Why Is Detoxification Important
Excerpted from: Literature Review & Comparison Studies of Sauna/Hyperthermia in Detoxification
Townsend Letter for Doctors,
June 1992
Zane R. Gard, M.D. & Erma J. Brown, BSN, PhN
The past 150 years have been a time of incredible progress for medicine,
science and industry. Because of these advancements we now enjoy longer,
more productive lives. However, there are many who pay a tremendously
high price for our modern lifestyle. The by-products of our chemical
technology have resulted in ubiquitous contamination of our atmosphere,
lakes, oceans and soil. Our natural environment is now permeated by a
barrage of "unnatural" substances.
Unquestionably, many of the chemical sources have been in existence for centuries.
However, today we are exposed to chemical concentrations far greater than were
our ancestors. Although the human mechanism is known to be accommodating ,
ecological alterations are now occurring at a faster rate than our bodies are
able to adapt. We are now faced with a situation where inadequacies or uncertainties
centering around the manufacturing, use, storage, and disposal of toxic chemicals,
have resulted in an overwhelming number of environmentally -induced illnesses.
Since 1965, over 4 million distinct chemical compounds have been reported in
scientific literature. Over 6000 new chemicals were added to this list between
1965 and 1978. As of 1981, of over 70,000 chemicals in commercial production,
3,000 have been identified as intentionally added to our food supplies and
over 700 in drinking water. During food processing and storage 10,000 other
compounds can become an integral part of many commonly used foods. Added to
this list of potential body toxins, petrochemicals, industrial waste, medical
and street drugs, radiation (X-rays, nuclear fallout etc.) and tons of pesticides,
herbicides, and insecticides, the result is an incredible chemical avalanche
to have befallen the human race in a relatively short period of evolutionary
history.
There is currently a wealth of scientific evidence showing that thousands
of drugs, preservatives, pesticides, and other pollutants remain stored
in the body long after exposure. We know for example that an organochlorinated
pesticide such as the metabolites of DDT have a half life of between
20 and 50 years in the fat deposits of humans. According to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency over 400 chemicals have been detected
in human tissue; 48 were found in adipose tissue, 40 in breastmilk, 73
in the liver and over 250 in the blood.
The process of bodily accumulation and storage of toxins is known as "toxic
bio-accumulation". Though the predominate storage site in the body
is the fatty tissue, toxins may re-enter the bloodstream during times
of physical stress (i.e.. illness, fasting, excessive heat, exercise)
or emotional stress. Every organ that is accessible to these chemicals,
which have been mobilized or released from the fat, is being continually
exposed at low levels. As stated by Dr. William L. Marcus, Senior Advisor
and Chief Toxicologist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "It's
a chronic exposure. That's why chemicals like dioxin, even in small amounts,
are extremely dangerous. Unfortunately the human body has no previous
experience with these chemicals and there is no natural machinery in
the body to break them down, much less eliminate them.
Human accumulation of such compounds as DDT, PCP, PCB, and dioxin, reflect
biologically persistent chemicals which are partitioned in the body from
water into lipids. Eventually the metabolizing of xenobiotics (chemicals
foreign to the biological system) leads to the accumulation of the chemicals
and/or their products in lipid deposits throughout the body, particularly
in adipose tissue. The simple chemistry involved in this process can
be illustrated by the fact that some chemicals readily dissolve in water,
while others dissolve only in oil bases. Oil soluble chemicals therefore
have a tendency to accumulate in body fatty tissue or lipids, which are
also insoluble in water. There is no such thing as a fat "cell"...[rather]
almost every cell has a fat component. The brain has a high fat content
as does virtually every organ.
Directly or indirectly, toxic residues find there way into our air,
food and water supplies. The net effect of this ecological overload is
to alter the body's balance or "homeostasis". This interference
with our natural biological tendencies to restore internal balance, results
in "disease" in one form or another. According to Professor
Edward J. Calabrese of the University of Massachusetts, and author of
Pollutants and High Risk Groups, "It is this homeostatic process
which neutralizes the pollutant's effect and returns the system to equilibrium."
Marshall Mandell, MD, nationally renowned in the field of bio-ecologic
medicine, wrote in a recent publication that the influx of chemicals
in our society today "has resulted in a lowered threshold of resistance
and subsequent inability to cope with the natural and unnatural environment
due to altered body metabolism, enzyme dysfunction, nutritional deficiencies,
and hormonal imbalances." Health depends on the balance of both
external and internal environmental forces.
There is a wealth of literature documenting illnesses in humans from
exposure to chemicals as listed above. These illnesses include cancers
of virtually every organ system of the body, as well as leukemia, liver
disease, pulmonary damage, anemia and blood changes, nervous system disease,
immune system damage, psychological damage, reproductive and fertility
impairment, and kidney dysfunction. There are also many sub-clinical
abnormalities that are suspected to result from presumed chemical exposure
and the list grows longer each year.
In response to the above facts, many health care practitioners have
been recommending a vast array of detoxification programs. Circulating
toxins and toxic bowels need proper cleansing. The removal of these toxins
is relatively well known. When toxins are deposited in fat storage sites
this becomes much more complicated. The only way to remove toxins from
the fat storage sites is to mobilize the toxic fat. Heat-stress [of a
sauna] is an effective method of removing fat-stored toxins from the
body.
Why Is Detoxification Important
