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Take Out the Trash: Detoxify

by Dr. Marcus Laux

Published 02/04/09

Restore and Rebuild

The next phase of detox is restoration and rebuilding. There are a number of ways and means to build your body back up after you’ve cleaned it out. I’m going to focus on the replenishing of healthy flora in the gastrointestinal tract and a lifestyle for ongoing purification.

A good probiotic supplement delivers friendly, live bacteria straight to your G.I. tract. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to tell if the bacteria in a supplement are still alive and well when you purchase or take them. For this reason, there are only two probiotic products I can recommend with confidence: Probiotic Advantage from Mountain Home Nutritionals (www.drdavidwilliams.com, 800.888.1415), which features a seamless encapsulation technology that ensures the beneficial flora are delivered animate to the digestive tract; and Acidophilus Pearls from Enzymatic Therapy. So many probiotic products just don’t work, but the beads from these companies are reliable and easy to swallow. They don’t need refrigeration. They are what my son and I use every day and especially when traveling. Take them to ensure that beneficial bacteria are thriving in your internal garden. They fight bad bugs, help neutralize carcinogens, finish digestion, and make vitamins and immune compounds for your best health.

Another product I use to repopulate my gut flora is BioK+. It is a strong, fermented dairy product with more than 50 billion healthy bacteria in each container. (The manufacturer also makes a flavored, nondairy version.) The unflavored variety of BioK+ has a hearty, plain yogurt taste, and needs refrigeration. For that reason, it’s available only at local health food stores and some Whole Foods and Wild Oats locations. If you take a full container of this product, I’m confident you will notice a difference in your next bowel movement. It’s like having a younger, better-functioning G.I. tract.

You not only want to introduce friendly flora into your digestive and elimination system, you want to make sure they stay there. Studies have shown that fructooligosaccharides (FOS) help probiotics colonize and stick around. FOS form part of a group of compounds found in fruits and vegetables, including Jerusalem artichoke (a tuber that grows underground like a potato, also called a sunchoke), asparagus, leeks, onions, garlic, and oats. Because they support the growth of probiotics, FOS are also known as prebiotics.

You can eat the foods mentioned to get FOS, but the most reliable way is to supplement. I take and recommend Inuflora from Naturally Vitamins. Inuflora is available in a few select health food stores, but the most reliable source is Web Vitamins, www.webvitamins.com, 800.919.9122.

The best way to keep clean and lean and live long is to pay attention to what you put in your body, and move your body daily. What goes in determines much of what goes out—or what clogs and weakens the system. Wholesome organic foods, rich in nature’s nutrients; fibers; enzymes; pigments; and more, meal after meal, naturally help cleanse and purify your system of waste and toxins. This is nature’s design. Good foods are sources of energy and strength, and provide the best materials for cleaning up the process, as well.

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