I am a huge fan of detoxification. Funny enough it is actually what got me interested in natural cosmetics. I was born 6 weeks premature which resulted in underdeveloped lungs. I had to live with asthma most of my childhood. I still painfully remember the worst feeling in the world was to have an asthma attack and not have my inhaler around. I was a stubborn adolescent and did not really put much faith in authority. I felt I knew better and needed to research and through trial and error seek the answers to my questions myself. I know that there must have been alternatives to being dependent on a drug for the rest of my life. That simply was not an option for me. So then started my path toward researching health.

I must have read hundreds of books and did so many workshops, I got burnt out on information. At some point you just got to do it, no amount of book information will replace good old fashioned experience. So then I changed my diet, went vegan for 1 year then slowly transitioned to a 100% raw food diet and got really into healthy skin care (hence was that beginning of my obsession with natural cosmetics). I started to feel a major shift on all levels of my life. I remember my first cleanse was using the supplements from Arise and Shine. It was called their master cleanse and WOW what a relief. In one week I released a lifetime of impacted mucoid plaque from my colon.

From then on I have done many cleanses, fasts, colonics etc. It is just natural for me now to cleanser once or twice a year. Plus the best part I haven’t used my inhaler for over 10 years! This stuff works! Dr. Jeff our health and wellness contributor has posted a new thought provoking article about facing the toxicity in our “real” world and why we need to take responsability for our own internal environment. Go green take care of your internal landscape first.

Cosmetic Chef

David Parker

DR. JEFF – A Toxic World?

Some people think that detoxification is a “new age” idea. For me it isn’t, but I decided to at least look and see what shows up. First stop, PubMed, an Internet site put out by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health. Entering detoxification into their site search brings up 15,823 citations of studies done on detoxification. Pretty impressive. Next stop, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. A quick look brings up 981 citations of studies involving detoxification. Not as impressive, but still noteworthy. Last stop, the World Health Organization’s website. A quick search here brings up 1250 citations. All-in-all, detoxification seems to be a worldwide concern.

So, is detoxification an issue? If detoxification were not an issue, then we could eat all of the mercury laden fish that we wanted to. We could breathe polluted air without consideration. We could smoke 10 packs of cigarettes each day for a life time and not suffer as a result. We could dump all the waste that we wanted to into the oceans, rivers, and streams. We could do away with water filtration plants, waste recycling, and all the controls surrounding pollution. We wouldn’t need life-saving antioxidants in hospital and clinical settings. I think that it is self-evident that detoxification is an issue. It is a primary function of all cells, tissues, and organs in the human body and all other living organisms, as well as the planet itself.

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Detoxification is a necessity for life on the planet to go on existing. Without detoxification, we would suffer and die in our own wastes. The largest organ in the body is a detoxification organ, the skin. The next largest organs – the liver, lungs, large intestine, and kidneys – also deal heavily with detoxification. Detoxification sites and pathways are everywhere in our body’s tissues. As an organism, we come armed for detoxification.

Some people think that the body is adequately equipped for detoxification, but if it were, we wouldn’t have words like carcinogen, teratogens, reproductive toxicants, and endocrine disruptors. These are chemicals that create disease and dysfunction in the body because the body isn’t able to remove them. The human body was not made to handle the toxic load that it has to handle in today’s environment, and the environment wasn’t made to handle the toxic load that humans have dumped upon it. Of the 100,000+ chemicals in use worldwide, some 5000 of them are produced in high volumes in excess of 1 million pounds per year. Only a small percentage of these have been tested for environmental and human impact.

The human body is like a sponge that soaks up hundreds, perhaps thousands of chemicals. In testing done on babies, the number of toxins present at birth has been shown to be around 200-300. Scientists estimate that everyone alive today has a toxic load of at least 700 contaminants. Chemicals that have been outlawed years ago can still show up in the body’s tissues decades later. What goes in, doesn’t necessarily come out.

How we manage the toxic load of the body can have a great impact on our health and the health of our children. Reducing exposure to toxins is a great place to start. The home should be a safe place for us to retreat to and renew ourselves. We should eliminate, or greatly reduce, our exposure to chemicals through the foods we eat, the beverages we drink, and the air we breathe. Lotions, shampoos, conditioners, detergents, and household cleaners should be organic or biodegradable. Our water and air should be filtered whenever possible. Food should be our medicine. Routine sweating via saunas and hot baths is an established practice in many cultures that makes use of the skin and its detoxification abilities.

One can work with healthcare practitioners to investigate ways to assist the body in reducing its toxic burden. Nutrients can be useful in boosting the body’s resources for antioxidants. A supplement like N-acetyl-cysteine helps to replenish the stores of one of the body’s most abundant antioxidants, glutathione. Glutathione help to decrease the oxidative stress created by the toxic load we carry and expose ourselves to continuously.

So, perhaps detoxification is a “new age” concept, but more importantly, I believe that it should be a part of a new age of personal responsibility for our health and how our choices play a role in determining the quality of the life we live.

Dr. Jeffrey S. McCombs, DC, is a 3rd generation Doctor of Chiropractic, author of the book: LifeForce, and developer of The McCombs Plan (formerly known as The Life Force Plan). His 25 years of ongoing research and practice emphasizes addressing the nutritional, environmental, emotional, structural, and biochemical aspects of acute and chronic health conditions in his patients.
He can be reached at www.mccombsplan.com, 888.236.7780.

THEBODYDELI.COM

I am always looking to expand my vitality and health. Lately I have become really dedicated to increasing my energy and taking my commitment to my body to the next level. Over the past couple of years I have felt a gradual decline in energy and focus. I have been told by quite a few naturopaths over the years that I might have Candida, but I never really did anything about it. Last month I finally did something about it. I did a 30 day zero-sugar diet and intestinal cleanse. I have to say it changed my life, within weeks my energy level and overall sense of well being skyrocketed.

Dr. Jefferey McCombs came into our lives a few months ago and it was a great affirmation that I was on the right track with really getting to the bottom on this Candida issue. His website and products are an amazing resource to get your life back on track. We highly recommend Dr. McCombs work and he recently started carrying Body Deli products in his rejuvenation center. We are extremely pleased to announce that Dr. McComb’s will be a regular contributor to our blog. We look forward to reading more about his wisdom about becoming internal environmentalists. Cleaning up our environment should start with us going “green” on the inside first!

Cosmetic Chef
David A. Parker.

Here’s a quote from Dr. Jeff himself, “As people detoxify and choose a healthier lifestyle their bodies become
more sensitive to chemicals and synthetic substances found in main stream body care products. At the McCombs Center for Health, I encourage my patients to choose organic based skin and hair products like those that Body Deli offers.”

God’s Hybrid

By Dr. Jeff McCombs

Somewhere along the primordial way, a bunch of micro-organisms became enclosed by, fewer in number, but larger “tissue” cells and the evolutionary race was on. This co-operative, bi-partisan effort allowed both types of cells to emerge from the primordial goo and the foundation for the human race was set. Through time, dinosaurs, and an ice age or two, this Human/Bacterial (HumBac) hybrid was able to go a lot farther than either party could have gone on their own.

Today’s hybrid, you and I, are now more bacterial than human. It’s estimated that there are approximately 10 trillion human cells wrapped around a digestive system containing 100 trillion cells composed of bacteria, virus, fungi, mold, parasites, and others who have come along for the ride. Of course the human cells have evolved to send emails, text, watch TV, and many other “human” things. The bacterial guys, well they’ve evolved into a cohesive force that involves themselves in the more mundane issues of life and death.

Dr. Bernard Jensen once said that, “Death begins in the colon.” If that’s true, then life begins in the small intestine, or maybe even the stomach. The foods that we eat bring with them, the nutrients that we need to survive and function on a daily basis. They also bring with them, other organisms who ride along on their meal tickets trying to crash the party. It’s up to the 100 trillion cells living in our guts to weed out the bad guys, and process the nutrients in the foods for us to function normally.

The digestive tract is an intricate ballet of organisms, pH, enzymes, nutrients, peptides, and hormones in a dance with its human interface of cells, nerves, blood, lymph, and other fluids. Centuries of evolution have created a delicate synergism that we tend to take for granted. The Ecosystem of the digestive tract is a harmonious balance of craziness. Disturb this balance, and one fruitcake can terrorize the entire HumBac world, causing it to live in fear for its life.

A good example of how this happens is when we take antibiotics. “Anti” means against, and “biotic” means life. For those paying attention, this should be a big clue. Today’s powerful antibiotics have been likened to a terrorist opening fire in a crowded market. The good and the bad both perish. The killing is indiscriminate. In the intestinal world of bacteria et al, this creates chaos, and in the midst of the chaos, a lunatic can take control. The one “lunatic” that commonly follows this scenario is fungal candida. In its normal form in a balanced digestive system, it is a yeast that contributes to the overall health of the system. In its Dr. Jekyll-to-Mr. Hyde transformation, it becomes an invasive fungal organism which continues to destroy bacteria and cross over into the human cells creating havoc and chaos. This seems only fitting, in a way, since a fungal toxin was the first antibiotic and many antibiotics are potentized derivatives of fungal toxins.

Antibiotics have been justly credited for saving lives, but they have also taken lives. Many people die each year from reactions to antibiotics. Well over 140,000 people report to hospitals each year from adverse reactions to antibiotics. Some people experience permanent disability. Everyone who has taken antibiotics will have altered the delicate balance of the digestive tract and the role it plays in our health for years to come.

When antibiotics were first used, it was a common practice to be prescribed probiotics (“pro” meaning for) to be taken along with the antibiotics. This wise practice fell along the way for some reason. It needs to be reinstated. Probiotics can help to minimize some of the negative effects of antibiotics. Protecting our natural resources is something that is important to all of us.

A digestive tract that is in a state of imbalance can lead to digestive diseases; inflammation throughout the body; depression; arthritis; hormonal imbalances; headaches; skin conditions; rapid aging; fatigue; brain fog; and a host of other problems that involves every human cell, tissue, and organ. For those who have taken antibiotics, this imbalance needs to be reversed.

We need to pay more attention to the 100 trillion fellow passengers that accompany us on our journey through life. We need to be mindful of what goes into the body via liquids, foods, and the air we breathe. Our fellow passengers require nutrient-dense foods and periodic detoxification to assist them with the vital roles they play for us.

John Knowles, the former President of the Rockefeller Foundation put it well when he said, “The next major advance in the health of the American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself.”

So whether we’re God’s hybrid or Darwin’s HumBac, we need to exhibit a conscious mastery of managing this intricate interrelationship of life, or its back to the goo, or worse, to the doctor.

Dr. Jeffrey S. McCombs, DC, is a 3rd generation Doctor of Chiropractic, author of the book: LifeForce, and developer of The McCombs Plan (formerly known as The Life Force Plan). His 25 years of ongoing research and practice emphasizes addressing the nutritional, environmental, emotional, structural, and biochemical aspects of acute and chronic health conditions in his patients.

He can be reached at www.mccombsplan.com, 888.236.7780.

THEBODYDELI.COM