Detoxification and Healing

Many traditional healing practices employ the use of fasting, restricted diets, detoxification, cleansing or purification. This becomes more critical in todays world where the foundation of an increasing numbers of diseases is excess intake of calories and excessive exposure to toxic elements. Detoxification or fasting is at the extreme opposite end of the spectrum from overindulgence or the overwhelming effect of massive amounts of chemicals. Practicing two opposing extremes creates a balance of sorts. Alleviating the pressure excessive toxins put on the human system often decreases symptoms and restores a natural state. Detoxification often reverses the cause of disease.

There are many types of cleanses, all indicated in different circumstances for different people. While most cleansing 'programs' do little to actually remove toxins from the body; the accompanying diet usually is significantly healthier than the Standard American Diet (SAD). The additions of fibers and increased hydration also have significant benefits. So most detoxification programs have an overall beneficial effect.

The trick to having a lasting improvement with detoxification is careful planning. If you detox for a week or two and then return to your regular routine, any benefit you have will be transient. If you incorporate changes into your daily routine; restricting unhealthy foods ( i.e. avoiding refined sugars); increased fiber intake; good hydration; then you can accomplish an increased level of health.

Medically supervised detoxification programs are proven to remove toxins from your body. These usually employ products that chemically alter toxins and convert them into a water soluble form so they can be eliminated. These programs have dramatic lasting effects and need only be repeated every 5 years under normal circumstances. They usually target more specific pathology and utilize customized diets and other detoxification methods.

Healthy by Nature provides customized detoxification programs in our signature program, Achieving Perfect Health. Look online for the next start date.

Taking a BBT

Basal Body Temperature (BBT) is basically your non active resting temperature. Your lowest temperature should be after a sleep of at least 4 hours.

There are many reasons to track a BBT such as evaluating thyroid, tracking hormonal fluctuation, and  assessing baseline temperature for metabolic rate and low grade infection. Alone a BBT is not useful, but when coupled with a clinical picture and other objective data; the Basal Body Temp is a useful tool.

To take a BBT:

Before going to bed put a digital thermometer beside your bed. Make sure you will be able to sleep uninterrupted for at least 4 hours. Do not use heated blanket or water bed for this test.

Upon waking, before getting up or moving about; take and record your Temperature. In general you will do this for at least a calendar month.

Other data may be taken to correlate with the temperature such as fertility signs, symptoms relating to thyroid function ( pain, illness, headaches, etc), or other health parameters that may be impacted by metabolic rate or hormone fluctuations.

Building Healthy Thyroid Function

It doesn't take long to recognize that there are two medical approaches to an abnormal thyroid, suppressive or stimulation therapies. Suppressive therapies such as Synthroid replace thyroid output with a synthetic analog causing the thyroid to stop manufacturing hormones all together.

Stimulation therapies such as Armor Thyroid, glandulars and kelp stimulate a sluggish thyroid - often causing it to weaken to the point where it cannot manufacture it's own hormones.

Both stimulation and suppression, while opposite approaches - often result in the same lack of output and dependency on lifetime medications.

But thyroid dysfunction is caused by environmental issues that challenge our health: chemicals and toxicity, hormone imbalance, poor immune function, stress and lifestyle issues. By addressing these underlying causes with supportive therapies, it is possible - not only to rebuild the thyroid - but to solve the underlying issues that may be weakening other body systems as well.

Adrenal Fatigue and the Principle of Stimulation

One of the greatest trends in the progress of modern medicine has been the concept of stimulating

weaker systems in the body such as the immune system, adrenals, or thyroid. While this type of treatment has a place in healthcare, it is only one option for the treatment of a 'sluggish or fatigued' system. Traditionally the dominant theory was that weaker systems needed to be built up, strengthened, nourished. This took time and required a long term interaction with a healthcare professional. In those days, long term spa treatments were promoted (sanitariums - aptly named), people traveled to healing climates to recuperate from illness, and long term healthcare plans were the norm.

As we have become more a more impatient society focused on quick fixes and limited professional interaction, we have changed the philosophical approach of treatment to cover up symptoms and using stimulating therapies. As a physician I feel this approach is often short sighted, trading quick results for long term ramifications. I think this accounts for the alarming rise in chronic illness and creates a society of people that are increasingly dependent on multiple medicines to feel well enough to function.

This is especially apparent with adrenal fatigue. In fact you could make a case for adrenal fatigue being a result of the quick fix philosophy which focuses on getting you up, energetic, and back to work.... When sometimes the best solution is to listen to your body, recognize your limitations and allow for reasonable recovery.

The real issue with stimulating a slow adrenal gland is that often you simply hasten it's total failure. In modern terms this is no great loss because adrenal output can be replaced by pharmacology. But some of us still value the proper functioning of our body parts. The concept of stimulating a weak adrenal is akin to flogging a lame horse....ultimately pushing the animal forward past it's natural limits causes irreversible damage. And stimulating an adrenal gland that is struggling to keep up just adds to the pressure.

Ironically this type of treatment is even more common in 'self help' books and natural medicine than it is in conventional healthcare. While allopathic medicine barely recognizes adrenal fatigue or the continuum of compromised adrenal function prior to complete adrenal failure; natural healthcare is more likely to be practiced in a 'cookbook medicine' context by people who simply take a natural substance to 'increase their energy'.

Obviously my soapbox and philosophical platform is consistently derived from a Naturopathic approach. Accurately diagnose the problem, determine the underlying causes of the problem, and address the real issues. Why is this incredibly successful approach to solving the problem and restoring health so underutilized? Well, for one it takes a lot more skill and training to accomplish - rarely will people fully accomplish this working on their own. Secondly it takes time and effort and self discipline - honestly most people would rather take a pill and deal with the consequences later. And lastly and most importantly.... Most people don't KNOW they have options. 

Last Resort Doctor

I am sure that being the 'last resort' could be viewed much like the last pick when choosing teams for softball.... And may not be very flattering. But that's not how I choose to look at it. After several years in private practice I started to notice my 'best' patients were the ones who came in after they'd already seen everyone else.... And not really gotten the help they needed.

It's frustrating to be told there's nothing you can do....or worse....that there is nothing wrong when you KNOW all is not well with your body. People who experience this often feel that they are a failure instead of recognizing that our medical system has failed them.

Our medical system is designed for people who fit neatly into a diagnostic box and respond well to suppressive therapy. And honestly, we would not be able to even have a healthcare system unless the majority of people in this country accepted this system as their best option. But what about the ones who don't fit neatly into a box? Or that don't respond as expected? Or that just want something more from their healthcare?

Well, the people outside of the box actually 'fit' in our practice because we ARE out of the box thinkers. We look at healthcare from a different perspective and we treat people, not diseases. Challenging cases require more effort and time.... So we have set up a different way of interacting with our patients, a unique and individualized approach to better health called Global Care. No elaborate claims or promises, our goal is to help you reach your potential in good health.