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Urban Detox

by Dr. Marcus Laux

Published 02/04/09

For most us, life is, quite frankly, a dirty business. We are exposed to a staggering number of chemicals, including those used in pesticides, cleaning agents, water treatment, food production, and on and on. More than 80,000 are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, very few of which have been studied at any length for toxicity.

If you can see it, smell it, touch it—and even if you can’t—it can enter your body and accumulate. Consider the analysis of one well-known individual’s “chemical body burden.” While working on an investigative report about the chemical industry, journalist Bill Moyers had his blood and urine analyzed for contaminants. Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers found 84 chemicals in his body, including 31 types of PCBs, 13 different dioxins, and pesticides, including the banned DDT. They couldn’t say if his results were unusual, but, chances are, most of us are walking around with a similar chemical burden.

Establish a Routine

The answer is clear: We must strive to minimize our exposure to chemicals, and maximize our elimination of them. And, although this article is entitled “Urban Detox,” it’s written for everyone. In a chemical-exposure sense, we are all living in an urban environment.

With that in mind, I hope you’ll seriously consider engaging in some form of detoxification on a periodic basis. I routinely start to detoxify on the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes (the two days during the year when night and day are of equal length). These are excellent times because they represent the change in seasons, when illness is more likely to occur. On an ongoing basis, I have several other strategies. One is use of my infrared sauna.

Far infrared saunas are a major step forward in detox science, and are now available for the home. By far, the best one on the market is the TheraSauna. It is the most heat-efficient, reaching temperature in minutes; is easy to use; and is made from only nontoxic, nontreated hardwoods. Most saunas are made from cedar or redwood, which, when heated, can create toxic gases. You can inhale or absorb these toxins through your skin—exactly the opposite of what you want to accomplish.

Infrared heat is what we feel when we stand in the sun. Infrared energy can be given off, as well as absorbed, by our bodies. The body absorbs infrared energy in the 3–50 micron range, with the best being 9.4 microns. The TheraSauna emits infrared heat in the 7–14 micron range, with the peak at 9.4 microns. This makes the energy easier to absorb in a shorter period of time, and it penetrates deeper (up to 1-1/2 inches) than traditional saunas. You can set a lower temperature and get a good detox while remaining comfortable. The end result is superior cellular stimulation, and the release of toxins through perspiration and through the oils that follow perspiration out.

By the way, always shower immediately following any heat therapy or exercise. If you don’t, the released toxins can be drawn back in through your skin.

This process can help pull out mercury, lead, nicotine, cadmium, pesticides, PCBs, DDT, hexane, chlorine, drugs, and pathogens. Cleaning out the colon must be done, but releasing toxins naturally through the skin gets the job done faster. Doing both together offers a more reliable way to remove our entire chemical burden, like squeezing a sponge completely dry.

If you don’t have access to a far infrared sauna, don’t worry; use a regular sauna, steam room, or hot tub if you have one at your gym or home. Low-intensity, longer-term exercise that takes you beyond the point of perspiration and brings out the oils will also accomplish the goal. The point is to move pollutants out in a way that’s enjoyable.

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