You can use clay powder internally to remove toxins by simply mixing it with juice or water. Make sure the water is either spring water or distilled if possible. Some people like to mix the powder with water, roll it into small balls, and let them dry in the sunlight. These “pills” can be flavored or left natural, and then sucked on throughout the day, like candy. This technique works particularly well for treating problems like inflammation of the gum tissue.
Either way provides the same body detoxifying benefits. In situations where I’ve been uncertain of water quality, I’ve mixed clay with the water and then waited until the clay settled to the bottom of the glass before consuming the water. Clay is very effective at removing a long list of contaminants—along with destroying most pathogens.
When you mix clay for either oral or topical use, never let it come into contact with metal. To avoid any possible reaction with metal, always use wood utensils and glass, clay, or ceramic containers.
One of the benefits of consuming clay orally, in addition to its detoxifying effects, is the wide range of trace minerals you receive. If you look at an analysis of many “consumable” clays, the number of trace minerals present is astounding. Practically every mineral you can imagine will be there—including micro-trace amounts of some known to be toxic, such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium. This has led many people to condemn the consumption of clay.
What is often overlooked, however, is the fact that various other competing minerals in these clays are present in much larger quantities. For example, zinc and copper compete with cadmium, and when present in sufficient amounts, block its absorption. This is true of other toxins as well. Clays with the right mineral content have been consumed safely for thousands of years. The key is to limit any clay consumption to ones that are known to be safe. I don’t recommend digging up your own clay for consumption unless you have it tested.
Since clay has such strong absorptive and adsorptive properties, it is best not to take it with your vitamins or at the same time you take prescription medications. Although I haven’t seen any research specifically in this area, I imagine clay has a tendency to bind to and prevent the action of most synthetic chemicals—including drugs. As such, if you’re ingesting clay I would suggest taking it on an empty stomach and then waiting at least four hours before taking any necessary medication.
Without supervision, ingesting clay isn’t recommended for someone with an intolerance for iron or for someone with high blood pressure.
There are a few things you might experience after taking clay orally. It’s not uncommon to experience easier, more frequent bowel movements. In the beginning, stools may have a stronger odor depending on the amount of contaminants. Just remember to drink plenty of water because clay has a tendency to absorb water.
Clay also has a tendency to “scrub” and cleanse the bowel walls. This results in improved digestion and absorption, which in turn translates into increased energy. Some people even report experiencing fewer overall aches and pains, improved skin conditions, and many other benefits associated with detoxification.
For more information on how to detoxify the body and remove toxins, visit www.drdavidwilliams.com.
When it comes to skin problems, most people don’t think of detoxification, but they should. In fact, one of the best ways to clear up a variety of skin conditions involves easing the load on your liver in every way possible.
To help you do a liver cleanse naturally, follow these three easy steps.
Liver Detoxification: Step 1 You must make sure your bowels are moving regularly, at least once daily. Food wastes that remain in the body over 24 hours become toxic. Your intestines continue to absorb this waste and it places an enormous burden on the liver to detoxify it.
Liver Detoxification: Step 2 You must drink at least eight, 8-ounce glasses of water per day. This helps both the bowels and the kidneys and lightens the load on the liver. If you drink other liquids, make sure they are sugar-free, but don’t count them as part of the eight glasses of water.
Liver Detoxification: Step 3 Foods high in sugar (natural or otherwise) and high starch foods must be eliminated initially. Some products where sugar has been added are obvious, like soft drinks, candy, ice cream, cakes, pies, etc. The list below contains foods which have a high natural sugar content or an abundance of starch that can be quickly converted to sugars by the body. Eliminate or at least reduce these foods until the psoriasis patches have disappeared.
Potatoes
Rice
Grapes
Raisins
Plums
Figs
Dates
Bananas
Spaghetti
Macaroni
Noodles
Pizza
Jams
Jellies
Corn
Beans
Rice
Peas
Artichokes
Breakfast cereal
After reading this list, you may be wondering just what you can eat. Remember, the foods may later be reintroduced into the diet, but in the beginning you will get faster and better results if you stick rigidly to the program. You can eat any vegetable not listed above. You can have any meat except pork. Eggs and dairy products are allowed. But only a few kinds of fruit are allowed such as: strawberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew melon, peaches and all citrus fruit, which may be eaten if fresh or packed in water. Coffee and tea should be limited to a couple of times a day.
The skin is the largest organ of your body. For the average adult, the surface area is about 3,000 sq. inches (or over 20 sq. ft.). It ranges from one-tenth to one-one hundredth of an inch in thickness. And, one square centimeter, you have an average of 1,000 oil glands (called sebaceous glands) and hundreds of sweat glands.
Your skin is an extremely complex organ. Besides protecting the underlying tissues from dehydration and bacteria invasion, it performs many other vital functions. It also helps control body temperature, store chemicals, synthesize several compounds such as vitamin D, receive environmental messages, and act as an elimination organ. This last function is of particular importance in dealing with skin diseases.
Waste products and body toxins that are filtered and broken down by your liver and kidneys are removed from the body by several organs. These include the bowels, the urinary tract organs, the lungs, and the skin. You use water to carry these waste products away and detoxify the body. By tracing this water loss, you can tell just how important the skin is in this cleansing process. The average water intake is about 10½ glasses a day. This includes the eight glasses of water you should be drinking and about 2½ glasses from food.
Although the skin’s primary purpose is generally said to be that of temperature regulation, the sweat it uses to cool the body is made up largely of waste material. In fact, the chemical composition of sweat is remarkably similar to urine. Sweat is a mixture of water, various salts, urea, uric acid, amino acids, ammonia, sugar, lactic acid and ascorbic acid.
As you can see, the skin is not just something to cover your organs. It is a complex organ itself, and its overall health depends on how well your body detoxifies and eliminates waste.
If you are looking to detoxify the body naturally (especially if you are doing a colon cleanse), you’ll want to include items that will help heal any damage to the mucosal lining of the bowels. One of the most time-tested products is slippery elm powder—a favorite topical remedy of Native Americans for wounds, burns, and boils. It was also used internally for ulcers and to soothe an irritated intestinal system.
Slippery elm is very safe, and can be purchased in bulk or in capsules (I prefer the bulk product). A slippery elm drink can be made by adding a heaping teaspoon of the powder to a little cold water to make a paste, and then pouring on a cup of boiling water while constantly stirring the mixture. Let it cool and then drink it, three times a day. For a slight variation you can use boiling milk instead of water and flavor the mixture with cinnamon or nutmeg. If you take slippery elm capsules, I suggest 800–1,000 mg three or four times daily.
An alternative to slippery elm is a product called Sialex from Ecological Formulas. It contains an extract of mucin (the main component of mucus) that re-establishes the protective mucus layer in the bowel and provides a lubricating action. You shouldn’t need Sialex if you use slippery elm, but I wanted you to know about it because it is helpful in healing the most stubborn cases, particularly ulcerations in the stomach and small intestine. The recommended dosage is 1 to 3 capsules with meals.
In addition to the slippery elm, now would be a good time to begin drinking green tea. I’ve expounded on the many benefits of green tea for years. However, most people still don’t realize that green tea can have a very positive effect on bowel regularity and bowel flora. Not only does it have antimicrobial properties and inhibit the growth of many pathogenic bacteria, it encourages growth of the beneficial lactobacilli bacteria at the same time.
When you are looking to detoxify the body, you must start with the basics—your diet. To kick off a truly effective cleansing detoxification program, you should try what I call the “weed and feed” program.
The idea is to first cleanse the bowels of any harmful or large numbers of undesirable bacteria, fungi, yeast, and parasites; heal any damage that has taken place; and then re-establish a healthy population of beneficial bacteria.
Overall it’s roughly a two-week program that begins with a 24-hour fast, where ideally nothing would be consumed except purified water. (Chlorinated water is not recommended, because it is not particular about which bacteria it kills—even the beneficial types in the bowel.) If one can’t fast on water alone for 24 hours, a homemade vegetable broth or the low-sodium version of V8 juice can be included, but under no circumstances should you add any fruit, juices, or other foods or drinks.
After the first 24 hours, steamed vegetables and light salads can be gradually added to the diet. (Yeast products, sugar, and starchy foods such as potatoes and rice are not allowed.)
Days 2 and 3 begin the “weeding” of your colon as “broad spectrum” natural antimicrobials are added to the regimen. The standard antimicrobial is garlic, preferably fresh—which has been proven effective against eliminating an extremely wide variety of harmful bacteria, fungi, yeast, and viruses while at the same time sparing the beneficial forms of bacteria. You can achieve these effects by simply consuming two crushed garlic cloves twice daily with your meals.
Beginning on Day 4, and through the remaining two weeks, you need to heal any damage to the bowel and re-establish the growth and dominance of the beneficial bacteria. In addition to adding specific supplements (such as a good probiotic), you can now gradually begin to introduce more and more fresh foods into your diet.
During this period it is important not to consume sugar, alcohol, caffeine, wheat products, or high starch foods such as bread, potatoes, and rice. Steamed or stir-fried vegetables are highly recommended—particularly high-sulfur foods such as cabbage, broccoli, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cress, kale, mustard, radish, and turnip. Cabbage is one of the most researched (and also one of my favorites)—steamed, stir-fried, or fermented as sauerkraut. Onions, asparagus, and artichokes are also good choices.
Legumes (beans and peas) may also be introduced. Keep in mind, too, that these last few items are higher in fiber—which will be a great help for IBS and other bowel problems, but may need to be introduced later if diarrhea is an issue. The timing of when and how much can be eaten will vary from individual to individual.
Meat can also be gradually added (begin with chicken, fish, or lamb), and it is generally easier and best to do so in the form of broths, stews, or soups. Slow-cooked (not instant) oatmeal is a good addition at this point. Dairy products may also be included. Start with the fermented ones first (such as yogurt).
As you begin to re-introduce different foods, be alert to any changes in bowel changes or symptoms. You may have to discontinue certain foods and add them back later when you see improved bowel regularity.
Natural diarrhea treatments are very effective, and easy to put to use. A few months ago, I wrote about preventing diarrhea with clay. Another simple method of preventing diarrhea is to address one cause: a stuck valve in your digestive tract.
Your ileocecal valve sits at the junction between your large intestine and small intestine. When it gets stuck, it can create several common digestive problems, including constipation and diarrhea.
This little valve has two very important jobs. First, it serves as a block that prevents the toxic contents of the large intestine from backing up into the small intestine. Second, it keeps the food products in the small intestine from passing into the large intestine before the digestive processes have been completed.
The valve can at times become either “stuck shut” or “stuck open.” Sometimes spicy or roughage-type foods will irritate the valve and cause it to stick one way or the other. Another factor that greatly influences the valve is stress or emotional trauma. Almost everyone is exposed to these factors, but some of us are more sensitive than others. When stuck shut, the closed ileocecal valve can cause constipation, and when stuck open, diarrhea will be the problem.
What to Do
When the valve is open, there are some temporary fixes that can be tried first. The valve is located on your right side, about halfway between the belly button and the hip bone. Many times you can get relief in one of two ways. First, you can hold the valve shut for several minutes. This is done by placing your hand over the valve and, while pushing in, pull up toward the left shoulder. The second way is to place a cold pack made of cold water or ice over the valve for about 15 to 20 minutes. This process can be repeated if necessary.
There are also several things that should be done for both open and closed valves. First, perform a good colon detox. Cleansing the bowel sometimes is all that's needed. I've provided several solutions for cleansing and detoxification elsewhere in this blog.
Next, spicy foods should be eliminated from the diet for a week or so. If the problem is diarrhea (open valve), it is also helpful to eliminate all roughage-type food for a short period of time. If it is a closed valve and constipation is a problem, then increase the roughage. And in both cases, alcohol, cocoa, chocolate, and caffeine products should be eliminated.
With a closed valve (constipation), add calcium and vitamin D to the diet. With an open valve (diarrhea), add a product called lactic acid yeast to the diet, which can be obtained at Village Green Apothecary at 800-869-9159. This product alone can sometimes stop even the most stubborn cases of chronic diarrhea!
Finally, and most important of all, by rubbing out the “reflex” points shown in the picture above for either an open or closed ileocecal valve, you can relieve the problem almost instantly. The areas illustrated should be massaged with firm pressure for about 10 to 20 seconds each. (It's not beneficial to rub the points any longer than that. In fact, it may negate the effect.)
To realize the full benefits of a liver detoxification routine, you need to begin with the gallbladder, which is often overlooked.
Your gallbladder can become clogged with small stones or thick gelatinous bile. This bile contains body toxins that have come out of the liver, and a flush is an important tool for helping restore normal gallbladder function so the toxins can keep flowing out properly. While the flush is easy to do, I would never recommend doing so without the approval and guidance of your doctor. I have supervised hundreds of flushes and never had any problems, but each patient should be screened to rule out the possibility of large gallstones that might not be able to pass through the bile duct during the flush.
To flush the gallbladder, follow these directions precisely:
Monday through Saturday noon, in addition to your normal diet and supplement regimen, drink as much apple juice or cider as you can. The apple juice or cider should not be from concentrate or contain sugar or additives.
At noon on Saturday, eat a normal lunch.
Three hours later, take 2 teaspoons of disodium phosphate, dissolved in about one ounce of hot water. (Disodium phosphate is available from The Vitamin Shoppe at 800-223-1216, or from Mountain Home Nutritionals at 800-888-1415.) The taste may be objectionable—it’s okay to follow it with a little fresh-squeezed lemon or grapefruit juice.
Two hours later, repeat step 3.
For the evening meal, you may have grapefruit or other citrus fruits or juices.
At bedtime, drink a half cup of unrefined virgin olive oil either followed by a small glass of grapefruit juice or blended with a half cup of lemon juice.
Go to bed immediately and lie on your right side with your right knee pulled up close to your chest for 30 minutes.
The next morning, one hour before breakfast, take two teaspoons of disodium phosphate dissolved in two ounces of hot water.
Continue your normal diet and any nutritional program that may have been prescribed.
The olive oil/citrus juice may cause slight to moderate nausea, which will slowly disappear by the time you go to sleep. In the rare instance where the olive oil causes vomiting, the procedure should not be repeated at this time.
Once you have finished this process you'll be ready to start on your liver cleanse & detox program. All the environmental toxins that are moving out of your liver will now have an escape route. You won’t notice the toxins as they’re being flushed out, but be assured they are leaving.
As a bonus, you should see an improvement in bowel regularity, because the gallbladder will become more efficient at releasing bile into your small intestine.
A recent report showed that the incidence of celiac disease has increased dramatically in this country over the past 50 years. A recent study published in the journal Gastroenterology showed that undiagnosed celiac disease is at least four times as prevalent as it was in the 1950s.
Celiac disease arises when the body begins to react to the gluten protein found in grains such as wheat and rye. Gluten in the gut isn't a problem on its own; it's only when the gluten makes its way into the bloodstream that trouble begins. Symptoms of celiac disease include diarrhea, bloating, and gas. Eventually, because nutrients are not being absorbed properly, individuals may see signs of malnutrition, including muscle weakness, decrease in vision, and easy bruising.
Gluten makes its way into the bloodstream for two reasons. First, it's not being digested properly. And second, the large protein fragments are making their way through a damaged gut wall. Proper digestion depends on the presence of enzymes. You may already be familiar with the role that enzymes play--digestive health supplements such as Lactaid (lactase enzyme to break down milk sugars) and Beano (amylase to break down the carbohydrates in beans and legumes) have been around for years.
Bowel problems occur because the "villi" (tiny finger-like organs that line the intestinal wall) become damaged, and can no longer do their part as gatekeepers between the digestive tract and the bloodstream.
And don't think that celiac disease is just for the young or middle-aged. A recent study conducted in Finland showed that celiac disease can make its first appearance even in older adults. If you find yourself with the sudden appearance of unexplained bloating, gas, and diarrhea--symptoms that last for more than a day or so--then consider celiac disease as a possibility.
One solution for many people is a digestive enzyme formula that provides all three groups of enzymes: amylases for carbs and lipases for fats, but especially proteases to help digest proteins. Add a high-quality digestive enzyme supplement to your daily regimen and you'll see bowel changes for the better.
The benefits of a good cleansing and detoxification regimen just keep coming. One you might not suspect is that getting rid of body toxins can improve your bone health.
Your bones are a storehouse for minerals, which your body uses to keep pH within a very narrow range (for most people 7.35 to 7.45, which is slightly alkaline). As I've written in my Alternatives newsletter, eating a diet high in acid-forming foods can pull minerals out of your bones. I recommend cutting out foods such as sodas and "white" foods--white flour, white rice, and white sugar--partially because they increase your body's acid levels.
But food isn't the only source of body acidity. Many metabolic wastes are acidic, as well. The most common example is carbon dioxide; the simple act of breathing helps regulate your blood pH by getting rid of acidic CO2. Sweat is acidic as well, as low-pH body toxins leave through your skin.
Many promoters of body detox regimens tout the value of removing environmental toxins. Certainly this is beneficial, but you need to keep all your body systems in top condition so they can efficiently remove metabolic waste as well. Begin with a thorough liver detoxification program, follow it with a colon detox and cleansing, and you're on your way to stronger bones.
Another part of a detox regimen is a colon cleanse. Most individuals are aware that they should be doing some type of colon detoxification regimen, but many of those people are not completely clear about the benefits. After completing a comprehensive colon cleanse, here's what you can expect:
Improved digestion.
Reduction in bloating and gas.
Improved bowel regularity.
All these benefits depend on restoring the health of your digestive tract after you've gotten it cleaned out. To do this, I suggest looking to two digestive supplements.
The first is L-glutamine. This amino acid is a food source for cells that line your gut, which makes it critical for total GI health. It's available in many high-protein foods, but a focus on low-fat diets has led many people to cut back on their consumption of these foods. L-glutamine supplements are widely available on the Web.
The second supplement us a high-quality probiotic. Benefits come from a rebalancing of the bacterial flora in your gut. There's just no way to keep all the bad bacteria out; your gut has developed an efficient mechanism to keep them under control so they don't cause disease or discomfort.
If you haven't indulged in a good colon cleanse recently, then the time to begin is now.
Not all that long ago, "detoxification" was something that only alcoholics and drug addicts went through. While most of us don't need to remove toxins the way those folks do, it's still important to perform a regular cleansing & detoxification regimen regularly, at least once a year.
Even for those individuals living the "green" life, environmental toxins accumulate with every breath. We can't completely escape everything that surrounds us:
pesticides and herbicides
PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls)
VOCs (volatile organic chemicals)
heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and others)
Many of those toxins end up in the liver. Continued accumulation can eventually impair function of that organ, which is why liver detoxification is so important for continued health. Even for those folks who aren't intentionally putting toxins into their bodies, it's essential to detoxify the body.
Though many people don't make the connection, hemorrhoids are one of the more common digestive problems. Simply put, a hemorrhoid is a bulging vein in the area of the rectum. It gets that way from the straining to evacuate the bowels.
It's easy to prevent hemorrhoids: improve your bowel regularity. If you find that constipation is a constant companion, then you'll need to essentially reset your digestive system. One of the easiest ways to do that is with a complete colon cleanse. Benefits include improved digestion and a reduction in gas and bloating along with the relief from constipation.
Once you have your colon cleaned out, you'll want to start on a probiotic digestive supplement to rebalance the beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract and keep everything moving along smoothly.
Drink plenty of water to keep things lubricated and get some exercise to massage the bowel internally, and you have the complete hemorrhoid prevention program.
Many natural detox programs you see out there address liver detoxification. In this post I'll let you know why a natural liver cleanse is so important.
Your liver uses two process to detoxify and remove toxins from the body. In Phase 1, biological and environmental toxins are broken down into molecular fragments, a process called glucuronidation. This is where a group of enzymes known as P450 do their work, and the stage at which many drug interactions occur.
In Phase 2, the toxins are bound to other molecules, a process called conjugation. The toxins are then dumped out through the bile into the bowel for elimination. This is why cleansing the liver isn't enough on its own. The longer material sits in your gut, the more opportunity bacteria and enzymes in your gut have to break the bonds, known as deconjugation. This allows those toxins to be reabsorbed into your body, doubling (or more) the workload on your poor liver.
A thorough liver cleaning helps repair any damaged areas in your liver, as well as clearing out the toxins that have built up over time.
In an earlier post I wrote about the signs that you might need to undertake a body cleansing & detoxification program. This time around, I'll let you know what you can expect to occur.
As environmental toxins begin to leave your body, you'll notice several changes. Some of them might be surprising, but remember what's happening: you're removing toxins even faster than you were before. These conditions pass within a few days at most.
Your breath could get worse. As your lungs clear waste and toxins from the bloodstream, you'll detect the evidence on your breath.
Your skin might get itchy and red. Again, your skin is an organ your body uses to detoxify itself, so as more toxins pass through the skin it may become more irritated temporarily.
Your digestion may temporarily get worse. Bowel problems such as constipation and diarrhea or bloating and gas may come and go.
Again, don't worry about these occurrences--they're perfectly normal, and will disappear as you continue your program. What's left behind is the benefits:
Clearer thinking
Easier-moving joints
Improved digestion
Clearer skin, brighter eyes, shinier hair
A comprehensive detox program is definitely worth the effort.
Considering the world we live in, it's almost a given that you need to perform some kind of a body cleansing & detoxification regimen once a year or more. Readers have asked me how to know when it's time to begin. The answer almost certainly is, "Now." Environmental toxins accumulate daily, and every elimination route is constantly under pressure. Here are some of the signs that it's time to remove toxins from your body:
Sluggish thinking, and/or depression
Dull hair and skin
Feelings of fatigue
Joint aches and pains
Constant bad breath
Chronic indigestion
All these symptoms relate to either the routes your body uses to remove toxins, or the places that toxins tend to accumulate.
It's possible to detoxify the body naturally, to get rid of some or all of these symptoms. A thorough liver cleaning is a good early step in body cleansing. Detoxification involves more than that, certainly, but it is a necessary component. A liver cleanse is another necessary component of any detox program. I've provided full guidance and resources for a natural detox program on my Web site, detox.drdavidwilliams.com.
Nearly every attempt to remove toxins from your body will begin with a colon cleanse. Benefits include the purging of all sorts of environmental toxins and natural waste products as you improve your bowel regularity.
Ironically, one of the side effects when you begin to detoxify your body naturally is constipation, and it happens for a very simple reason: It takes plenty of water to keep things moving freely. To prevent constipation, you'll want to increase your intake of water, even if you're already drinking eight glasses a day. Here's a simple guide: If you're not urinating a couple or three times during the day, then you're not drinking enough water.
One of the most basic steps you can take in a full body cleansing and detoxification program is a colon cleansing. You'll notice that nearly every natural detox program focuses on bowel regularity. There's a reason for this: Your gut receives all manner of body toxins as they're cleaned from the blood in the liver, then dumped into the gut through the bile. Any measures you can take to help remove toxins from your intestines lessens the risk that they'll be reabsorbed before they've had a chance to be eliminated.
A thorough digestive cleansing also requires a little maintenance afterward so you can keep up the benefits. Even so, an effective program is remarkably simple.
Add more fiber (of course). No matter how healthy your gut is, if it doesn't have something to push against, you're headed for bowel irregularity. Don't bother counting fiber grams; just add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, and replace any "white" foods (bread, pasta, etc.) with whole-grain versions.
Try a natural laxative. If you find that adding fiber isn't enough to produce the bowel changes you want, then add a laxative to your regimen for up to two weeks. Avoid the chemical-based products (which tend to be hard on your digestive tract) and look for ones that contain herbs such as senna or cascara sagrada.
Heal your gut with glutamine. The amino acid glutamine is a basic food for the cells that line your gut wall. Glutamine is found in most high-protein foods such as meat and beans, but for focused gut healing take an additional 5 grams a day.
Take a daily probiotic. Benefits of probiotic supplementation come from normalizing the bacterial balance in your gut. Healthy gut flora promote a healthy gut wall, which means that you're not reabsorbing all the environmental toxins that have just been cleaned by the liver.
That's the basics. You should begin to see the benefits of a colon cleanse almost immediately, as you just feel lighter and more refreshed. The benefits will continue long after, as other organs have their loads lightened (because they're not trying to get rid of everything that wasn't leaving through your colon.)
Your skin will be clearer.
You'll breathe more easily.
You'll think more clearly.
All in all, a regular colon cleansing is well worth the effort.
An FDA panel has just recommended limiting the dosage of over-the-counter acetaminophen (Tylenol and other brands). The panel also considered limiting other medications containing acetaminophen such as prescription pain relievers (Tylenol with codeine, Percocet, etc.) and over-the-counter cold medicines (Tylenol Cough and Cold, Nyquil Multi-Symptom, and many others).
Finally, the FDA is doing something about a high-profile toxin. Acetaminophen overdose is one of the most common poisonings in this country. (It's also high on the list of suicide methods.)
The problem with acetaminophen is that it's hard on your liver, limiting that organ's ability to clear the body of all the environmental toxins it has to deal with. Essentially, it overwhelms liver detoxification mechanisms, leading to a near-complete organ shutdown and accumulation of body toxins.
I have two suggestions. First, instead of acetaminophen, try the digestive enzyme bromelain for pain relief. Taken on an empty stomach, it's highly effective at reducing the inflammation that's behind most pain. Bromelain is available at any health food store.
Second, support healthy liver detoxification with the supplement called NAC (N-acetylcysteine). Your liver relies on the amino acid glutathione to directly break down all manner of environmental toxins, including hormones, pesticides, and the compounds known as VOCs (volatile organic chemicals, found in everything from new carpets to the plastic wrap on a deli sandwich). Glutathione supplementation would be a useful support for liver detoxification; unfortunately, it's very unstable in supplement form. NAC is used as a raw material for producing glutathione in your liver, so it makes a suitable substitute. Take 600 mg daily to support your cleansing and detoxification efforts.
A reader recently asked me about her psoriasis. She was surprised to hear that her digestive health could be a source of her skin problems.
Her problem likely began with all the environmental toxins she’s taken in over the years. As they’ve built up in her system, her liver detoxification system has been overwhelmed, and her body has tried to remove toxins through her skin. Her liver has become overburdened because the most effective body detox system, the digestive system, isn't working at peak efficiency.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, I would suggest trying a good digestive enzyme supplement with each meal. Make sure it contains betaine hydrochloride, protease, and ox bile or bile salts, all of which are necessary for the proper breakdown of protein and fats. A shortage of these digestive compounds is frequently a problem in cases of psoriasis. The condition can also worsen when taking certain drugs like beta-blockers, steroids, and the anti-inflammatory indomethacin.
I would also suggest taking a good bacterial digestive supplement. Probiotic benefits include a strengthening of the mucosal barriers in the large intestine, which can be a point of entry for undigested protein fragments. These fragments can cause inflammation and make it easier for toxins to enter the bloodstream and be excreted later by the skin, causing even more problems.
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Natural diarrhea treatments are very effective, and easy to put to use. A few months ago, I wrote about 
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