Although the exact cause of Whitney Houston’s sad death this week is not yet known it has once again  brought home the dangers of prescription drugs and alcohol. Virtually all drugs and alcohol have to be detoxified by the liver and they can damage your liver as well as your body.

Drugs are chemicals that are foreign to the liver. They are made from inorganic substances that are extremely hard for the body to eliminate. Drugs damage your liver directly or indirectly as a result of them being detoxified by your liver.

Liver detox is a 2 step process

Liver detox consists of a two step process known as Phase I and Phase II. The chemial produced by Phase I Liver Detox can be more reactive and damaging than the original if it is unable to be detoxified by Phase II.

This can happen when a person has a slow Phase II liver detox system or the detox pathways are simply too overloaded with chemical toxins for the liver to cope.

There a number of nutrients needed by the body to detox drugs, alcohol and other toxins as best it can. If  these nutrients are deficient then the detox pathways do not function as they should and the toxic residues do untold damage to the liver and other tissues where they accumulate.

Some drugs such as Benzodiazapines ( Centrax, Prozac, Librium, Valium etc) supress Phase 1 liver detox in the liver and the brain. This results in slow metabolism of some brain chemicals that need to be eliminated before they build up and become toxic, increasing the risk of brain toxicity.

Drugs can interfere with the metabolism of other drugs causing many problems when a combination of prescription drugs are used. While working in hospitals as a nurse many years ago I saw first hand how one drug would cause side effects that needed another drug to try to supress them.

Drug companies have for years been looking for a drug that cures virtually any illness but they haven’t managed to find one. Drugs merely supress or manage symptoms. They do not cure.

Causes of disease

In fact mainstream doctors don’t look for the underlying cause of symptoms or disease which in the eyes of doctors who practice Functional Medicine, naturopathic doctors and many other health practitioners is down to deficiency of essential nutrients or toxicity.

It’s a sad fact that the majority of people just want to pop a pill to get rid of a symptom. They don’t want to have to change the way they eat or their way of life. And it’s another sad fact that the majority of doctor’s rarely encourage it.

People are drowning in unecessary medication. From statins to asprin the drug companies now want us to take drugs for prevention of disease, whether they are needed or not. Apparently the average person over sixty is likely to be on as many as 6 drugs at one time!

People have been brainwashed into believeing that once they are given a diagnosis, which is really just a label, that there is nothing that can be done except take a pill for the rest of their lives.

People also believe that certain conditions are a an inevitable result of getting older when in fact it’s more likely to be a result of a lifetime of bad diet and lifestyle leading to deficiencies and toxicity. We were designed to live healthily without drugs or labels of disease well into our 90′s and die peacefully in our sleep.

How do you heal your body without prescription drugs?

There is plenty of evidence around that the standard Western diet of processed food and the toxic chemicals we are exposed to every day are two of the main causes of chronic disease. Researchers are discovering all the time that certain foods are every bit as powerful as drugs but without the side effects.

You can heal your body without prescription drugs that damage your liver and end the battle of many conditions by getting rid of the toxins that make you sick in the first place and supplying the body with the nutrients it needs to repair itself. Yes, your body can heal itself given the right conditions.

Learn more about how to detox your body in The Definitive Detox Diet.

Niacin Detox was an important part of the Purification Program developed by scientists by 1979 for releasing toxins from tissues. The program was developed as a result of research into methods of cleansing the body of drugs.

Niacin is Vitamin B3 and along with B1 and B2 is needed for the Phase 1 detox. Niacin, nicotinamide and nicotinic acid are all forms of Vitamin B3 but niacinimide plays no part in detoxification.

Niacin is needed for energy production, proper digestion, manufacture of hormones, gene expression, a healthy nervous system and healthy skin. We cannot do without it. A certain amount can be made in the body from the amino acid tryptophan, found in meat, dairy and eggs, if there is adequate B1, B2 and B6 but this does not supply our total needs.

Vitamin B3 is found in all organ meats, chicken, beef, salmon, tuna, wheat germ, green leafy vegetables, beans, peas, raw mushrooms, avocados, nuts, dried figs, prunes and dates. Processed food suffers from a loss of niacin.

Sometimes the term niacin detox is used to describe a program often used to lower LDL cholesterol without drugs.  Niacin can improve cardiovascular health and it is often used by doctors of alternative medicine and naturopaths as part of a program to reverse coronary artery disease. It can lower blood fats including cholesterol and widen the small blood vessels known as capillaries improving circulation.

The niacin detox I am talking about here is different. It bursts open fat cells ( lipolysis) to release chemicals or drugs that are stored in them. Many chemicals are stored in the fatty layers of your body. Once the toxins have been released they are detoxed from the body through the skin and intestines.

You may read some articles that say there is no scientific evidence that niacin can detox stored chemicals from the cells but the truth is that they have known that it works for some years but not exactly how.

Niacin is used in the Gerson Therapy for cancer.  Dr Gerson recommended 50mg six times a day for four to six months. He stated that Niacin helps to bring back sufficient glycogen into the liver cells. It also helps in protein metabolism, acts to open small arteries and capillaries and raises electrical potential in cells

Dr George Yu described the niacin detox program that he uses in his practice at the Longevity Now Conference held earlier this year

The dose for the niacin detox protocol varies from practitioner to practitioner but the program should include exercise and far infrared ( FIR) sauna.

Here’s a regime which should be followed for a month.

Niacin

Start by taking 50 mg a day with food and gradually build up the dose to at least 500mg. You can go up to 1000 mg a day if you think you are quite toxic. People with severe toxicity problems can take up to 5000mg but should be supervised by a health practitioner.

By gradually increasing the dose you will avoid the niacin flush. Niacin dilates the capillaries, increases circulation and releases histamine from cells which will cause the skin to flush, feel hot, make your heart pound and may cause you to itch. It can last for up to an hour but is not at all harmful.

When you continue to take niacin you develop a tolerance and will no longer flush. Don’t be tempted to take non-flush niacin and this will not have the same detox effect.

Exercise

Use a mini-trampoline ( rebounder)  for this. Jump on it for at least 10 minutes and preferably 20 minutes prior to using a FIR sauna. You may have to gradually build up your exercise time if you are not used to doing any.

FIR Sauna ( or other heat source)

Spend 40 minutes if you can in a sauna built of environmentally safe materials. If you don’t tolerate heat well, have multiple chemical sensitivity or chronic illness then start out with 5 minutes and gradually increase the time by 5 minutes a day.

Wipe sweat from your body while in the sauna and follow it with a cleansing shower using neutral pH organic soap to wash off toxins from the skin. Be sure to wash your hair too. Wipe down the walls of the sauna and launder your towels as soon as possible in hot water because they will be laden with toxins that you have excreted from your body through the skin.
Drink 8 oz pure water for every 15 minutes you spend in the sauna to replace lost fluids.

Additional aids to detoxification

You can take Bentonite clay, activated charcoal, chlorella, psyllium seed or zeolite to help eliminate the toxins from the intestines.

A massage or other form of body work can help to relax muscles and increase circulation encouraging further cleansing.

A good detox diet that includes fresh vegetable juices, green smoothies and a large amount of fresh, raw and lightly cooked vegetables to help replace vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are needed for detox and repair of tissue damaged by the chemical toxins.

Long term intake of 2000mg ( 2 grams) or more a day may lead to side effects of nausea, vomiting, dizziness, flare up of gout, headache; heartburn, skin discoloration and raised liver enzymes in rare cases. These all disappear when therapy is stopped. Dr George Yu says that he never sees any permanent damage with doses up to 5000mg.

It’s worth noting that diabetics may see a reduced tolerance to glucose and people with peptic ulcers may experience more pain. It should not be used in cases where there is any danger of bleeding. If in any doubt be sure to seek the advice of a health practitioner familiar with the Niacin Detox before taking it.

This is a guest post with important information about drug detox.

It is very upsetting to know that the number of deaths due to prescription drug overdose is increasing. Illicit acquisition and abuse of prescribed medications are mostly done by financially well-off people and those who possess eminent influence. Deaths of Michael Jackson and Heath Ledger are factual evidence that gross intake of these types of drugs yields long term physical body deterioration. As for some who just found out that one of their significant others are already hooked on these pills and tablets and is unfortunately worse if it is already too late. If you happen to be one or know any of your family members enduring drug dependence, rapid detox program is recommended to eliminate those toxins and chemicals out of the body system. Rapid Detox Program

I have a 21-year old son who developed dependence on sleeping pills so I can very much relate to this issue. I never really knew that he was an avid taker of sleeping pills until the time when he collapsed and almost lost his life. It was really a blessing in disguise that on that particular day I went to my son’s room to personally talk to him about the family’s vacation plans for that summer. Since I was not always there for him while he was growing up, I am aware that I am one of the reasons of my son’s problems. Being a top executive in one of the leading marketing firms in Asia, I was unable to spend that much quality time with my family. Exec Detox

Regardless of the near-death experience, I anticipate a relapse from my son to go back to his customed pattern of sleeping pill-intake as well as the other medicines and ignore his health. In order for him to begin a new life, I sought through the  internet for any place that provides service of discarding all drug toxins from his body systems. After hours of browsing the Web, I stumbled upon the website of Pur Detox, which is a rapid detox center that is located in Laguna Beach, California. I suggested my son to try Pur Detox rapid detox program when he was discharged from the hospital.

I noticed that my son improved his health condition and at the same time became happier when he got home from Pur Detox center. He does not look tiresome anymore and that his eyes reflected liveliness. He appeared that he has improved a lot physically and was no longer showing dull movements. Besides, he told me that he felt healthy and he no longer suffered from stress and insomnia, which were the main reasons why he took all those sleeping pills in the first place. Rapid Detox Services