By: Dr. Natasha Zajmalowski, ND
Proactive Health Care

Doing a cleanse or detox is a proactive way to improve the quality of your health. You may chose to do a cleanse in preparation for pregnancy, to prevent cancer, because you feel sluggish, have acne, allergies, eczema, PMS, joint pain, hypertension or carry excess weight. Or maybe you just like a healthy challenge. Spring is the best time to do a cleanse because fresh food is plentiful and our metabolism naturally speeds up. During the winter our body is distracted with fending off colds and flu and detoxification slows down.

What is Detoxification?
Detoxification is the process of clearing toxins from our body by neutralizing or transforming them so they can be eliminated. Detoxification involves dietary and lifestyle changes that include the reduced intake of toxins and improved elimination. Normally our body creates toxins on a biochemical and cellular level. If these substances/molecules/toxins are not eliminated, they can cause irritation or inflammation in the cells and tissues, blocking normal function. This is when symptoms start to occur. Our body is well equipped to handle a certain level of toxins. Toxicity occurs when we take in more than we can eliminate. The effects that toxins have on our body depend on the dosage, frequency, or potency of the toxin. For example, a toxin may produce an immediate effect to a certain drug or pesticide, but more commonly, the negative effects are long term, for example long time asbestos exposure leading to lung cancer.

What is a Toxin?
A Toxin is any substance that creates irritating and/or harmful effects in the body, undermining our health or stressing our biochemical and organ functions. We acquire toxins all the time from our environment either by ingesting them, breathing them in, or through direct physical contact. Microbes such as intestinal bacteria, foreign bacteria, yeasts and parasites all produce metabolic waste products and are examples of toxins that our body must handle.

THE GOAL is to enhance the elimination of toxins and to prevent their build up by assisting our body in detoxification day to day.

GENERAL DETOXIFICATION SYSTEMS

• Respiratory- lungs, bronchial tubes, throat, nose, and sinuses
  Mucous is the body’s way of trapping invaders.
• Gastrointestinal- liver, gallbladder, colon and entire GI tract
  The liver helps transform many toxic substances into harmless agents. It releases waste through the gallbladder and into the intestines, where it is eliminated. The liver is the main filter that neutralizes our toxic environment.
• Urinary- kidney’s, bladder, and urethra;
  The kidneys help make toxins water soluble and allow for excretion through the urine.
• Skin- sweat, sebaceous glands and tears;
  Our body eliminates toxins through sweating. The skin helps to excrete fat-soluble toxins such as the pesticide DDT and heavy metals such as lead. Skin rashes are an example of a build up of toxins.
• Lymphatic- lymphatic channels and nodes;
  wollen lymph nodes can indicate excess toxin build up.

WHAT COMPROMISES DETOXIFICATION?

• INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS: Virtually everyone is exposed to halogenated hydrocarbons, such as PCBs, at some level everyday.
• PESTICIDES (including herbicides and insecticides): These compounds are most commonly found on and in our food as well as in the air around areas of farming.
• ENDOCRINE (HORMONAL SYSTEM) DISRUPTERS: These are found in plastics, Bisphenol A, PCBs, some pesticides, synthetic steroids found in meat and dairy and DDT. Biologists have noted problems with sterility and malformation of sex organs in many species linked to the presence of these toxins in the environment. They account for the many hormonal complaints we see in our population like endometriosis, PCOS, infertility, and thyroid problems.
• TOXIC METALS: Lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic accumulate in the body and cause DNA damage which can result in cancer, depression of the immune system, anemia, hypertension, kidney disease, and increased tooth decay.
• FOOD ADDITIVES AND PRESERVATIVES: The toxin exposure over which we have the most control is through what we put in our mouths. Food is medicine, you become what you eat and if you put toxins in then you become toxic!
• DRUGS: Both recreational and prescription drugs can damage the liver. Many prescribed medications require your liver enzymes to be tested every few months to ensure that you liver has not been harmed. Drugs such as anti-depressants, synthetic hormones, and anti-bacterials can also enter our bodies from contaminants in our water.
• CAFFEINE, TOBACCO, ALCOHOL, SUGAR, SATURATED FATS AND HYDROGENATED OILS (aka.trans fats): Each of these burdens the liver and damages our cells through lipid peroxidation.
• HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS AND BEAUTY PRODUCTS: Some of the strongest chemicals that we are exposed to are in the home and include cleaning products, soaps, perfumes, creams, makeup, deodorants, toothpastes, baby products etc. They are absorbed into our bloodstream through the skin. Beyond the direct harm these substances cause to our health, they also do unfathomable damage to our environment where we come into contact with them again through our air, soil and water.

In Sum, Cleansing…

• Improves energy level
• Helps us to cope with stress Improves recovery time after strenuous exercise
• Improves physical performance and stamina
• Removes impurities from the body for improved health and better absorption of nutrients
• Strengthens the immune system
• Helps prevent degenerative diseases
• Improves bone strength
• Improves the production of collagen for joints and ligaments
• Improves memory, concentration and focus
• Promotes weight loss
• Is for anyone who wishes to look and feel young and healthy

LIVE IN WINDSOR?: Dr. Natasha is hosting a guided Community-Wide Cleanse from May 3-9, 2009. You can register at: http://www.proactive-healthcare.com/

Filed under: Author Dr. Natasha, Health