The Toxin Solution: How Hidden Poisons in the Air, Water, Food, and Products We Use Are Destroying Our Health
Highlights
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Before toxins enter the body from the digestive system, they have to pass through the liver. The portal vein that travels from the gut to the liver carries healthy vitamins and minerals, but it also carries the herbicides and pesticides that contaminate food, along with the BPA and phthalates absorbed from the plastic containers. A properly functioning liver gets rid of a high percentage of these toxins so they can’t get into our body—but some still get in.
There are many things that harm the liver, which is why it’s essential that you understand and limit damaging substances that undermine detox capacity. For example, alcoholics have increased disease due to alcohol-induced liver damage, which makes it harder to keep other toxins out. Even a small decrease in liver function allows a lot more toxins to pass into the blood. I think one reason practitioners of conventional medicine have not realized this problem is that it affects all aspects of health, not just one disease.
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Let’s look at the three key ways the liver works to rid your body of toxins:
1. Filtering the blood to remove large-molecule toxins
2. Synthesizing and secreting bile, to excrete fat-soluble toxins
3. Using enzymes to break down toxic chemicals
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bile is secreted into the small intestine. As the toxins are dissolved, all that fiber you consume on this program absorbs the toxin-saturated bile. When your gut excretes that fiber (via your stools), your body can say good-bye to a portion of its toxic load.
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That is why, in weeks 1 through 4 of the Toxin Solution, you began consuming more fiber—to absorb and carry off these toxins
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In a dynamic metabolic system like the human body, there is constant activity and many different parts that interact to make it all work. That is why it’s especially important to pay attention to your body’s messages during detox. Listening to your body will help you customize the program and make it work perfectly for you.
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Many people believe that only a lab test reveals information, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are a wealth of ways people can self-assess without lab tests. Back in the days when I first trained to be a naturopath, the few available lab tests were primitive compared with today’s offerings. That was why, to figure out what was going on in the body, old-time clinicians mastered the art of reading their patients’ signs and symptoms. Given that detoxification was foundational, these pioneers learned to determine when the detoxification process was in balance and when it was not. Fortunately, you can use their discoveries to promote your own health.
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My teachers knew that when toxin release begins, the person’s symptoms might actually get worse. The body likes to get rid of toxins, so when you open the tap for toxin release, the flood can become heavy. This has been labeled variously as the healing crisis, detoxification reaction, or Herxheimer reaction. Unless you have released large amounts of neurotoxins, these symptoms are nearly always minor and temporary. Yet detox reactions are a prime reason that some fear the process.
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one clear sign that your detox systems are on overwhelm is a decreased level of vitality. This is easy to gauge, because everyone knows when they feel debilitated and weak rather than energetic and healthy.
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Note how you are feeling now. Then make sure to pay attention to how you feel day by day over the next two weeks. There are a number of ways to monitor how you are doing. For example, every day, you can take a symptom survey, such as the one I provide in appendix E. (This survey is also available on the website www.thetoxinsolution.com.
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If you don’t have time to fill in the form, you can simply ask yourself these three questions when you awaken in the morning:
1. Do I have a headache?
2. Does my breath smell bad?
3. Do I feel tired upon rising in the morning and unenthusiastic the rest of the day?
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Dandelion. For centuries, herbalists revered dandelion as an invaluable liver remedy.3 Studies in humans and laboratory animals reveal that dandelion enhances the flow of bile, lessening liver congestion and reducing bile-duct inflammation, hepatitis, gallstones, and jaundice.4 Dandelion is so effective because it supports so many aspects of liver detox.
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Artichoke-leaf extract (as recommended in the protocol) also increases the excretion of bile from the liver. Research demonstrates that there is significantly more bile excretion for two to three hours after taking it5—one reason that artichoke extract is now used to lower cholesterol, which is eliminated through the bile. You can also eat one artichoke per day as shown in the sample menu plan
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Artichokes are best if cooked and eaten with oil, since this will increase absorption of the important constituents.
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turmeric. (Or take it as a supplement as shown in the protocol.) Turmeric contains the yellow pigment curcumin, which also increases the flow of bile from the liver and decreases blood cholesterol levels.6
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liver enzymes neutralize specific toxins. Many of these enzymes, key players in the body’s cleanup crew, are what is called inducible. That means the body won’t generate these enzymes until they are needed. Typically, once toxins persist at elevated levels for more than a day or so, the genes that produce these enzymes switch on to detoxify them. That is why many people report feeling more toxic the first few days after beginning active detox. What’s really going on? You actually do feel worse before these enzymes kick in. But by the end of the first week, after they kick in, you should start feeling progressively better.
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What are the signs that you are detoxifying successfully? You may experience:
• Skin rashes
• Increased mucus excretion (stuffed or runny nose)
• Bad breath
• Smellier stools or urine
• Headache
• Heavy, achy lungs
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Let’s look at the worst possible scenario, although it rarely happens. If toxins are being released too quickly, you will feel sicker and your vitality will be lower. Although this is very unlikely, if you have especially high levels of specific toxins, a too-rapid release can even be dangerous. Indications you are detoxifying too rapidly include:
• Brain fog
• Debility
• Depression
• Disorientation
• Dizziness
• Fast heart rate
• Headache
• Insomnia
• Irregular heartbeat
• Irritability
• Muscle spasms
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Weakness
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If you experience any of these symptoms, one of the best and simplest ways to decrease your symptoms without slowing down your detox is to cut dose of herbs in half, consume more berries, and eat more fiber. Just add to the protocol 5 grams of a fiber supplement with a full glass of water three times every day. This will help to absorb all those toxins being dumped by your liver and excrete them from your body via the stools. In this way, toxins do not end up being reabsorbed
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The best forms of fiber are oat bran, flaxseed powde
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the disease-treatment orientation of conventional medicine—which works so well for acute problems like infections and injury, where there is a direct correlation between a single cause and a single result—fails us for everyday health.
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The thyroid produces the hormone thyroxin, which tells each cell how much energy to produce, and the pancreas produces insulin to tell the cells how much sugar to absorb. These are just a few examples of the approximately five thousand metabolic processes that are going on in the body in each moment.
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Many toxic chemicals are totally broken down by these important first-line defense enzymes in the liver. However, in the process, your liver cells can be harmed. Every time Phase I enzymes transform a toxin, those same enzymes generate free radicals, which must be neutralized immediately or else they will damage the liver.
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As the liver works overtime to neutralize the toxins from the mushroom, it generates a cascade of free radicals that use up its storehouse of protective antioxidants, especially glutathione. If there is insufficient glutathione, the resulting damage can be so extensive that the liver is destroyed. This is why people can die from eating poisonous mushrooms
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Maintaining adequate levels of antioxidants will protect your hard-working liver. And that’s why, over the next two weeks, you will boost your antioxidant levels.
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the most important antioxidant in your entire body is glutathione (GSH). Glutathione neutralizes free radicals
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If your glutathione gets used up, your liver is more susceptible to free-radical damage. As a result, the Phase II enzymes that depend upon glutathione can’t so easily rid your body of the herbicides and pesticides used in modern agriculture.
You can obtain glutathione either through your diet (technically from the cysteine in the dietary glutathione) or through internal synthesis—which means the body itself can assemble glutathione from various other chemicals. Whether its key precursors are obtained through foods (such as fresh fruits and vegetables like avocado, cooked fish, dairy products, walnuts, and meat) or taken as a supplement, you must get adequate glutathione. Oral glutathione supplements aren’t very effective, because GSH breaks down in the intestines. Please take topical or liposomal forms of glutathione, which are available at good-quality health-food stores.
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The body can also synthesize glutathione—which is by far the primary way we get this needed molecule. Some substances, such as N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), provide high levels of cysteine for the body. Longevity increases in animals fed NAC, since it increases glutathione synthesis. Your body more rapidly produces glutathione when you have sufficient cysteine. The bottom line is that NAC raises blood, liver, cellular, and mitochondrial levels of this important antioxidant. NAC has also been shown to help decrease the toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs used to treat cancer, as well as that of antibiotics used for infections.7
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Fresh fruits and vegetables contain 25 to 750 mg of glutathione per pound. Higher quantities are found in sesame and sunflower seeds. That is why during weeks 5 and 6 of the program, you will consume more of these foods
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Some people with a very active Phase I have a slow Phase II—a combination doctors call pathological detoxification. In this scenario, Phase I builds up toxic versions of a dangerous compound faster than Phase II can disarm them. The end result is more severe toxic reactions to chemical and industrial poisons.
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To avoid creating this type of imbalance, my protocol supports both Phase I and Phase II. Certain nutrients like those found in berries, and herbs like turmeric, can also help directly neutralize these modified toxins so they can’t harm you while they are stuck in your system, waiting for Phase II to disarm them.
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The lack of certain key substances will limit your body’s ability to successfully perform Phase II detox. Following is a list of certain key factors that undermine a successful Phase II process.
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Selenium deficiency: Take a selenium dose of 150 micrograms (μg) per day
• Glutathione deficiency: Take NAC at a recommended dose of 500 milligrams (mg) two times per day
• Zinc deficiency: Take a zinc dose of 25 mg per day
• Low-protein diet: Increase protein by eating healthy proteins such as small fish, eggs from free-range chickens, and organically grown soy
• Folic acid deficiency: Take activated folates (MTHF and, if available, BH4) at a dose of 400 μg per day
• Vitamin B12 deficiency: Take a vitamin B12 dose of 500 μg methylcobalamin per day
• Vitamin B2, B5, or C deficiency: Take a vitamin B2 dose of 10 mg per day, a vitamin B5 dose of 250 mg per day, and a vitamin C dose of 1,000 mg two times per day
• Molybdenum deficiency: Take a molybdenum dose of 200 μg per day
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Here are some of the key nutrients you will use in the protocol to support Phase II detox:
• Brassica-family foods (cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts), limonene-containing foods (citrus peel, dill oil, and caraway oil)
• Glycine (found in turkey, seaweed, and soy)
• Protein-rich foods (such as small fish, eggs, and dairy products like Swiss cheese and feta)
• Choline-rich foods (lecithin, eggs), folic acid (green leafy vegetables), and vitamin B12 (animal products or supplements)
• NAC and foods high in cysteine (dairy products, beans, whole grains)
• B vitamins (yeast, whole grains)
• Vitamin C (peppers, cabbage, citrus fruits)
• Fish oil
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Some symptoms of liver detox dysfunction include the following:
• Adverse reactions to sulfite food additives (as in commercial potato salad, salad bars, wine, and dried fruit)
• Asthma reactions after eating at a restaurant
• Caffeine intolerance (even small amounts keep you awake at night)
• A strong urine odor after eating asparagus
• Feeling sick after eating garlic
• Yellow discoloration of eyes and skin, not due to hepatitis
• Intolerance to perfumes or strong odors
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researchers found that the two critical factors in cancer development are:
1. Exposure to multiple carcinogens
2. Poorly functioning detoxification enzymes19
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Nearly 5 percent of all hospital admissions are due to adverse drug reactions (ADRs). And for those over the age of sixty-five, the numbers are even worse, accounting for one out of six hospital admissions!20 This is a medical-industry blind spot. Few people realize that, according to standardized treatment criteria, properly prescribed drugs are actually the fourth leading cause of death in the United States
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Some—but not all—people suffer from the side effects of prescription drugs. Until recently it was impossible to predict who is at risk for side effects, but liver enzymes may provide a clue. In observing the differing ways people react to prescription drugs, we can actually see liver enzymes at work. Genetic variations dictate how the enzymes perform from person to person. But most doctors aren’t paying attention to these significant distinctions to help people make the right health-care choices.
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The more toxins you absorb, the more you deplete glutathione stores and the more damaging all toxins become.
4 Clean Up Your Gut
As you focus on healing the first pathway of detoxification—the gut and digestive function—you will accrue tremendous benefits. With a deeper understanding of the damage caused by a toxic gut, you can follow the four steps you need to take to heal it. To summarize:
Step 1. Eliminate the bad bacteria.
Step 2. Add fiber to bind the toxins and carry them out of your system.
Step 3. Introduce healthy bacteria and repair the gut walls.
Step 4. Stop the damage from recurring.
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Let me single out four of the most important things to avoid if you want a healthy gut:
1. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
2. Excessive consumption of alcohol
3. Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup
4. Food allergies (discussed in chapter 7)
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The wrong gut bacteria make people reabsorb the very toxins the liver works so hard to release! Here’s how: In a process called Phase II liver detoxification, the body excretes chemical toxins by binding them, through a process called conjugation, to other molecules that safely carry them through the bile and into the gut, where they are eventually excreted (or to the kidneys for elimination in the urine). But when you have the wrong bacteria and not enough fiber, the bacteria remove the conjugating molecule—the molecule that makes the substance nontoxic—leading to the toxins’ reabsorption. This is why almost everyone is toxic: when you eat too little fiber and have the wrong gut bacteria, you lack the ability to get toxins out of the body.
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Gut toxins are also responsible for weight gain, obesity, and diabetes. If you have ever tried to diet, it’s important to understand this. Even if you carefully avoid sugar, the wrong gut bacteria will convert healthy complex carbohydrates, like those found in beans, potatoes, and pasta, to simple sugars, the same types of carbs found in sweets
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when the digestion is not working properly, the gut becomes too permeable—or, in common parlance, “leaky.” When the gut “leaks,” undesirable molecules, food antigens, bacteria cell parts, and so on get through the gut membrane. Leaky gut syndrome triggers many other undesirable biochemical activities. For example, instead of keeping allergic substances and other toxins confined to the gut, a permeable gut-cell lining allows these to circulate through the body.
Since human gut contents can be either beneficial or problematic, Mother Nature wisely designed our bodies so that all the blood from the gut first goes through the liver, to be detoxified before it circulates through the bloodstream. The bad news is that when this process goes awry—with bad gut flora, leaky gut, and liver dysfunction (all extremely common)—this toxic mess ends up overwhelming the liver and entering the body. Although leaky gut therefore contributes to most chronic disease, you don’t have to have a diagnosed serious disease to be suffering damage from a leaky gut.
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After you get rid of the bad bacteria in your gut, you can take various foods, nutrients, and herbs to facilitate regeneration of the gut cells.
Cabbage-family foods are high in glutamine, a healing nutrient that helps repair the gut walls. Cabbage also contains sulforaphanes, which increase liver detoxification. Drinking one quart a day of the fresh cabbage (or sauerkraut) juice is so powerful, it even heals stomach ulcers. You can get bottled cabbage juice, but the best way to obtain it is to make your own using a juicer. Add one beet and two stalks of celery to one-quarter head of cabbage to make a half quart of cabbage juice.
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Cabbage has compounds that bind iodine in the gut. This is not a problem in the short term, but after a few months it can decrease iodine levels (which are already low in the majority of the population) and cause a lower level of thyroid hormone production.
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If you are among the group who don’t like the smell or taste of cabbage juice, you can take glutamine,2 one of the key, gut-healing nutrients in cabbage, 500 mg, three times per day
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Surprisingly, gut regeneration doesn’t take long; it can be accomplished in the one week you will do this program—as long as you also stop damaging the gut as discussed below.
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Taking 250 mg of quercetin twice a day helps quench inflammatory processes in the gut. If you want to obtain quercetin from a food source instead, add yellow onions to your diet. Quercetin is what gives them their yellow color.3
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Licorice is particularly effective for healing stomach ulcers and the mucosal damage caused by aspirin, as mentioned below.5 You can use cabbage and yellow onions or glutamine and quercetin supplements for as long as you want, but licorice can be used for only a few months, because some people develop high blood pressure from it. That’s why I prefer DGL, another form of licorice, which has the problematic blood-pressure molecule removed and can be taken as long as you want.
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recommend taking licorice in the form of DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice), 250 to 500 mg, three times a day, letting the lozenges dissolve in your mouth
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When performers from that troupe suffered from “singer’s voice” and became too hoarse to perform, they turned to him, because his “secret” herb (licorice) was so effective. Because I now lecture so much internationally on toxicity and detoxification, I have learned to always have licorice fluid extract (more concentrated than the tincture) with me: as my voice starts to fade after three to four hours of lecturing, I can always count on it to give me another hour or two of voice.
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Now that you have eliminated the toxic bacteria, you will recolonize the gut with optimal bacteria. Three times per day, outside of mealtimes, take a good-quality multi-bacterial-strain probiotic (one that includes ten or more types of bacteria) with several species of Lactobacillus and, especially, of Bifidobacterium. This latter organism is one of the most researched, showing health benefits in many areas.
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Step 2. Repair the Gut
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Step 1. Kill the Bad Bacteria
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For three days before starting this program, take fiber supplements, using 2 grams of fiber three times a day. As I mentioned earlier, the fiber helps ensure the prompt excretion of toxic bacteria via the stools.
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Beginning on day 1, and for the next seven days, take 1 teaspoonful (six capsules) of goldenseal root powder (Hydrastis canadensis) three times a day. This great herbal medicine kills the harmful bacteria in your gut while being friendly to the healthy bacteria. You can also eat raw garlic if you want to speed up the process, since this interesting vegetable is also good at killing the bad bacteria.
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About 5 percent of the population, like me, have difficulty detoxifying the complex sulfur compounds found in raw garlic
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if it makes you feel unwell, please make sure to slow down the process by taking less goldenseal and garlic, but definitely do not decrease the fiber. Though initially taking fiber may cause you to experience more intestinal gas, your body will adapt within a few days. Be sure to drink plenty of water with the fiber
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The first step is getting the right nutritional baseline. Following the Two-Week Jumpstart Diet gives you everything you need
3 The Two-Week Jumpstart Diet
During the first week you may be surprised by how you feel. You may feel light-headed, confused, tired, craving certain foods, and cranky, with an upset gut and especially bad breath. A lot is happening. You are:
• Withdrawing from foods and substances like sugar, salt, meat, gluten, and dairy, to which you are habituated or addicted.
• Changing the balance of bacteria in your gut, which means some bad bacteria are dying and releasing their toxins.
• Releasing toxins from your cells.
• Reestablishing healthier physiology.
Natural medicine doctors have known for centuries that as the body becomes healthier and recovers from chronic disease, acute symptoms increase—but this lasts for only a few days
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Turmeric is excellent for promoting liver detoxification and decreasing inflammation. Black pepper, however, increases gut permeability, which we do not want. And cayenne pepper, although it is a very healthy food, acts like members of the nightshade family of foods in slowing down some key liver-detoxification enzymes.
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Technically, oils are a refined food.
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Once oils start to smoke, they are damaged and potentially toxic. If you’re making a sauté, use water, and add the oil after the food is cooked.
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Eat lots of vegetables from the following list. While it’s best to eat organically grown produce, the fruits and vegetables in the Clean 15 list aren’t heavily sprayed. So, if you want to budget when to buy organically and when you can eat conventionally grown foods, base your choices on the Clean 15.
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Increase Brassicas and Healthy Vegetables
Eat half a pound of brassica-family foods every day (any color cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and kale.) These vegetables must be organically grown.
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Include More Fiber
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Take a High-Quality Multistrain Probiotic
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Drink at Least Four Quarts of Clean Water Every Day
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Almost 50 percent of the population has diabetes or prediabetes—both of which are almost entirely due to poor diet, lack of exercise, and toxins. Avoiding refined sugar can help ensure that your blood-sugar level remains steady throughout the day—neither too high nor too low nor changing rapidly.
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To detoxify alcohol, your liver uses up an essential antioxidant called glutathione. (Glutathione is the key molecule your body uses to get rid of most chemical toxins
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Excess salt acts as a toxin in the body. When you eat too much salt, you impair your body’s ability to produce glutathione. The higher your salt intake, the less your kidneys are able to detoxify because they are wasting their capacity getting rid of the excess sodium and chloride. More important, researchers now think that lifelong consumption of salt at the current typical amount of 3.4 grams per day may be the key reason people’s kidneys degenerate as they age
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Soy allergy is far more common than generally recognized. And in terms of toxicity, soy is third on the list after arsenic-laden chicken and farmed fish.
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While soybeans have a number of nutritional benefits, they absorb a lot of cadmium when grown with high-phosphate fertilizers. A Seattle study found that soy products now have so much cadmium that their consumption causes an incredible 20 percent of the osteoporosis in women.
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There have been sharp increases in the amounts and numbers of chemical herbicides applied to GM crops. And further increases—the largest in a generation—are scheduled to occur in the next few years. GMOs were genetically modified to allow them to resist herbicides, so larger amounts of them can be sprayed on GMO crops to kill weeds. Unfortunately, those herbicides affect not only weeds; they damage us as well.
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A research team in France has shown that although glyphosate-containing herbicides like Roundup are touted as safe, that finding overlooks the real problem: their inactive—and much more toxic—constituents aren’t disclosed.17 In fact, this research team found that when you consider those ingredients, Roundup is one thousand times more toxic than pure glyphosate.18
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Ninety-nine percent of the soy Americans consume is GMO.
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When plants are grown in nutrient-depleted soils, they actually absorb toxic metals more easily. The study looked at spinach grown on zinc-depleted soil. The results were clear: low zinc in the soil resulted not only in less zinc in the spinach but, even worse, more cadmium. That’s because cadmium replaces zinc in critical enzymes when zinc levels are low. And once the cadmium levels get high enough, these enzymes will be poisoned. That exchange of unhealthy cadmium for healthy zinc is taking place right now in food crops across this country. Exactly the same thing is happening in our body.
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Our bodies are basically enzyme machines. We use these special proteins to:
• Digest our food.
• Convert protein, carbohydrates, and fats into energy.
• Produce our hormones.
• Make reproduction possible.
• Create the messages that make our brains work.
In order to perform these and countless other functions, we need ample enzymes—and enzymes are made using key nutrients from the foods we eat. What does it take to make an enzyme? Enzymes have two components: an inactive protein skeleton, and a “cofactor” that activates it. Almost all the enzyme cofactors are vitamins or minerals. If you don’t get generous quantities of vitamins and minerals from food, your enzymes won’t work, or will work inadequately. That undermines health and leaves the body more susceptible to toxin
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The worst vegetables on the Dirty Dozen list are celery, spinach, and kale. This is especially frustrating, since spinach and kale are among the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat
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nonorganic kale also has the highest levels of organophosphate pesticides, which are extremely neurotoxic
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high levels of these toxins are associated with decreased IQ. They are also associated with increased ADHD in children. As you can see in figure 3.2, adults in the 76–90 percent levels of organochloride pesticides show a risk of dementia 2.5 times higher than that of those with the lowest level
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The fish oils made from farmed fish are also highly contaminated. I am a great believer in taking fish oils for health, but make sure they come from reputable sources!
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The best fish are wild-caught sardines and salmon, which are high in omega-3 fatty acids and low in mercury.
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eggs from free-range chickens are an excellent source of protein, and, when combined with organically grown vegetables, provide a much healthier option.
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conventionally raised chickens have elevated levels of arsenic due to the drugs and chemicals used in their production.11
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based on genetics, 20 percent of people should never eat wheat, and 60 percent should not eat it more than a few times a week. For that lucky 20 percent, wheat causes no problems, and they get the benefit of the important nutrients and fiber in whole grains.
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Whether or not you are allergic, it pays to avoid wheat when you are trying to restore your organs and your detox capacity. That’s why you can start by avoiding gluten-containing products on the Two-Week Jumpstart Diet
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The problems some people have with grains are worsened when farmers breed wheat to increase its gluten content, or use antibiotics, which disrupt gut flora.
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gluten can inflame the gut and make it too permeable, which allows toxins into the bloodstream
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chemicals are being added not just to processed foods but to meat, dairy products, and even produce. The sodium nitrate added to processed meat (like sliced turkey and salami) to stop bacterial growth is linked to cancer in humans.
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Tartrazine dye is added to cheese to make it yellow, since cows are no longer eating grass high in colorful carotenoids. Unfortunately, tartrazine increases the risk of diseases such as asthma.
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the sulfites added to dried fruit to keep it from turning brown. Those unable to effectively detoxify these sulfites (like me) experience allergies and nasal congestion, and they cause about 10 percent of asthma. And because these food products are often so devoid of nutrition and tastiness, food scientists devise flavoring agents to fool your taste buds.
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Monosodium glutamate supposedly enhances flavor (it must be an acquired taste!), but unfortunately, it also enhances the risk of nerve and heart damage and seizures.
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this shady character has a dozen aliases. Glutamic acid, hydrolyzed protein, autolyzed protein, autolyzed yeast extract, textured protein, and maltodextrin are just a few of them.
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people commonly welcome toxins into their bodies because they don’t recognize that they are there.
On my plan you will stop consuming the following:
• Processed foods
• Gluten-containing foods
• Dairy products
• Beef and chicken
• Farmed fish
• The “Dirty Dozen” produce items
• Soy products
• Refined foods and sweeteners
• Alcohol and recreational drugs
• Salt
• Water that has not been purified or proven to be clean
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I want you to be super clean in your eating and provide your body with the kind of nourishment that will help it detox naturally. To accomplish this, you should:
• Drink at least four quarts of clean water every day.
• Take a high-quality multistrain probiotic.
• Take a high-quality multivitamin and mineral supplement.
• Include more fiber in your diet.
• Eat half a pound of brassica-family foods every day.
• Eat lots of vegetables from the “Clean 15.”
• Eat real, unprocessed food.
• Use turmeric but not pepper.
• Use oils carefully.
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When withdrawing from a drug that suppresses symptoms, the body overresponds before coming back to normal. The tough withdrawal from sugar, the embarrassing worsening of her acne, the feeling of uncertainty when her friends mocked her for “wasting money” on eating organically grown foods—it all took fortitude. But it was worth it. Because as her body reestablished proper function, the normal response was health.
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scientists and researchers now refer to pesticides and many other toxic chemicals as diabetogens and obesogens. Because of them, many foods once considered nutritious now lead to diabetes and obesity.
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There are many ways these herbicides damage our bodies. For example, they disrupt the endocrine system by blocking both testosterone and estrogen receptor sites.6 Even worse, they damage DNA, making cells age faster and become more susceptible to cancer
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Let’s take a look at their Dirty Dozen (plus two) food list. These are the foods with the heaviest doses of agricultural pesticides. If you want to unload your toxic burden and restore your health, you can concentrate your organic produce purchases on the following fruits and vegetables:*
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Apples
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Strawberries
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Grapes
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Celery
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Peaches
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Spinach
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Sweet bell peppers
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Nectarines (imported)
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Cucumbers
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Tomatoes
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Snap peas (imported)
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Potatoes
• Hot peppers
• Kale and collard greens
2 The Causes of Toxic Overload
Fish are a common food source of PCBs. This is of real concern for women planning to have children. The more fish a woman eats (as measured by omega-3 fatty acids in her blood), the higher her level of PCBs. Unfortunately, a woman’s PCB load doesn’t stop with her. The good news is that breast-feeding lowers the mother’s blood levels of PCB, OCPs, and other toxins. PCBs concentrate in breast milk, so nursing rids her body of these toxins. The bad news is that when her baby drinks that milk, the child takes in those toxins.
2 The Causes of Toxic Overload
PCBs inhibit the production of thyroid hormones, so people with elevated PCB levels feel fatigued all the time. But worse, PCB levels are now so high that they appear to cause a totally preventable 24 percent of all heart attacks!14 Yes, you’ve been told elevated cholesterol is the problem. But did your doctor tell you that cholesterol levels go up in proportion to the level of PCBs in your body?
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Cholesterol is normal, healthy, and required for health. PCBs are not. Rather, they and other toxins oxidize healthy cholesterol to unhealthy oxLDL (oxidized LDL) cholesterol, which is what actually damages arteries and causes heart attacks.
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Even if, as a consumer, you have not intentionally purchased PCB-containing products, you might still be exposed to PCBs from:
• Paints, plastics, and rubber products.
• Pigments, dyes, and carbonless copy paper.
• Electrical equipment including voltage regulators, switches, reclosers, bushings, electromagnets, transformers, and capacitors.
• Old appliances.
• Oil used in motors and hydraulic systems.
• Fluorescent light ballasts.
• Cable insulation.
• Thermal insulation material including fiberglass, felt, foam, and cork.
• Adhesives and tapes.
• Oil-based paint.
• Caulking.
• Plastics.
• Floor finishes.
2 The Causes of Toxic Overload
In general, most “safe” levels for toxins are defined as the levels seen in 95 percent of the “normal” population. Since the “normal” population carries a heavy toxic load and suffers poor health and a lot of chronic disease, that is not a healthy baseline.
2 The Causes of Toxic Overload
due to the failure to undertake studies, along with chemical-industry lobbying, decades can pass before the regulators figure out how (and have the fortitude) to ban or limit an unsafe substance.
2 The Causes of Toxic Overload
is not lead alone that damages the brains and the bodies of the unborn and of children.
• Phthalates decrease the production of the key molecule in the brain that helps neurons evolve and interconnect.
• Organophosphates (commonly used in agriculture) were developed as neurological poisons for chemical warfare in World War I.
• GMOs were designed to allow excessive use of the weed killer glyphosate, which increases cancer risk.
How did we come to accept the idea that putting these poisons in our food is a good thing?!
2 The Causes of Toxic Overload
For example, the “safe” blood lead levels (BLLs) used to be 60 μg/dL (micrograms per deciliter) of blood. But researchers found many health problems below that level, so about every decade the regulators kept dropping the “safe” level. With that level now at 10 μg/dL, research still shows an increased incidence of death from all causes—including cardiovascular disease and cancer—in people with lead in the range of 5.0 to 10.0 μg/dL.9 In other words, scientists try to agree on a benchmark for safety, but some things should be considered unsafe at any level. Because they are
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Instead of studying and routinely eliminating harmful substances before they reach the public, industries, legislators, and regulatory agencies have it set up so that toxins are put out there until a mass outcry gets them removed
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Public health officials removed lead from gasoline and house paint, but they left it in lipstick
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Both drugstore brands and high-end brands (like Dior) contained lead
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Companies in the U.S. are allowed to put ingredients into personal care products with no required safety testing, and without disclosing all the ingredients.”
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Phthalates, which I mentioned earlier, are a family of organic chemicals used to solubilize and stabilize fragrances in cosmetics. They are also used in many other products as plasticizers (to increase flexibility, transparency, and durability). Diethyl phthalate and dibutyl phthalate are especially common in health and beauty aids—except in Europe, where they have now been banned. But if you eat foods that have been packaged or stored in plastic containers, that is also an avenue of significant exposure, because fatty foods like milk, butter, and meats readily absorb these chemicals.
Phthalates are called endocrine disruptors
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what are identified as specific diseases, such as arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease, may all share a similar contributing root cause: toxicity. By reducing the toxin load, you give your body a chance to heal, you can alleviate the disease symptoms, lessen (or eliminate) the disease itself, and reduce your need for drugs that only suppress the symptoms while causing undesirable side effects.
2 The Causes of Toxic Overload
The two easiest ways to reduce your toxic load starting today are to reduce your consumption of toxin-contaminated foods and your use of toxic health and beauty aids (HABAs)
2 The Causes of Toxic Overload
Low-grade toxic load may first become noticeable through minor symptoms that develop over years. Some people will first observe novel symptoms weeks or months after moving to a new home or starting a new job. It can be a real detective story: When did the black mold start in your bathroom? When did you change dry cleaners and notice that your clothes now smell of chemicals? Did you put new carpeting into your home? How about that new kitchen-cleaning product that was advertised so convincingly on television?
Even if you aren’t able to figure out all your most immediate toxic exposures, by beginning to ask certain questions, you will get on the right track. The first step is noticing toxic sources—both in the past and going forward.
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Toxic Troubleshooter: Have You Been Exposed to Toxins?
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Do you regularly eat processed foods?
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Do you regularly eat conventionally raised produce, meat, and dairy?
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Do you eat farm-raised fish?
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Do you eat large (i.e., mercury-contaminated) fish?
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Do you consume high-fructose corn syrup?
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Do you use more than two health and beauty products per day?
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Do you live in a house that contains lead pipes or copper plumbing soldered with lead (built prior to 1978)?
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Are your home, home furnishings, or home finishes (like paint and sealants) new and outgassing chemicals?
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Do you or your family come into contact with flame-resistant clothing or furnishings sprayed with products to prevent stains?
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Do you live in a house or work in a building that has mold?
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Do you have mercury amalgam fillings? How many?
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Are there mercury-emitting coal-using plants or cement manufacturing plants in your region?
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Are there fracking wells and/or pipelines in your region?
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Is there a nuclear power plant in your region? Does it have a poor safety record?
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Are the water and air in your region polluted? Go to www.scorecard.org to check out your region or to www.thetoxinsolution.com.
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If you currently have symptoms, when did they first start?
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What happened to you in the months prior?
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When did you last feel well?
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What makes you feel worse?
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What makes you feel better?
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What about medications? Did your symptoms begin shortly after you started taking a new medication?
3 The Two-Week Jumpstart Diet
About seventy years ago, the nature of the food we eat changed dramatically. The small family farms and backyard gardens that supplied our food were superseded by industrial agriculture. Farmers stopped replenishing the soil, as they had been doing for thousands of years. Instead, they became dependent on synthetic fertilizers, which exhausted soil to maximize profits. Phosphates, a major ingredient in synthetic fertilizers, can release high levels of cadmium, a highly toxic metal, into the soil. Even worse, the fertilizers do not replace the trace minerals we need. The result is that the soil becomes progressively more depleted.
When we eat foods grown in mineral-depleted soil, they more easily absorb metals like cadmium. This metal is so toxic that the kidneys clear it as quickly as possible from the blood. Unfortunately, as we will discuss in chapter 6, it nevertheless gets stuck there, causing a lot of damage.
3 The Two-Week Jumpstart Diet
farmers began to spray foods with insecticides on a large scale. Most of these insecticides, such as the organochlorines and organophosphates that I mentioned earlier, are neurological poisons.
3 The Two-Week Jumpstart Diet
Clean 15
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Avocado
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Sweet corn*
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Pineapples
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Cabbage
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Sweet peas
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Onions
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Asparagus
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Mangoes
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Papayas
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Kiwi fruit
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Eggplant*
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Grapefruit**
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Cantaloupe (domestic)
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Cauliflower
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Sweet potatoes
4 Clean Up Your Gut
The foods and meal plans are high in flavonoids, carotenoids, and fiber to help you decrease gut permeability. Included are a rainbow of healthy fruits and vegetables that will help you safely release gut toxins, decrease inflammation, and make healthy molecules like butyric acid, which promotes intestinal-cell health
3 The Two-Week Jumpstart Diet
To review: In these first two weeks, I am guiding you to rigorously stop putting toxins in your body. This is preparation for the next phase, in which you prepare your organs of elimination to get rid of toxins. Even though these first two weeks have only a limited goal—to simply decrease your intake of toxins—your body welcomes this so much that it begins its housecleaning. The first week may be tough, but by the second week the clear improvement in your health will make it all worthwhile. I know I am asking a lot of you, but fully engaging in my recommendations has a big payoff. You will feel healthier than you have in years—and we have only just begun your path to restoration.