Provider’s Corner – A Message from Dr. Schrenker:
YEA! Spring is here, time will change and all of us who have been cooped up will once again be able to outside more. Spring is rebirth. All the old leaves have been shed and mostly composted. All the plants and grasses have been forced back into their root systems. But all will be born again – bigger, brighter and more vibrant in the next couple months. The pin oak doesn’t lose all its leaves until the new ones force them to drop off, but even they shed their dead leaves.
What would the oak look like with 3 or more years of leaves on it? Burly, big, congested, unable to efficiently receive light and convert CO2 to O2. In a word, inefficient. If they could talk, they would use words like bloated, tired, apathetic, heavy. They may be depressed and anxious because they can’t make enough energy to fuel themselves, let alone help those humans around them.
How do you feel when you finally get that one closet, that holds everything we were too lazy to put back in its proper place, cleaned out? For us, deep cleaning the house, getting closets, cupboards and pantries straightened up, thinned out and sent to goodwill or the food bank is a catharsis. It feels good physically and mentally. Well, of course I am not just saying clean your house, or go grab some pin oak leaves off the tree to help them out. It is also a perfect time to detox both spiritually and physically.
Physical detox has about 7 billion different possibilities. You must find one that works for you. The more toxic your body is, the more drastic the detox could be…but even a very mild detox if done regularly will produce huge results in the future. I am not going to get into the specifics but just outline what detox looks like.
A detox can be as simple as drinking more water. Your body is capable of flushing toxins thru the bowels, urine and sweat. Remember, drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. Fasting is amazing both spiritually and mentally. Spiritually it brings your relationship to food back to a healthy perspective – “I don’t need to eat; I choose to eat” – reinforcing that is OK to be hungry, allowing your brain to disconnect from that immediate drive to eat and so on. Physically fasting cleans the liver out, which is paramount to any healthy life. Once the liver is cleaned up it can efficiently process your food into energy, rather than sticking the sugar in the blood stream and fat on your belly. In short, fasting puts you back in control of your eating.
You do not need supplements to detox, in fact it is best just to use food. Psyllium fiber and fiber in general bind all sorts of toxins. The fiber in fruits and vegetables are nature’s perfect detox. Water flushes toxins out as well. The key is to eat more healthy, detoxifying foods than toxic ones.
What about supplements? Supplements should be just that, supplementing a good meal plan. Supplements cannot nullify the toxic effects of red meat, pork, dairy, tobacco, white sugar, white flour and white rice. They can moderate their toxic effects. Supplements can augment your detox and can play a crucial role in a healthier life. Milk thistle or Silybum is a widely known liver detox. It works well. We have the proof in our patients’ labs. The antioxidants are also important: alpha lipoic acid, n-acetylcysteine, glutathione, and vitamin C to name a few.
Let’s create a plan. Start immediately with drinking the appropriate amount of water; don’t wait. Next figure out your meal plan. The Mediterranean diet is still the easiest plan to adopt. If you need help or just want an easier start, Brandy can create a personalized meal plan that includes all the recipes and creates a shopping list. Start taking some vitamins and supplements. Make sure you are taking your Vitamin D3 if you need it. From there let’s keep it simple: Lipotropic detox 1 twice daily, alpha lipoic acid 500mg daily. If you’re feeling you need more, add in intermittent fasting. No calories between 7pm and 11am, just water, black coffee or unsweet tea to drink. A 24hr fast once a week is also a good option. Sweating is a great additional detox, so a sauna bath for 20-30min as often as you want would be great.
We’ll talk next month about spiritual detox.
With Love and Peace,
Dr. SchrenkerInterested in learning more about your taking care of your health?
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