Detoxification

Detoxification methods of healing have been used for thousands of years. Fasting is one of the oldest therapeutic practices in medicine. Hippocrates, the ancient Greek known as the “Father of Western medicine,” recommended fasting as a means for improving health. Ayurvedic medicine, 3,000-5,000 years old has developed utilizes detoxification methods to treat many chronic conditions and to prevent illness.

There are two types of toxins: Exogenous Toxins are environmental and outside of the body. Pesticides, smog, fertilizers, electromagnetic fields, MSG, synthetic sweeteners and plastics are examples. They lodge in the body's cells and tissues and are often not easily eliminated.

Endogenous Toxins are byproducts of normal metabolic processes. Lactic acid, carbon dioxide, ammonia and urea are examples. In other words they come from the food and liquids you consume. Usually a healthy body is well equipped to eliminate these endogenous toxins from your system. However with compromised health efficient elimination becomes more difficult.

An often overlooked source of endogenous toxins is an unhealthy digestive system. Over time, a diet that's rich in highly refined foods, poor eating habits, and emotional stress can lead to an unhealthy balance of microorganisms in your gastrointestinal tract, a state that's called intestinal dysbiosis. This process produces undesirable yeasts, fungi, bacteria, and parasites. Gaseous by-products include aldehydes, alcohols, indols, phenols and skatols. Some of these endogenous toxins are eliminated while others make their way into the bloodstream and are stored in the cells.

Detoxification treatment has become one of the cornerstones of alternative medicine. It has also become important as people have become more aware of their diets and environmental pollution. Toxins have become unavoidable. Pesticides that are used only on crops in the southern United States have been found in tissues of animals in the north of Canada. DDT, a cancer-causing insecticide that has been banned for decades, is still regularly found in the fatty tissue of animals, birds, and fish, throughout the world, even at the North Pole. The difficulty with toxins in the environment is compounded because humans are at the top of the food chain. We are exposed to an accumulation of toxic substances in the food supply. Non organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains are heavily sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. These chemicals are stored at the cellular level of humans and animals and impossible to eliminate without the aid of detoxification.

Pesticides and herbicides are used on animal feed, consumed by the animals and stored in their fatty tissue. In addition, animals are often injected with synthetic hormones, antibiotics, and other chemicals. When humans eat meat products, they are consuming all chemicals and additives given to the animals. Detoxification specialists call this repeated exposure bioaccumulation. It is responsible for many physical and mental disorders, especially those that are increasing dramatically. These include autoimmune disorders, neurological diseases and cancer. As a result, detoxification therapies are even more important.