A practical guide to removing toxins from the body

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http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20080201.htm

From the February 2008 Idaho Observer:

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A practical guide to removing toxins from the body

By Ingri Cassel

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We are presently being exposed to thousands of toxic compounds in the form

of inorganic chemicals and toxic metals. As mentioned in previous columns,

these substances are everywhere: The air we breathe, the foods we eat, the

water we drink and bathe in, as well as drugs, vaccines, cleaning products,

paints, solvents, glues, herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers.

Due to this constant exposure, our bodies are now storing hundreds of these

toxic metals and chemicals. Studies indicate that we have between 400 and

800 toxic metal and chemical residues stored in our bodies. They accumulate

in our fat cells, in our major organs such as the liver, kidneys and brain;

in our glands such as the thyroid and adrenals; and throughout our central

nervous system.

For some revealing chemical facts go to *www.evenbetternow.com/index.asp*

There are 34,000 pesticides and herbicides registered with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA), as well as 65,000 other chemicals. Over one-fourth

of the 4 billion pounds of pesticides used in the world annually are used in

the United States. Each year, 10,000 chemicals are being synthesized by

industry and added to the over 1 million already in existence.

Environmental toxins are chemical toxins that come into our bodies via air,

water, food or direct contact with the skin. Virtually all of us are now in

a state of toxic overload from environmental toxins. Small toxic exposures

each day (from common sources such as breakfast cereal, toothpaste, shampoo,

soap, perfume, deodorant, hair dye, newspapers, magazines, exhaust fumes,

carpets, new mattresses, dry cleaning or a newly-painted bedroom) will

increasingly exceed and even incapacitate our body's ability to detoxify.

This causes these chemicals to accumulate to levels that will make us sick.

Most people make little effort to avoid toxins because

officially-established tolerances presume that toxin levels are within safe

limits. Unless we make deliberate choices to avoid or minimize toxic

exposures, we are constantly eating foods with trace toxins, drinking water

with trace toxins, using personal products with trace toxins and breathing

toxic air. By the end of each day, these toxic contaminants often reach a

substantial cumulative total. EPA scientists found that the total toxic

residues in our daily diet can exceed 500 percent of the recommended daily

maximum—even if each individual exposure is within " safe " limits!

Most pesticides, herbicides and fungicides accumulate in fatty tissues and

tend to settle in the bones. Fluoride builds up in the brain, thyroid and

bones. Once in these storage sites, they can remain for decades or even a

lifetime. Several studies have shown that the average person—no matter where

that person lives (even in the Arctic regions)—has 40 to 75 organic chemical

residues located in fat tissue—including the breast tissue in women.

The accumulation of these toxic chemicals and metals results in our body not

being able to assimilate and utilize essential minerals such as iron,

calcium and magnesium. This causes enzyme dysfunction, nutritional

deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, neurological disorders, damage to brain

chemistry, and can even lead to auto-immune disorders, cancer, and other

debilitating chronic conditions.

In order to lessen the body's burden of toxins, we can consciously attempt

to minimize exposures by choices we make in eating, drinking and by avoiding

chemical exposures wherever possible. We can also do a few simple,

inexpensive things to help remove toxins from our tissues.

The importance of alkalizing body pH

Purchasing pH strips or sticks for measuring the body's acid/alkaline

balance is one of the most effective tools in determining our overall state

of health as well as our body's ability to flush out the chemicals and

metals innundating us daily. The body's oxygen saturation level is

determined by its overall pH. The body must be slightly alkaline for its

cells to be properly oxygenated. The pH scale goes from zero to 14 with zero

being purely acid, 14 being purely alkaline and 7 being " neutral " pH.

Without exception, people who have cancer, auto-immune diseases, or heavy

metal and chemical poisoning also have an overall body pH below 7.0, which

means that their cells are not being properly oxygenated, leading to an

accumulation of toxins. The ideal body pH is 7.4 but people who are actively

using naturopathic principles in detoxifying try to keep their pH a bit more

alkaline for a period of time since cancer cells cannot survive in a body

with a pH of 8.0.

Bentonite Clay

One of the most effective and inexpensive means of pulling all kinds of

chemicals and heavy metals out of the body is through clay baths. Although

we covered this topic extensively in " *Clay: The Healing Underground* " (*The

IO*, Back to Basics, February, 2005), there are many aspects of clay and

bentonite clay in particular that deserve repeating:

Bentonite comes in a variety of " flavors. " You can buy an industrial

bentonite at the feed store for about $6 for a 50-pound bag. This is usually

sodium montmorillonite. This is a low-quality bentonite used for ponds,

sealing wells, making paper, cat litter and so on. Sodium bentonite clay

swells, sometimes up to 18 times its dry size when it becomes wet. I keep a

bag of this on hand for emergencies.

What do I mean by emergencies? This material is used to patch dams. If you

cut your leg with a chainsaw, powdered bentonite will help stop the

bleeding.

The best clay for detoxification is calcium montmorillonite. It is also

known as " living clay, " for it principally consists of minerals that enhance

the production of enzymes in all living organisms. It swells zero to little,

is a source of highly-absorbable minerals and absorbs radiation. Smart

farmers feed it to their livestock. It treats several veterinary diseases,

animals gain more weight on less feed and production skyrockets.

Ascorbates

Vitamin C is the most common " vitamin " deficiency seen today since our

ability to neutralize the effects of pollutants depends upon the daily

intake of vitamin C (or buffered mineral ascorbates) in an assimilable form.

Ascorbates are also very effective detoxifiers of heavy metals and chemical

poisons. Ascorbates have detoxifying effects on lead, mercury, carbon

monoxide, sulfur dioxide, various carcinogens, bacterial toxins and poisons;

and it protects us from benzene exposure. Only people who eat an all raw

foods diet of freshly picked and naturally ripened fruits and vegetables as

well as sprouted seeds and grains will be giving their bodies the amount of

vitamin C their bodies need daily. If you live in a city, your body's daily

vitamin C requirements may be as much as 10 grams a day.

Minerals

Most people today are deficient in magnesium. The importance of magnesium

cannot be overstated since it is a critical element in over 325 biochemical

reactions in the human body. Since it is magnesium that controls the fate of

potassium and calcium in the body, if magnesium is insufficient, potassium

and calcium will be lost in the urine and calcium will be deposited in the

soft tissues (kidneys, arteries, joints, brain, etc.)

Magnesium protects the cells from absorbing aluminum, mercury, lead,

cadmium, beryllium and nickel. Evidence is mounting that low levels of

magnesium contribute to the heavy metal deposition in the brain that

precedes Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's. Researchers have

found that children with both learning disabilities and heavy metal toxicity

have low total body magnesium.

So how much magnesium is needed for optimal health and to balance the

calcium, phosphorus and potassium intakes? Dr. Emmanuel Cheraskin found

through clinical experience nearly 30 years ago that 400 mg. daily for a

150-pound adult is ideal. However, today we are experiencing more problems

associated with magnesium deficiency so it is best to evaluate your

lifestyle to determine whether you are depleting magnesium from your body by

drinking coffee, alcohol, soda pop, refined carbohydrates, excessive sodium

and/or high levels of calcium intake (which blocks magesium absorption).

We have found that when the body receives the proper balance of

bio-available minerals, these same minerals not only protect the body from

heavy metals, aluminum and chemical exposure, but also have the ability to

displace and remove from the body these same toxins the body has been

storing. This is likely the reason that " living clay " taken both internally

and externally is so successful in rapidly removing these toxins from the

body.

Herbs

There are numerous plants God has given us that aid in detoxification while

feeding various organ systems. It is important to remember that the liver is

the main organ of detoxification and needs to be supported when undergoing

any regimen to remove heavy metals and chemicals from the body (see " *Your

Liver – The body's chemical factory and detoxifier*, " *The IO*, Back to

Basics, March, 2007).

Algin derived from seaweeds such as kelp, dulse and algaes such as chlorella

provide protection from many of today's pollutants. Canadian researchers

have found that algin can prevent living tissue from absorbing radioactive

materials, including strontium-90, barium, mercury, aluminum, tin, cadmium,

zinc and manganese. Strontium-90 is so dangerous because it has an affinity

for calcium and will accumulate in food substances that are high in calcium

such as milk and green leafy vegetables. Such contaminated calcium carries

strontium-90 directly to the bones where it damages bone marrow. Kelp has

been shown to block strontium-90 from being absorbed by the body. Kelp

particles (sodium alginates) strip the metal ions from the calcium molecule

forming insoluable salts that are then eliminated from the body (Source: *The

Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine*, by B. Mowrey, 1986, p.

88).

Dr. R. 's " heavy mineral formula " has helped thousands

recover from stored pharmaceutical drugs and environmental pollutants. It

contains bugleweed, yellow dock and lobelia. In a recent version of this

formula, cilantro has been added. The School of Natural Healing's protocol

is to take this formula with chaparral, an extremely potent blood purifier.

In addition, it is recommended that you bathe every other day adding 1 to 3

pounds of Epsom salts in a bath of of hot water. This bathing routine is

recommended for three weeks, then resting a week before resuming the bathing

routine, while continuing to take the " heavy mineral formula " with the

chaparral the entire time (see " *Chaparral: Nature's Detergent for the Body*, "

*The IO*, Back to Basics, August, 2000).

The following information was compiled by Dr. Stearns Lee, NMD of *

www.naturodoc.com*:

Cilantro—also known as coriander or Chinese parsley—has been proven to

chelate toxic metals from our bodies in a relatively short period of time.

Combined with the benefits of the other ingredients, the following recipe

for Cilantro Chelation Pesto is a powerful tissue cleanser. It is easy to

make, and also really tasty. It's delicious on toast, baked potatoes, and

pasta.

Two teaspoons of this cilantro pesto daily for three weeks is purportedly

enough to increase the urinary excretion of mercury, lead, and aluminum,

thus effectively removing these toxic metals from our bodies. Consider doing

this cleanse for three weeks at least once a year.

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Cilantro Chelation Pesto

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• 4 cloves garlic

• 1/3 cup Brazil nuts (selenium source)

• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds

(cysteine source)

• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (zinc,

magnsium sources)

• 2 cups packed fresh cilantro

(coriander, Chinese parsley)

(Vitamin A source)

• 2/3 cup flaxseed oil

• 4 tablespoons lemon juice

(Vitamin C source)

• 2 tsp. Dulse powder

• Bragg's Liquid Aminos™

Process the cilantro and flaxseed oil in a blender until the cilantro is

chopped. Add the garlic, nuts, and seeds, dulse and lemon juice and mix

until the mixture is finely blended into a paste. Add a squirt of Bragg's

Liquid Aminos to taste and blend again. Store in dark glass jars if

possible. It freezes well, so purchase cilantro in season and fill enough

jars to last through the year.

One person suffering from high blood pressure due to mercury poisoning had

her blood pressure return to normal after eating 2 teaspoons of this pesto

daily for only a week. So whether you need to detoxify heavy metals from

your body or just wish to use it as a preventative measure, 2 teaspoons a

day is all you need to take.

According to our holistic dentist, Italian parsley has the same effect as

cilantro in removing mercury from the body.

Summary

After reviewing the evidence proving that poisoning from aluminum,

heavy-metals, and hundreds of chemicals is rampant, it is clear that, for

self-preservation, we must incorporate a lifestyle change that involves

regular cleansing rituals and a living foods diet. We have shown that

environmental pollutants are a major cause of hormonal imbalances, cancer,

thyroid problems, neurological disturbances, learning disabilities, memory

loss, depression, food allergies, and parasites. The value of colon and

kidney cleansing, and liver flushes hasn't been discussed enough. If we are

going to do more than survive the coming changes, becoming a conscious

consumer and gardener now will initiate the reverse of the poisoning and

start the healing our troubled planet.