How a whole-body detoxification can help you feel your best – By Emily Benson

If you’re feeling sluggish, like you’re constantly fighting off colds or allergies, or your stomach is on the fritz, toxins may be the culprit.

Toxins can enter the body through many sources, including environmental toxins such as pollution or everyday cleaning products, lifestyle toxins such as processed foods or excess alcohol, and internal toxins such as bacteria, high stress or unresolved trauma.

Dr. Stan Headley, the natural health consultant at Cypress Pharmacy in Fort Myers, says that over time, these toxins begin to overload the body, leading to damaging impacts.

“There’s a clear correlation between toxins and their harmful effects on the body, such as poor health and chronic conditions,” Headley says. “While toxins are nearly impossible to avoid, you can boost your body’s ability to eliminate them from your system.”

The body is made to detox naturally, with the liver working to remove toxins that we encounter. Yet, when the liver is not functioning properly and incoming toxins surpass its ability to remove them, these toxins begin to build up. When a toxic burden occurs, every other system in the body is compromised, including the heart, brain, kidneys and skin.

“It’s important to periodically restore the body’s ability to eliminate toxins and maintain optimal liver function,” Headley says. “In turn, the body as a whole is able to operate at its best.”

Headley has seen the benefits that well-designed detoxification can provide in promoting optimal health and wellness, including better digestion, improved metabolism and ability to manage weight, clearer mental thinking, better energy, enhanced blood sugar and blood pressure control, and improved lab blood results.

• Take a whole-body approach: Achieving overall wellness requires maintaining a healthy balance between your mind, body and spirit. Kick-off your journey to better health by making lasting lifestyle changes.
• Seek supervision: A medical professional or pharmacist can help determine a detox program that is suitable for your health needs and current prescriptions while holding you accountable.
• Look for pharmaceutical-grade products: The quality of the products you intake are key to success. Pharmaceutical-grade products are manufactured under strict quality control and validated for purity and potency.
• Incorporate vitamins and supplements: Antioxidants such as vitamin B, C, E and beta-carotene are known for cleansing the liver. Herbal supplements like milk thistle also have benefits. Probiotics and special formulas for alcohol detox and colon health may also support this process.
• Healthful diet: Eat mindfully to eliminate problematic foods in your diet and decrease the toxic burden.
• Exercise: Studies show that exercise helps your body become more efficient in detoxing naturally.
• Track results: Use a scoring system to compare results. This allows you to visually appreciate the improvements throughout the body.

“The path to detoxification is different for everyone,” Headley says. “A high-quality cleansing frees your body of harmful toxins and puts you in the driver’s seat to better health.”