Avoid Expensive Detox Scams

Detoxing continues to be a hot topic in Hollywood and across social media sites.

Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow promote cleansing as a way to counter everything from weight gain to the effects of too many cocktails the night before.

It’s gotten really out of hand…

Today, you can find over-the-counter detox kits in every drug store across the country. They’re a huge business. Last year, sales of detox products topped $100 million.

But sadly, you’re being sold a bill of goods regarding these kits.

Now, don’t get me wrong, toxins are a huge problem…

Your environment has changed dramatically in the last 100 years. And you need a good defense against our toxic world now more than ever.

Over 85,000 manmade chemicals have flooded our world. These toxins are everywhere – in the air, in your house, in your workplace, in just about everything you use every day… even in your food and water.

We weren’t designed to live in this toxic world. Your body is an amazing detox system. Your liver breaks down toxins so your kidneys and bowels can eliminate them.

But that system can be overwhelmed by the modern world. Toxins build up so much that we are becoming walking, talking superfund sites.

But here’s the problem with the current detox fad – it’s too little too late. Here’s what I mean…

You wouldn’t wait to do an oil change on your car until the motor oil is black and the engine is burning, would you? But that’s what detox peddlers want you to do…

They want you to cleanse once things have already gone too far.

But if you wait until you really need to cleanse, you risk some pretty awful effects. If you have any of these symptoms, you are already toxic:

  • Memory loss
  • Unexplained headaches or back pain
  • Joint pain or arthritis
  • Unexplained weight gain
  • Depression or lack of energy
  • Psoriasis
  • Abnormal body odor
  • Frequent allergies
  • Brittle nails and hair
  • Bad breath

3 easy ways to “un-toxify” for good health

Don’t wait until you have a serious problem to detox. A better approach is to use what I call “un-toxification.”

In other words, you want to support your body’s natural cleansing organs before you get overwhelmed with toxins. Here are three easy ways to un-toxify safely.

  1. Un-tox your body’s biggest organ. I recommend every patient at my clinic detox with an infrared sauna. I prefer this type of sauna to a traditional steam sauna. Infrared light penetrates several inches into your tissue. This releases debris from the fat underneath your skin. It also allows your body to free toxins stored in other organs and tissues.1In one study, sweat from a traditional sauna was up to 97% water. But sweat released in an infrared sauna was only 80% water. The remaining 20% was made up of fat-soluble toxins.2
  2. Cleanse your internal organs. I recommend un-toxifying your internal organs a couple of times a year. Herbs can help clear toxins from your bloodstream, restore liver function, and flush out your kidneys.
    • Milk thistle (Silybum marianum). This is my first choice for a liver un-tox. Take 200 mg in capsule form twice a day. Look for a dried extract with at least 80% silymarin, the active compound.
    • Triphala. This ancient secret from India is a combination of three powerful herbs. This combination forms a powerful gastric healer and acts as a gentle, safe, and highly effective detoxifier for the intestine, colon, blood, and liver. Triphala also helps clear away impacted buildup in the colon. I recommend supplementing with 1,000 mg once a day before food.
    • Dandelion. This root stimulates bile and acts as a gentle diuretic. A 2017 study found that the polysaccharides in dandelions promote liver function.3 Use 4-10 grams of the dried leaf or 4 to 10 mL of fluid extract.
    • Burdock root. This ancient remedy is a diuretic and diaphoretic. This means it increases urine and sweat. These actions strengthen your natural purging systems.4
  3. Rid your tissues of heavy metals. Activated charcoal is called the “universal antidote.” When you take it orally, toxins are attracted to the surface of charcoal particles. Your body does not absorb the charcoal itself. So the toxins stuck to the charcoal eventually exit your body via the bowels.Activated charcoal can extract and neutralize many more times its own weight in gases, heavy metals, toxins, poisons, and other chemicals. It’s so powerful that a tiny amount – less than the size of a postage stamp – can absorb up to four tennis courts worth of toxins!I regularly use charcoal as part of my personal un-toxification plan. But be careful…too much can rob your body of nutrients and minerals.Take 10-15 grams of powdered activated charcoal mixed with water twice a day, two hours before a meal. Do this over a period of one to two weeks.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD, CNS

References:

1. Sears M. “Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in sweat: a systematic review.” J Environ Public Health. 2012;2012:184745.
2. Evolution Health. Infrared sauna detoxification.
3. Cai L, et al. “Purification, preliminary characterization and hepatoprotective effects of polysaccharides from dandelion root.” Molecules. 2017;22(9):140.
4. Clare B, et al. “The diuretic effect in human subjects of an extract of Taraxacum officinale folium over a single day.” J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Aug;15(8):929-34.