Detoxification

There is almost no remedy or treatment that can so positively affect the progression of so many diseases, or help to promote optimal health, as an effectively conducted detoxification program.

Detoxification has been around for many thousands of years in one form or another, with Ayurveda, the earliest form of medicine, which began in India over 40,000 years ago, using health giving herbs and foods that effectively encouraged the body to cleanse itself of a build up of the highly toxic waste matter they called Ama. Ama is described as the sticky foul smelling substance that clogs up our cells causing ill health that develops due to poor digestive processes allowing partially or undigested foods to become toxic in the bowels. The bulk of the toxins that were encountered when Aurvedic Medicine developed would have been digestive in origin. That is, they would have come from gut-based problems such as malnutrition, parasites, foods that were past their use by date, overeating and inefficient digestive organs.

Effective digestion, absorption and waste elimination are of vital importance to good health and detoxification. Food has to be broken down to an absorbable form and waste must be effectively eliminated, or the accumulated waste becomes toxic to the system. Poor digestion encourages parasitic, yeast, and bacterial infections, unhealthy bacterial flora populations, food allergies and leads to the formation of ‘ama’. Unhealthy bowels can also produce excessive amount of the toxins hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and methanethiol (CH3SH) which are more toxic than cyanide and need to be detoxified constantly.
Unfortunately, detoxification today is far more complex than it was 40,000 years ago, due to the plethora of extra chemicals that we now encounter in our environment every day. These chemicals are in almost everything we do and use, from paints to polish, asbestos, fiberglass, carpets, cleaning products, perfume, ink, fly spray, plastic, thermometers, batteries and the list could go on and on – don’t look around your home if you can’t stand a fright! And let’s not forget the chemicals that pollute our outdoor environment at an alarmingly increasing rate, with tonnes of industrial waste pouring into the atmosphere every day. Whilst 40,000 years ago, the major toxins to be encountered were from within, nowadays, the even greater threat is most definitely from the toxins that surround us.

Most of the chemicals that we carry in our tissues, either did not exist or were not in common use many years ago, whilst today, there is no place on the planet to hide from the chemicals, with every one of us experiencing some form of negative effect upon our health from the thousands of chemicals to which we are all exposed. In even the tiniest of doses many of these chemicals are highly toxic and unfortunately, they often combine in the body with other chemicals, to create an entirely new toxin with even greater toxicity effects.

Whilst many people may develop their disease or symptoms due to an excessively high level or complex combination of toxins to which they are exposed, many others may react simply due to their increased susceptibility – or lowered resistance to seemingly unexceptional doses of chemicals. This increased tendency towards chemical sensitivity and a general build up of toxins in the body appears to be a result of the combination of exposure to bowel toxins and the ever-increasing environmental toxins, along with a decrease in the natural fortitude, or internal resistance found in an ideally healthy and balanced body.

Sure, it is a good idea for everyone to attempt to live a clean and toxin free life, but realistically, there is nowhere on the planet that could be classed as a pristine environment - toxins are everywhere, including in your bowel. So now that avoidance is no longer an attainable option, what is the answer to the toxic burden? Regular effective detoxification and support of the organs involved in clearing the accumulating toxins – the gut, the lymph and the liver.
Toxicity is the common thread that runs through a seemingly unrelated collection of diseases, including allergies, autoimmunity, cancer, fatigue, thyroid disorders, eczema, psoriasis, poor immunity, hormonal imbalances and the list goes on.

The naturopaths at Essential Health do NOT encourage fasting at any time, nor during a detoxification program. This is a common mistake made by many people and can lead to a worsening of symptoms and even damage to the liver, gut and other organs. An individually designed low reactive diet should be used, along with supplements that assist the repair and detoxifying processes effectively to ensure adequate elimination of toxins without further stress to the body. Other options that we need to consider include initially purging the bowel of built up waste matter, correcting deficiencies of the digestive organs, removing infections of parasites and pathogenic bacteria, repairing gut wall integrity and replenishing the bowel with healthy populations of specific therapeutic gut flora. For an effective program, ideally all of this must be considered first, to pave the way for the promotion of the liver detoxification pathways and the cleansing of the lymphatic system and the body’s cells pores of a lifetime of toxic accumulation.

Essential Health is in the unique position of being able to provide an array of assessment tools to determine where areas of your health need the most attention, enabling a suitable and effective detoxification program to provide results.
If you want a quick fix, or magic pill, then perhaps you’re not quite ready for a detox yet. But if you are ready to tackle the toxins head on and move into a new state of well-being, contact us at Reception