Toxicity: Identification, Mitigation, Recovery

Experience has led us to the realization that often, the root cause of disease is toxicity, which interferes with normal body processes. “Toxicity” means interference with normal human biology by a chemical, substance or energy that blocks those processes. What we deal with most commonly are chemical toxins or toxins from exposure to mold or toxic metals. Additionally, we are now realizing that we can be exposed to toxic energy sources that block or disrupt biological processes, such as (what is now being dubbed “dirty”) EMF energy, microwave energy, radiofrequency energy, etc.

Some patients come in with a suspicion of toxicity from one of these sources. Others come in with what may be perplexing medical problems or symptoms that root back to toxicities. We work on identifying what the toxins are, and once they have been identified, we work with the patient to create a program to “ramp up” his/her body’s detoxification mechanisms so detoxification can be enhanced and the offending substance removed. This must be highly individualized to the patient’s needs.

Normal body function allows for a process of removing toxins as they come in through organs and systems, which were designed for this purpose. The detoxification systems involve primarily the liver, kidneys, lymphatics, intestines, and skin. Also involved, to somewhat a lesser extent, are the lungs and gallbladder. The problem of “toxicity” occurs when, in any given moment, the amount of toxins coming into the body is more than these detoxification systems are able to handle. In that moment, the body is designed to protect. The toxins, which are circulating, cannot be handled and quickly removed, so they are placed into “storage.” Toxins do the majority of their damage while they are circulating in the blood stream in an activated form. When the body’s protective systems detect this happening, they direct the toxins to be placed into storage, which for the most part, is in fat cells. (That is because most of these toxins have a chemical structure compatible with fats.) While they are stored in fats, they are inflammatory in nature and they do harm, but this is less harm than they would do if they continued to circulate at a time when they cannot be removed. Once placed in the fats, the protective systems know to keep the toxins in the fats as long as the inflow of toxins is more than the detox systems can handle and remove. Only at a time when the inflow of toxins is down low enough to allow for more toxins to be mobilized and steered to the detox organs will the protective systems allow this fat to be burned and allow the release of the toxins. Commonly today, this is the explanation for why weight loss is such a big challenge, even when someone is eating a healthy diet and exercising.

At Advocate Health Care, we accept the challenge of being alert to the possibility of a toxicity issue, testing to find the source, guiding the patient in identifying whether the toxin(s) are still “coming in.” Once the inflow has been addressed, we guide the patient in the removal of these toxins. Again, the program that is set for this will be very individualized, taking into account individual susceptibilities and working to achieve the goal of detoxification while also striving to keep the patient functional and able to live a normal, productive life through the process.