisms.
Detoxification is a natural process that our bodies do every single day. It is the removal of chemicals, hormones, metabolic waste products, and indigestible food products from the body.
The liver is our primary organ of detoxification. It processes all the foods, chemicals, and drugs that enter our bodies. Other organs involved in detoxification are the kidneys, colon, skin, and lungs. Our urine, stool, sweat, and breath are all ways the body releases substances that it no longer needs.
In our modern world, the burden of toxic pollution, drugs, pesticides, heavy metals, smoke, hormones, and food preservatives threatens to overwhelm our body’s natural detoxification mechanisms. There is also auto-toxicity from our own body’s wastes such as uric acid, ammonia, and hormone metabolites. This auto-toxicity may come from sluggish liver or gall bladder function or constipation.
Think of your body as a bucket that slowly fills with increasing exposure to these toxins. The liver, kidneys, and other organs of detoxification are constantly trying to drain the bucket and reduce your overall toxic burden. But sometimes it’s hard to keep up, and the level rises. If the bucket starts to overflow, it may manifest as health conditions such as heart disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases, allergies, digestive problems, muscle and joint pain, or mental/emotional issues.
The solution is to first reduce the amount of substances being put into your bucket, and second, to assist the drain at the bottom to lower the level. Otherwise, waste products start to accumulate in the body faster than the organs of elimination can remove them.
There are many types of detoxification plans available, and at LFNH we can help you figure out the appropriate detox or cleanse for your needs. It is your decision how involved you want to be in the process and how intense and prolonged your program will be.
A word of caution about many popular detox programs in the general marketplace. Many “colon cleanse” products are simply harsh laxative herbs that may result in rebound constipation (your constipation may become worse because the colon adjusts to the stimulating effects of the laxative herbs and forgets some of its natural actions).
Call 828-298-4800 to learn more about participating in a naturopathic physician-supervised detox program through Lewis Family Natural Health.
Read about Dr. Eric's personal experience with detoxification.
