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Naturopathic medicine: Detoxification methods
underutilized but imperative
By Dr. Margaret
Beeson N.D.
There have always
been methods of increasing the body's detoxification and
elimination processes:
fasting to
reduce digestive and liver burden; herbs to stimulate the
digestion and/or liver
flow; sweats or hydrotherapy to
increase the elimination function of the skin and lymph
system. The most valuable
means we have of increasing our level of health and protecting
us from disease is through
maintaining optimal function of these vital processes -
selection, detoxification and excretion. Detoxification
methods, so crucial for health, have probably
never been as
underutilized. Many diseases can be
attributed to toxicity of the liver and/or
bowel. We have only
scratched the surface of understanding why the age-old
practice of detoxification is imperative for good health and
vitality.
Physiologist
Agamemnon Despopoulos eloquently describes these vital concepts
of
selection, detoxification and excretion:
"The diet contains
not only substances that are useful to the organism for its
growth
and energy balance, but also
physiologically inert or even injurious material. The organism
is able to distinguish between the useful and the
undesirable substances and can reject
the latter at three
levels: in the gastrointestinal tract, in cellular uptake and
metabolism
and in the kidneys. The lungs are also an
excreting organ, receiving blood passed through
the liver en
route from the intestine. The lungs are
especially effective in trapping fat soluble substance which
are, to some extent, excreted in
the bronchial
mucus. In this way, the brain, which is particularly sensitive,
is protected
from damage." You can see that
normal physiology depends heavily on "the process of
eating… to
distinguish between useful and
undesirable substances."
Unfortunately, for
various reasons, we are not always able to access this vital
method
of rejection. We must rely on the
GI tract for proper digestion of what we have selected.
Many
people have insufficient amounts of digestive
enzymes, or have consumed substances
that have altered the
absorptive mechanism of the
intestinal wall, such as antibiotics or prednisone. Therefore,
the liver bears a greater burden to extract is 95 percent of
these "inert
or injurious material" from the blood. Over time, depending
on many factors such as age,
dietary choices, fat intake and
health history, the liver becomes swollen
and fat accumulates around the liver cells. It becomes less
efficient at removing toxic substances. The
natural
and vital process of the body to detoxify itself is
minimized, and the blood becomes
laden with waste
products. Our organs and
tissues are exposed to an increased
concentration of these
unwanted substances, and the blood becomes
less capable of
removing products of metabolism … and a vicious
cycle continues.
Our requirement for
detoxification depends on many factors, including food
selection,
digestive efficiency, exposure to
environmental toxins, stress factors and excretion/elimination
efficiency. In the practice of
naturopathic medicine, fasting and cleansing are important parts
of treatment and prevention strategies.
Volumes of research in the last 20 years support these
treatments as a way to address many health ssues.
Choose a
detoxification plan suitable for you. If you are healthy and are
not taking any
prescription medications,you have more
flexibility in your choice.
If you have health
concerns and are taking over-the-counter or prescription
medications,
it is wise to have the supervision of
a professional with expertise in this field.
For more information
on detoxification, go to
www.yncnaturally.com or call the
Yellowstone
Naturopathic Clinic at 259-5096
for upcoming classes.
Yellowstone
Naturopathic Clinic
720 North 30 Street
Beautiful downtown Billings, Montana
Yellowstone Naturopathic Clinic
720 N. 30th St.
Billings, MT 59101
PHONE 406·259·5096/FAX 406·248·5655
ync@180com.net
Dispensary
406·254·9682
dispensary@yncnaturally.com
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