The Detox-Kit
By Toby Helmstetter, LAc
By now, having read most of our May e-newsletter, you may be convinced that you are full of toxins. The sad fact is you probably are! And pretty much all of us are. Traffic fumes, pesticides, heavy metals, chemicals in our water, they all add up in our bodies, whose responsibility it is to filter and excrete all this junk. So what’s a human to do? Is taking a break from sugar, alcohol and bottled water enough to unload the toxic burden on our organs? The answer is part yes, part no.
The ‘yes’ of the matter is that giving our body a break from the substances we put in it is an important way to lighten our toxic load. The ‘no’ is that our organs are already struggling from the weight of these and so many other toxins (environmental and otherwise) that a break is not enough to help strengthen, heal and ward off the effects of this toxic overload. Symptoms such as allergies (either environmental or to certain foods), skin conditions, mood swings, indigestion, heartburn, constipation, fatigue and joint pain are signals that our body may be suffering from too much toxic buildup. All of these symptoms can be helped by a detoxification program.
In addition to eating well, getting good rest, exercise and plenty of water, we can incorporate natural medicines that eliminate and mobilize toxins out of the body. In homeopathy, this is known as ‘Detoxification’ and ‘Drainage.’ Detoxification is a natural process going on in our bodies every day. The primary organs of detoxification are our liver, kidneys, lymphatic system, bowels, skin and lungs. Symptoms in these areas are signals that the organs are suffering from toxic overload. Drainage is the process by which the toxins being stored in our bodies are mobilized to the organs of detoxification where they can be excreted and eliminated. Think of it like this: Toxins are hanging out in our bodies, clogging up our cell receptor sites, making it difficult for our organs to perform their natural functions. By mobilizing, or ‘draining’ the toxins away from the cells and into the organs of detoxification, AND, by stimulating and supporting those organs’ ability to detoxify and eliminate, our bodies are able to get rid of its toxic burden and thereby function optimally.
I mention homeopathy because it is a safe and very effective way to help our bodies detoxify. A product I have used for myself, my patients and my family, is the ‘Detox-Kit’ by Heel. Heel is a company based out of New Mexico developed by a German physician who observed that many human diseases were caused by environmental and endogenous toxins. Products like the Detox-Kit combine several different homeopathic remedies to encourage our body’s natural detoxification processes and stimulate our ability to heal ourselves. The Detox-Kit stimulates the key organs of drainage, detoxification and excretion and helps to cleanse the organs on a deep, cellular level. It’s easy to take and doesn’t need to be combined with other products or cleansing protocols (although it can be in order to increase its detoxifying and healing properties). The kit comes with three bottles of homeopathic medicines, one for the lymphatic system, one for the liver and one for the kidneys. 30 drops of each bottle are placed into a water bottle which you can sip on all day. One kit lasts 1 month and the remedies are tasteless and colorless. Some people have minor detoxification reactions—headaches, nausea, frequent urination—but these are all healthy signals that your body is releasing toxins (and they should only last a few days at most). After a little while of being on it, you will start to feel the beneficial effects of detoxification—increased energy, stable mood, and a lessening of any symptoms of toxic overload that you may have been experiencing. I like the Detox-Kit for all of these reasons, but most of all because it is gentle, so a patient who is new to cleansing, or has reacted negatively to other cleansing products can use the Detox-Kit with little, if any, difficulty.
If you’re looking for a natural, gentle and health-care recommended product for detoxification, then talk to your acupuncturist about the Detox-Kit. It’s a great way to promote the release of toxins and to heal from their detrimental effects.