Out with the Bad: DeToxification

What emerges during my initial consultation with the patient are details about what the patient is currently eating and drinking, which is an excellent place to begin. Again, attention to pacing is required, because too radical a change in diet implemented too quickly can cause some patients to reject the treatment entirely. Of course, pacing is often dictated in part by the status of the patient: some diets can be modified more gradually, while for others, an immediate change is imperative.

What I often do is identify those foods among a patient’s favorites that may be problematic, and suggest substitutes that are less so. If a patient is feeling especially poor, a sugar-fast—in some cases lasting several days—may be required. Each patient is different, and the balance I must strike is to render the changes in ways that the patient will accept, while ensuring that I achieve my goal: the improvement of the patient’s condition.

Children are most likely to require the gradual approach, but many older patients are highly motivated and request the quick transition…they want to institute the changes and, as soon as possible, proceed with their healthier lives.

There are certain obvious instances—professions where the potential to become sickened by exposure to toxins present in local environments are elevated. Firefighters come to mind. While they may live generally healthy lives, their bodies may retain toxins they absorb on the job. These must be cleansed from the system. It isn’t enough to institute changes in current behaviors…sometimes one must go back and perform a purge. The body must be de-toxed before it can receive the entire benefit of subsequent treatment.

In the case of our hypothetical firefighter, I might begin by rendering the bowel as clean as possible. This requires the elimination of a lot of sugar from the diet. That means all sugars…bad sugars, so-called ‘good’ sugars, even fruit-derived sugar. When the Body Ecology is that compromised, you must clean out everything. You must re-populate the colon with probiotic bacteria; you must cleanse the liver using any of a variety of formulations, so that as it performs cell-replenishment, it does so with healthy ones. Phytonutrient-rich foods*, which promote detoxification, may be recommended. Again, there is an emphasis on the liver and the colon systems.