Why should we detoxify?
When trying to achieve optimal health, a person naturally looks towards cleansing the body of accumulated waste, known as detoxifying. "Detox" is a process the body goes through every moment of every day, transforming toxic substances from our environment, diet, and even our bodies, into less health-threatening substances, then excreting it. Our world today is so full of harmful chemicals, many of them carcinogenic, that our body's natural detoxification system gets overwhelmed. When overwhelmed, the immune system suffers, degeneration occurs and the stage is set for many types of cancer and other diseases. Couple that with the fact that most people eat poorly, and are so nutritionally depleted, that they don't have the resources to function properly.
A body that has an abundance of labor to do (detoxify the excess garbage accumulated daily), without the nutritional reserves or daily resources to buoy up their performance, will become exhausted. Function drops slowly, until it has dropped so much that now it affects normal life activities. Eventually, when it becomes severe enough, it is given a disease label.
The point of detoxification is to give the body a helping hand. A proper detox involves 3 steps: First, to eliminate the junk that is contributing to the toxic overload (sugar, caffeine, preservatives, additives, hydrogenated fats, artificial sweeteners, etc); Second, use a stimulus (herbs and foods) to cause the organs involved in detoxification to purge their harmful waste; and third, to nourish the body (eat good, whole, unprocessed, REAL food).
I am often asked who should detoxify. Anyone who suffers from fatigue/low motivation, has difficulty sleeping, has food cravings (especially sugar), has difficulty losing weight, suffers from reduced mental clarity or low libido, low immune function, poor digestion (any digestive difficulty), has problems with allergies or sinus congestion, sore joints or muscles, in fact, most health challenges qualify.
If you are exposed to industrial inhalants, such as, varnishes, paints, any fumes, work in construction or mining, had recent house remodeling or upgrade (especially paint, new carpets or flooring), or other such exposures, you can benefit.
If your diet has contained hydrogenated fats, artificial sugars, packaged foods, if you eat out more than twice monthly, consume genetically modified foods, charbroil or grill foods, drink alcohol, soda or coffee, or consume other foods known to cause disruption to health.
Learn about my favorite detoxification program in a class held on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. RSVP: 208-765-1994.
Dr. Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with over 30 years of experience. For more information visit www.vitalhealthandfitness.com or call (208) 765-1994.