What is Detoxification?
Lauren Hayden (2018) owner of Live Well was the first to provide a modern definition of detoxification as “the delicate systematic process of eliminating and neutralizing environmental (manmade chemicals and products) and natural toxins (bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites) from ingested air, water, and food which accumulate in human tissues and organs preventing optimal health and contributing to disease.”
Why Detoxification is essential
Toxic accumulation over time has been recognized by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Endocrine Society as a primary risk factor to the development of many diseases and dysfunctions and a major cause of the aging process.
Detoxification supports the immune, digestive, nervous, cardiovascular and endocrine systems.
Eliminating environmental toxins is critical to the restoration and recovery of individuals with chronic diseases including cardiovascular, diabetes, obesity, Lyme, mold, cancer and all autoimmune diseases, including cancer.
Detoxification can change the micro environment restoring cellular function.
When used as a component of a comprehensive wellness program, detoxification can improve digestion, skin, hormonal imbalances, immune function, cardiovascular function, improve sleep, energy, mental clarity, vision and overall health.
How to Begin the Detoxification Process
The unique cleansing detoxification process is individually tailored based on your health goals, biology, body chemistry, exposure to toxins and current health status. Removing the toxins from your body involves understanding the process and products being use. It is evolutionary and expands as your health improves and starts to rejuvenate our health.
The toxins that need to be removed in order for our bodies to optimally function include heavy metals, toxic chemicals, toxins from chronic infections (Lyme, Candida, mold, parasites, virus), chlorine and fluoride.
The Detoxification Process
The detoxification process begins with a thorough assessment of your comprehensive health history and an analysis of your blood work. Our functional medicine consultant will also examine your dental history to identify any mercury fillings, suspicious crowns or cavitations. An examination of the external environment you lived in and are currently living in is also important. The detoxification process usually begins with external detoxification and then progresses to the internal environment. Internal detoxification always beginning with the diet and the health of the gastro-intestinal tract as this is where 70 percent of the immune system resides and where exposure to the external environment occurs.
Detoxification protocols are customized to the individuals needs based on the client’s history, symptoms, diagnosis and specific lab results. Any of the following detoxification protocols must be supervised by a licensed certified nutritionist trained in functional medicine. The testing associated with these protocols will be ordered by your practitioner and includes a consultation to interpret the results.
As a functional holistic medical practice, we incorporate the 5R functional medicine protocol Remove, Repair, Reinocculate, Restore and Rest clinical guidelines used for treating pathogens and imbalances in the GI microbiota to restore health to the gastrointestinal tract where most disease begins.
REMOVE first offending foods, especially food sensitivities and overtime unhealthy foods or medication that may be acting as antagonists. Using a course of antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, or antiparasitic therapies in cases where these organisms are present. If
REPLACE In cases of maldigestion or malabsorption, it may be necessary to restore proper digestion by supplementing with digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid, or fatty acid emulcifiers so nutrients are digested and absorbed.
REINOCULATE Recolonization with healthy, beneficial bacteria. Supplementation with probiotics, along with the use of prebiotics helps re-establish the proper microbial balance.
REPAIR Restore the integrity of the gut mucosa by giving support to healthy mucosal cells, as well as immune support.
REBALANCE Address whole body health and lifestyle factors, especially emotions and stress so as to prevent future GI dysfunction and address the mind body relationship.