Your environemnt is affecting your health. Every day, our bodies are bombarded by external (and even some internal) toxins, which overwhelm and overload the natural detoxification systems in our bodies. Pesticides, pharmaceuticals, pollution; these chemicals practically saturate our soil, air, and water, making it virtually impossible to escape from toxin overload.

The result?

Overburdened detoxification systems can spell out chronic health issues for every individual, no matter the lifestyle. These health issues can include weight gain, headaches, skin problems, fatigue, cancer, mental fog, decreased functions of the immune system, and cardiovascular issues.

How and Why Do Detoxification System Get Overburdened?

Like many health ailments where genetics and environment play a role, detoxification is no different. Problems arise where susceptibility and exposure overlap. For instance, a specific toxin like a pesticide, gets eliminated from the body through a particular pathway. If a person with a genetic defect in this enzyme avoids all pesticides they will be fine. In fact, if they simply avoid most pesticides, they will be fine. If they do neither, the body will build up with these toxins and it will cause damage to other areas of the body. We are exposed to hundreds of these types of toxins, daily, in our jobs, household products, chemicals, air pollution, carpets, plastics, etc.

Here are two examples of toxins you can avoid by paying attention:

• Bisphenol A (BPA)

• This chemical is used predominantly in the production of plastics. You can click here to read a comprehensive list of serious health issues linked to BPA exposure.

• Pesticides and fungicides

• It has always made sense to us that any chemical that kills living things might be worth avoiding in our food supply. Try to make it a priority to eat foods that are 100% pesticide free to minimize your exposure.

You can learn more about how specific toxins affect and disrupt the endocrine system, here.

Curing Overburdened Detoxification Systems with Detox

For those with both susceptibility and exposure, there are multiple approaches that can assist the body in getting rid of the toxins (detoxification). In some cases, we want to narrow down which toxin is causing the problem and focus on that detox pathway. Other times, a simple detox diet works great.

Here at Southwest Integrative Medicine, we offer a 21-day detox diet program to our patients suffering from health issues caused by toxin overload. This program focuses on removing toxin exposure from diet and environment. It does this by stimulating and enhancing the organs of elimination to get your body back to a healthy state.

The following is a detailed testimonial from one of our patients who completed our 21-day detox diet program earlier this year after a traumatic and frustrating eczema flare-up.

“In July of 2015, I started having these intense itching outbreaks all over my body. Sometimes they would start on the bottom of feet and work their way up. Other times it would be my face. The itching would start around my lips and cheeks, and then work it’s way around. Then there were days when the itching would just be patches all over my body in various areas. It started off rather mild, an inconvenience and annoyance more than anything… but after about two weeks, it started to get intense. The itching would wake me up at night and sometimes bring me to tears because if I scratched it, it would burn and just itch deeper. I felt like the itch was deep- like it was seeping deeper and deeper into my body. I would lay there with ice packs all over trying to calm it, applied Aveeno lotions and creams to no avail, and finally gave up on fighting it myself and went to my dermatologist. I was diagnosed with eczema and prescribed a steroidal topical cream called “Triamcinolone”. I was also instructed to stop using anything with a fragrance, fabric softener, and to “try to avoid sweating”. Seriously- try to avoid sweating? Beyond the fact that such advice seems ridiculous, I teach dance for a living, so sweating is inevitable for me.

After 3 days of applying the cream twice daily, I broke out in the worst rash of my life. Other than a few pimples during puberty, I have been lucky in the area of skin condition for almost my entire life. This rash literally took over my entire body. It started with a few blistery pimples on my chest, and it just went everywhere. The areas of highest concentration were my face and chest. These pimples were painful, swollen, and very red. Beyond that, the rash was embarrassing. It was at this point that I decided I did not just want to treat the symptoms of eczema; I wanted to get to the root of the problem and solve it. That’s when I contacted Dr. Terranella and Southwest Integrative Medicine.

Dr. T. put me on a 21-day detox, and by day 3, any itching had completely stopped. By day 7, the rash was completely gone. I have just completed the 21 days and my follow up with Dr. Terranella, and I can honestly say that I am so glad that I chose to go this route. My skin may even look better now than it did before the rash outbreak. As Socrates once said, “Let food be thy medicine”!

Thank you to Dr. Terranella and the entire Southwest Integrative Medicine team!

- H.W., Age 30

If you are experiencing similar issues with eczema, or suspect that your chronic health issue might be related to an overwhelm of toxins in your body, call us today to set up a free consultation or click below to start our Detox Diet Program.