It always amazes me how, to many people, the simplest and most natural solutions to common health problems, seem radical.  For example, I recently put one of my patients on a 21 day cleansing program, to help her improve her health, lose weight, and feel great!  When she told her friends and family what she was doing, few were supportive.  They told her that she was “crazy,” and that what she was doing sounded dangerous.  This made me laugh, because what she was doing was eating organic fruits and vegetables, organic or free range lean meats (small amounts), and taking whole food vitamins, supplements, fiber, minerals, cleansing herbs, and healthy oils.  It also included drinking a lot of non-polluted  water, and exercising about 30 minutes a day.   She was to avoid processed foods, bad fats, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, sugar, and other unhealthy typical American foods.  I’m sure the same people who called her “crazy” for involving herself in such a fringe program, would pop medication without giving the side effects a second thought.  I just always find it amusing how sometimes, the world seems backwards.  It’s now considered “radical,” to avoid fruits that have been sprayed with poisonous pesticides, been genetically altered, or animals that have been injected with steroids and hormones, but “normal,” to take a medication that has side effects such as uncontrolled gambling, shopping, or sexual behavior (these are real side effects of reequip, a drug prescribed for restless leg syndrome).   I think you get the point.  If done properly, cleansing the body of toxins thorough a controlled and doctor guided program can have amazing results on ones health and body.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, Powell and Leonard followed 28 patients through a 3-week nutritional cleanse program.  The average patients serum triglycerides dropped 27.7 points!  The average total cholesterol dropped 47.1 points!  LDL cholesterol (the bad kind), dropped 34.8 points!, HDL cholesterol (the good kind) dropped 6.7points.  Patients lost an average of 9 pounds.  The study concluded that although HDL cholesterol fell slightly, the overall effect of this intervention on lipid measures of cardiovascular disease risk appears to be positive.  Various studies have shown that the total cholesterol/HDL ratio may be a better predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality than absolute lipid parameter values alone.   (The LDL/HDL and total cholesterol/HDL ratios both decreased significantly indicating that the reductions in total and LDL cholesterol were of greater magnitude than that of HDL cholesterol).  To me, this was a pretty amazing study.  It showed, that by changing diet alone, you could lower your cholesterol about the same amount as if you took cholesterol medications (statins, such as Lipitor, Crestor, or Zocor).

In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003, Jenkins found that a 1 month dietary intervention containing foods and food constituents known to decrease cholesterol were just as effective as statin drugs in lowering cholesterol in 46 healthy, hypercholesterolemic subjects.

On Lipitor’s website, side effects listed include headaches, constipation, diarrhea, gas, upset stomach and stomach pain, rash, muscle and joint pain, kidney failure, and liver problems.  If it is possible to lower your cholesterol, about the same amount, by following a cleanse program, why wouldn’t you do it?

I hope the above studies were not too technical, but the point is, you actually can truly combat obesity, heart disease, and many other chronic health problems, by avoiding unhealthy food, and eating healthy food!   A cleansing program is a good way to do it, because a good cleanse will give you a guide, or a blueprint, to tell you exactly what to eat, on what day, and what to avoid.  I need a exact plan to follow, and that’s why I recommend cleanses to any patient that wants to loose weight the right way, and get healthy.  If you are interested in doing a nutritional cleanse, you can get the Standard Process program through a health care professional, or the Isagenix program through an independent distributor.

I was skeptical of this cleanse study.  It seemed almost unbelievable, that a cleansing program would be able to cause such a rapid decrease in cholesterol and triglycerides.  So I tried it myself.  I did 2 cleansing programs.  One was a 21 day cleanse (Standard Process), and one was an 11 day cleanse (Isagenix).  I never felt so alive.  Through my cleanse, I felt full of energy.  I slept like a log.  Mentally, I felt much sharper, and alert.  I would hear something once and remember it immediately.  The above referenced study was done with the standard process cleanse, but I measured myself when I did the Isagenix cleanse.  In 11 days, I lost 14.5 lbs, and 16.5 inches (from various parts of my body).  My total cholesterol dropped 39 points.  My LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) dropped 27 points.    My triglycerides dropped 18 points.  My HDL (good cholesterol) dropped 8 points (my LDL/HDL and total cholesterol/HDL ratio dropped indicating overall positive effect).   It was a fantastic experience that I now share with my patients.

If you want to be around, to become a grandparent, or a great grandparent, you need to start taking care of your body now.  Please do not wait until tragedy strikes.  Remember, people don’t plan to fail.  They fail to plan.  Plan your Longevity.  Do not be reactive.  Be Proactive.  Be a good healthy role model for your children.  Obesity is an epidemic facing America right now.  Listen to this shocking fact.  Based on statistics from a 2002 report called “The Effects of Obesity, Smoking, and Drinking on Medical Programs and Costs,” published in the Journal of Health Affairs, individuals who are obese have 30%-50% more chronic medical problems than those who smoke or drink heavily!  We need to fight Obesity now by, teaching ourselves, and our children, how to live a healthy and natural lifestyle.

Here are a few warnings to keep my audience safe.  First, always check with your doctor (Assuming they are educated in nutrition), to make sure your body is healthy enough to do a cleansing program.  Also, remember to prepare your body a couple of days before you start your cleanse, by avoiding nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and sugar, so you don’t get withdrawal symptoms (such as headaches, which will make you quit the program). Above all, use the cleanse program as a way to learn how to eat healthy as a life style.  Think of it as a springboard to better eating habits.  It is a challenging commitment, and it definitely takes a lot of dedication and will power.  But what better payoff then looking great, feeling great, and living longer!  If you go back to eating junk food immediately after the cleanse, unfortunately, the benefits will fade.  Ill health will creep back.  That is why you must learn from the program, to adapt to a new and healthy lifestyle.  I am not saying you need to be perfect.  I’m sure not.  But I do make much healthier and educated choices since I did my first cleanse, and those choices are what dictate your future.

Your Powers On!

Dr. Dennis Rattiner, D.C.

Align the Spine • www.alignthespine.org

670 Indian Trl Rd NW # D • Lilburn, GA 30047 • (770) 925-0088