The word "detox" often bears with it negative connotations either because it's associated with drug addictions, or because practitioners who practice "detox" are often thought of as "wacky" by those who are not familiar with the practice. But surprise... detox has its place, as Mark Stengler, ND, made clear in last month's article about a patient who had mystery symptoms that turned out to be mercury poisoning. The symptoms couldn't be resolved by mainstream medicine, but Dr. Stengler helped the patient overcome them with detoxification.

This month, Dr. Stengler shares another case of "mystery symptoms" that were, again, resolved with detoxification. This time, he told me about a 41-year-old airline pilot with the unpredictable schedule that is typical of airline crews. He was suffering from acne rosacea... on-again, off-again outbreaks of another type of rash... trouble getting to sleep and staying there... and even tinnitus, a nearly constant ringing in his ears. So those were the symptoms... what was the diagnosis?

TRACKING THE CLUES

Dr. Stengler says there were a number of reasons that he suspected the pilot had developed a constellation of toxic challenges and needed to detox. The fact that his skin rashes came and went and that the pilot ate most of his meals in fast-food places and hotel coffee shops indicated this need... and the fact that his patient's bowel movements were irregular and sluggish confirmed the working diagnosis for Dr. Stengler. He chose to supervise his patient on a diet that featured much more healthful, natural and nutritious foods and give him special supplements that would cleanse his liver and kidneys.

The regimen was as follows...

• Large amounts of produce -- with a produce ratio of 80% vegetables and 20% fruits. Although this man had a difficult schedule, he was easily able to greatly increase the number of fruits and vegetables he ate daily, in part by taking them with him and snacking as he worked and traveled.

• Organic eggs and poultry, brown rice and small amounts of whole grains.

• No alcohol, sugar or coffee.

• A greens supplement (six capsules daily of one called Deeper Greens, which is manufactured by Ortho Molecular Products, Inc. and available only through health-care professionals) that contains wheatgrass, chlorella, spirulina, barley grass and other greens. This is excellent to assist detoxing the liver and kidneys.

• A second detoxification powder, in this case Dr. Stengler's clinic brand called Active Detox Plus, containing vitamins and minerals that support liver detoxification including vitamins E and C, carotenoids, selenium, magnesium, potassium, molybdenum, calcium, chromium, B vitamins and glutathione.

• A combination liver support supplement of milk thistle, dandelion root and burdock.

• Saunas (preferably dry sauna) every other day. Fortunately, the patient belonged to a gym with a sauna and the hotels he stayed in on layovers generally had them. The sweating that saunas produce is an excellent way to pull toxins out of fat tissue.

• Exercise. This must work up a daily sweat... cardio -- at least 25 minutes a day -- is an excellent choice.

The gentle nature of the cleansing fast used for this patient called for two to four weeks. It is not unusual for people to feel somewhat worse before they feel better, primarily due to the increased movement of wastes out of the liver and into the intestinal tract. During the first two days, it is common for people to experience headaches and fatigue and sometimes have skin break-outs, especially if their previous diet was particularly poor. For most people, though, the unpleasant side effects don't last longer than that. Within a reasonably short time, in fact, most people, including the pilot, find they feel increased energy, their thinking becomes clearer, the skin begins to glow and their mood picks up, plus their bowels become regular. Surprisingly, the pilot found that his tinnitus also improved, something that Dr. Stengler says is plausible but uncommon. The benefits of a healthful detox of this nature will remain so long as patients continue to eat well and do not return to the poor eating habits that got them into trouble in the first place.

CLOGGED UP SYSYEMS

People who feel sluggish and have low energy or frequent low-grade depression often have poor eating habits (as did this patient), which challenges the body's functioning. Many times people turn to pharmaceutical or recreations drugs, alcohol or excessive amounts of sugar in attempts to pick themselves up. Unfortunately, those actions never help and, in fact, make the situation much worse. A proper medically supervised detoxification protocol can help nearly all of these symptoms as well as chronic fatigue, allergies, headaches and digestive problems, including stomachaches and constipation. Dr. Stengler advises many of his patients to consider a detox of this nature every fall and spring to help them counteract the effect of the rich and fatty foods so common in our culture.

As mentioned, there are many types of detoxification that a naturopathic physician may use to treat assorted challenges. However, it is important not to try this alone, as blood pressure, blood sugar levels, heart and kidney function can be stressed from a radical detox.

Be well,

Carole Jackson
Bottom Line's Daily Health News

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