Newsletter Optihealth February 2008
Detoxification and Far Infrared Sauna
Optihealth Wellness Centre: Naturopathic .Chiropractic .Massage .Counseling .Nutrition .Lab and Natural Pharmacy
2249 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K2B-7E9, (613)829-7100 Fax (613)829-2608, www.optihealth.ca
Your Path To Natural Wellness
Why be concerned?
Many chronic health diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer are related to patterns of inflammation. When the body is not clearing well inflammation is increased. We are also exposed to as many as 20 chemical products in our morning routine before even leaving the house, with more exposure throughout the day.
The process of herbal detox is very important for your health and has many cascading effects that can help you in many ways. Herbal detoxification is the process of removing toxins from your system using all natural herbal products. There are many different types of herbal detox programs and systems that target different areas of your body.
What are the Health Connections?
Inflammation is related to all chronic degenerative disease including Heart Disease. One moves from health to disease in this pattern:
Phase 1- Nervous System Imbalance- Excess sympathetic stimulation
Phase 2- Adrenal Gland Imbalance-Excess fight and flight hormones including cortisol, then a reduction leading to fatigue
Phase 3- Thyroid, Ovaries, Liver Imbalance- Changes in rate of metabolism thus increase in weight, changes in hormones and liver congestion. The liver is the organ that conjugates and breaks down hormones circulating from cholesterol. Increased kidney and liver toxicity due in part to the heavier load.
Phase 4- Digestive Imbalance which can increase weight. Increased bowl toxicity
Phase 5- Inflammation Patterns which contribute to the development of Chronic Degeration
Phase 6- Vessel wall damage and plaque formation
Phase 7- Cardiovascular Disease: Hypertension, Arterosclerosis, Stroke
Natural Treatment Options:
There are many types of cleanses and it is important to know which one is right for you and for how long to continue cleansing. It is also important to ensure that all your organs of elimination such as the lungs, skin, urinary system and bowl system are open. Any detox can add an extra stress to the body , so it is vital that your adrenal glands and immune system are supported during a cleanse. Your Naturopathic Doctor will be able to assist you in choosing the right program.
Colon Cleanses
A colon cleanse is a type of herbal detox that targets the colon and its primary objective is to remove any particles and debris that are attached to the walls of the colon. This is an important herbal detox because the colon is where we absorb nutrients from our food so it needs to be clear so that our bodies receive the maximum nutrition it needs. This can be an important factor in reducing polyps which can be precursors to cancer.
The cleansing of the bowel is perhaps the most important part of any detoxification program since the bowels are responsible for the elimination of most toxins in our system. Also, the bowels are where nutrients are absorbed so it is critical to keep it clean and functioning properly so our bodies get the nutrition they need. It is vital to keep the bowels moving and often one will find that by simply switching to a natural vegetarian diet can get the bowels moving quickly again.
The reason constipation is so dangerous to our health is because it is a sign that things are not moving which means food is staying in our system far too long and this causes the food to begin to rot inside of us, this could be a big reason for many illnesses so we need to get the food out as fast as possible. A truly healthy person’s faeces do not have any bad odors since they are eliminating the food quickly and it does not have a chance to decompose inside of you. A good herbal bowel cleanse can help in this cause.
There are also diets that one can go on to detoxify their colon. Going on a raw food or even vegetarian diet can cleanse many of your systems naturally as raw vegetarian foods are high in nutrients and are utilized by our bodies well. Meat is often very tough for our system to deal with so giving yourself a break from consuming meat can be good for your health.
Kidney Cleanse
A kidney cleanse promotes strength of the kidneys and related systems. This is a vital part of total body health . The kidney detox system is very important within our body. It is the filtration system in our body for clearing water and solutes, provide hormones to regulate blood cell production, regulate blood pH, and remove toxic waste from our blood. All these amazing activities are largely performed by the nephrons.
Many waste materials pass by our kidney to be filtered and excreted. Whenever nutrition is metabolized, there are waste products being produced that need to be cleared from our body. Protein contributes many byproducts after its metabolism.
Liver Cleanse
The liver has 2 phases of elimination. The first phase is called cytochrome P 450 and needs B vitamins ( B6,B12 & folic acid ) to function optimally. The second phase rely’s on amino acids that are broken down from proteins. If we do not consume enough of foods rich in these nutrients OR our digestive system is compromised and we don’t absorb optimally we see weaknesses in the liver’s ability to clear the body. When people take antibiotics, hormones, stress , too much sugar our digestive lining is irritated which reduces friendly bacteria leading to an imbalance in friendly bacteria which help us digest. The birth control pill for women is also known to deplete B6, B 12 & folic acid further compromizing the liver at phase 1. The result of all the above is more formation of free radicals , which leads to inflammation and chronic disease.
Some of the ingredients for a great liver herbal detoxification program include amino acids, B6, B12, folic acid, parsley, chamomile, dandilion, milk thistle and red beets.
Lung Cleanse
The lungs are an important part of detoxification . Allergies and asthma are continuing to rise and thus we need to ensure this system is working optimally. Our lung functions by bringing in blood supply from two sources, pulmonary vessels (support non-respiratory tissue) and bronchial vessels (support respiratory tissue).
There is deoxygenated blood being carried through the pulmonary arteries so that the lung can re-oxygenate it and remove the toxic waste like carbon dioxide. Then the pulmonary veins carry the oxygenated blood to the heart and then to the arterial system.
It has a critical role since it is the first detox organ to get in contact with airborne toxins, chemicals, viruses, bacteria, and allergens. We have to heighten our lung detoxification processes by encouraging our simple appreciation of breathing.
There is a tendency for most people to lack in deep relax breathing. Often than not, we are used to taking short breaths of air – just enough to keep us alive.
For an effective cleansing of our lungs, we must learn to do it the right way which is to make use of our diaphragm whenever we breathe. This allows air to penetrate deeper into our lungs and we go into longer breathing process.
We should take long deep breath and allow the air to flow into our diaphragm where our belly will blot up slightly. Then hold for about 2 minutes before releasing the air out.
Through this simple process we are actually providing our lungs with a more intense cleansing breath. We should practice this consistently throughout the day so as to purify our lungs. In actual fact the best places to practice such deep breathing is within places with less pollution.
To detoxify the lungs, some the ingredients used are comfrey, mullein and ephedra.
Blood & Lymphatic Cleanse
When waste material leaves the body cells, it is carried away by the two circulating body fluids, namely, the blood and the lymph. The lymph is formed out of the blood but contains no red blood cells. Each cell in the body is bathed by the intestinal fluid, which consists of materials from the bloodstream together with substances passed out of the cells.
Because the lymphatic system carries away toxins from all body cells, its proper functioning is important to the health of the entire body.
The whole idea behind a herbal detox program is to remove toxins from the system so that we can create the ideal environment in our body that does not encourage the growth of pathogenic bacteria and viruses that can lead to disease and illness. Taking some good probiotics, which are enzymes that live in our bowels are also an important part of any good detoxification program. The probiotics contain enzymes which are important to maintaining good bowel health.
Also make sure that you are getting enough antioxidants in your diet during a detoxification program. It is a good idea to take a whole food supplement that is all natural and that has enough vitamin E and C in it. Lack of antioxidants results in poor energy levels and since energy is an important requirement for removing toxins, this can lead to toxins building up and resulting in poor health.
Getting enough enzymes in our diet plays an important role in any good herbal detox program. The best way to get these enzymes is through natural raw fruit, vegetables, nuts and grains. Raw foods are the best since they contain the enzymes in the right proportion for our bodies to use effectively.
Looking for a way to detoxify after the holidays?
Try our infrared sauna today
Sweating is a great way to rid the body of everyday toxins such as car exhaust and industrial pollution.
The Infrared Sauna is good for much more than detoxification. Doctors have found it to help with patients that have heart disease, breast cancer, skin conditions, fibromyalgia, asthma, and relive chronic pain.
A study done in Germany of 22 kindergarten students that had that had taken part in a sauna vs a group of students the same age that did not. The children that had taken part in the saunas had half the sick days over an 18 month period
How does the infrared sauna differ from conventional saunas?
The far infrared sauna allow you to perspire at a much lower temperature than conventional saunas and thus allows you to stay in longer. The longer duration allows for deeper penetration and detoxification not only between the cells but inside the cells. Conventional exercise with perspiration primarily targets cleansing between the cells.
For cost efficiency as about our package option.
To save a trip why not books the sauna to follow your next appointment, giving you another reason to look forward to your next visit.
Please note that to fully enjoy your Sauna you should bring 3 towels and 2 bottles of water.
Ask your Naturopathic Doctor how the supplement of the month could help you
Mediclear Buy one get the second with a 25% discount
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