Detoxification

When most people think of detox, they think of juice cleanses and lemon water. The good news is, that's not what we mean. 

Your body has it's own natural detoxification pathways, but sometimes when you are exposed to too many toxins, those pathways become sluggish and can't keep up. The good news is that there are some very simple things that can be done to get things running smoothly again. 

Sometimes it is very obvious when you might need to detox, some examples are:

• constipation
• persistent headaches, muscle aches, and muscle fatigue
• eating large amounts of swordfish, tuna, shark, etc. 
• mercury fillings and dental amalgams
• food allergies
• stubborn weight loss
• hormonal imbalances and consistent use of hormone replacement such as “the pill” 
• consistent use of NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen
• skin abnormalities such as acne, rosacea, or eczema
• a lifetime of consuming the Standard American Diet

Heavy Metal Detoxification

Most people wonder why they should consider detoxing heavy metals from their body, especially if they weren’t exposed to metal in a straightforward way such as using leaded paint or having mercury fillings in their teeth. What is typically not considered, are the hundreds of toxins we are exposed everyday just from living in today's world. Most of us are born bearing toxic metals from generations past.

Some metals, like zinc and iron, occur naturally in our bodies and are essential to leading a healthy life. Heavy metal toxicity occurs from the build-up of toxic metals over time. Exposure to toxic metals on a daily basis is unknown to many people and is one of the major contributing factors to cardiovascular disease and numerous neurological diseases. Heavy metals can impair multiple systems in our bodies and are underlying cause of symptoms such as hormone imbalance, gastrointestinal upset, eczema, psoriasis, and heart disease.

Need a detox?

At Alaska Functional Medicine Clinic, we can help you get your detox pathways running efficiently again. From simple dietary protocols and targeted supplements to treating heavy metal toxicity, we've got you covered!

We treat heavy metal using a series of IV’s called Chelation Therapy (kee-lay-shun). A urine toxic metal test is taken before and after the initial IV treatment to determine which metals are most problematic to the patient. Each IV treatment is individualized to meet the needs of the patient. A series of 10-20 weekly Chelation IV’s is typically recommended for optimum results.