Local doctor explains how to detox without compromising health

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - When people hear the word detox, some think of ridding toxins, quick weight loss or just cleansing the body, but there are some facts about detoxing people should know.
“So detoxification basically is the process by which the body takes a toxin and tries to safely eliminate it out of the body. Toxins include anything from insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, lots of various chemicals that we are exposed to,” said Hattiesburg Clinic Dr. Claudia Karam of Functional & Integrative Medicine.
Her goal is to educate people about how nutrition and lifestyle can play an imperative role in how the body operates.
“The primary organ that is responsible for detoxification is the liver. So this is like a simple, simplified diagram of the liver," she explained with a liver diagram on a sheet of paper.
"We have two main major steps in detoxification. It’s called phase one and phase two detoxification. In each of the different phases we have different nutrients that are required for that phase to run effectively. The end result of that process is that the body is trying to eliminate that toxin safely either in the urine or in the stool,”
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, pesticides are commonly found on fruits and vegetables. There are several proper ways to support the detoxing of those chemicals.
“The most helpful hint is just to find a way everyday to include a lot of colorful vegetables and to be mindful of that and if you are cooking, if you can cook with a lot of garlic and onions for flavor as opposed to a condiment or some sauces, that adds a lot of flavor and it’s also helping support our detoxification,”
When an abundance of vegetables, herbs and fruits are consumed daily, it can only lead to healthy results.
“Participants often report kind of various different symptoms of getting better or whether it be less body aches, improved energy, improved digestion and some people report clearer skin so it really varies and it's very individual,”
What’s there to lose? Unhealthy habits and issues.