Conventional medicine continues to develop at a rapid rate, becoming ever more technical and specialized. Depending on what type of headache you have, you may visit an internist who may in turn refer you to a neurologist, an ophthalmologist, of even a psychiatrist.

In this traditional form of medicine, the different symptoms are viewed as different body part being ill, but what if all these symptoms are interrelated? What if your headache, skin rash, constipation, stomach ulcer, insomnia, and muscle spasms are all symptoms of the same underlying problem? What if the medicines that suppress your pain also suppress your immune system and possibly compromise your health over the long term?

Most symptoms are the body's way of trying to get rid of toxins and to regain homeostasis and balance. Therefore, most diseases should be treated not by suppressing the body's defense mechanisms, but by cooperating with these systems.

Toxins may defined as substances which produce physical, emotional, and psychological imbalances in an individual. We are consistently exposed to toxins every day. There are two types of toxins: exogenous and endogenous. Exogenous toxins are present in the outside environment, whereas endogenous toxins are produced as a result of imbalances in our metabolism.

Major exogenous toxins which affect us are
	Tap water		Smog and petrochemicals		Nitrosamines
	Pesticides		Carbon tetrachloride		Solvents, fuel
	Parasites		Chloroform		Formaldehyde
	Industrial exposures		Coffee, tobacco, alcohol, sugar, food preservatives		Heavy metals: mercury, aluminum, lead, cadmium
	Bacteria: streptococcus, staphlococcus, salmonella (food poisoning)		Viruses: Epstein-Barr, Influenza, Cytomegalo virus, Herpes, HIV

Toxins are discharged from the body by the liver, kidneys, lymphatics, colon, lungs and skin. As more and more toxins accumulate in our system, they place severe stress on these organs of elimination. With continued accumulation, the liver, kidneys, and other organs begin to malfunction, causing a weakening of the immune system. The endocrine glands no longer secrete the proper amounts of hormones into the bloodstream - metabolism slows, producing a hospitable environment for illness.

The gradual accumulation of low levels of toxins cannot yet be measured by conventional analytical methods, so many doctors deny their existence. As instrumentation and measuring methods become more sophisticated, such toxic states will be recognized as dangerous. NutraScan is a sensitive tool that can detect these toxins and their whereabouts in the body.

What are the Symptoms Caused by Toxicity?

There are two types of illnesses caused by toxicity:

1) Nonspecific illness

This includes poorly-defined symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, insomnia, bad breath, muscle stiffness, depression, allergies, etc. this group is very difficult to categorize, with many combinations possible. Many of these symptoms are also labeled as hypoglycemia, candidiasis, food allergies, and stress.

2) Specific illness

This includes better-defined syndromes having a characteristic set of symptoms. Some examples are: migraine, arthritis, psoriasis, influenza, sinusitis, immune deficiencies, tumors.

In the last several decades, our food supply, drinking water, air, and soil have become increasingly contaminated with toxic chemicals. Never before has the human body been presented with such a heavy burden of foreign substances to metabolize and eliminate. In addition, excessive use of fast food, caffeine, and alcohol continue to be widespread in our culture. Over-the-counter, prescriptions, and recreational (illicit) drugs complete the picture, taxing the human body beyond its natural capabilities of detoxification.

At the same time, physicians are seeing an increase in such nonspecific symptoms as chronic fatigue, migraine headache, and sinus congestion. Some individuals find themselves being much more susceptible to colds, or to whatever "bug" is currently going around. Much more serious are the increasing cases of autoimmune disease such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus.

We are being inadvertently exposed to toxic chemicals in our home, work, and recreation environments throughout the day and night. The body has a certain capacity to detoxify itself, but when this is exceeded, toxins deposit both within and around the cells, causing a wide variety of health problems.

Low-level toxicity from many sources can be very difficult if not impossible to detect. Yet the combined action of these toxins creates a "Toxic Cocktail" effect which can seriously weaken an individual's immune system, making them even more susceptible to disease and stress. The symptoms of such exposures are not usually correlated to the presence of toxins. In fact, conventional medical testing often does not have an explanation for the symptoms, hence the frequent diagnosis of "psychosomatic" maladies. The symptoms of toxicity may take years to manifest after initial exposure, making it extremely difficult to correlate the toxins with the symptoms.

Ignoring toxins or failing to recognize the body's toxicity can eventually lead to chronic systemic toxicity, which ultimately results in damage to internal organs or tissues.

Routine laboratory tests will not indicate the presence of toxins in the body, but symptoms will persist, occurring rarely, sporadically, frequently, or on a daily basis.

Some people are more vulnerable/susceptible to toxins than others. Their reaction to the toxicity os a given substance depends on a number of factors, including:

	The amount to which one is exposed.
	Frequency of exposure.
	The state of their elimination and filtering organs.
	How tolerant one is to the substance.

The Detoxification Process

The human body is a powerful self-detoxification machine. Any disease or chronic/excessive stress can compromise its self-detoxification ability, resulting in an increase of toxic load in the body.

The majority of detoxification and elimination is carried out by four systems in the body:

	Respiratory		Urinary
	Digestive		Dermal

"The Toxic Ping Pong Effect"

Patients who are physically ill should be encouraged to undertake detoxification only under the supervision of a trained professional to avoid the resettling of toxins in the same or different tissues (organs), a phenomenon which is known as "the toxic ping pong effect". Instead of being eliminated from the system when they are dislodged, the toxins simply relocate, with the associated reactions.

This occurs when:

Detoxification is undertaken without appropriate drainage therapy and the body cannot handle the extra stress from stirred-up toxins.

Effective detoxification is best performed under supervision of a qualified health care professional specializing in such therapies. Each patient will have a unique toxic load profile with various causes. The ideal detoxification procedure is one customized for each patient.

However, in any detoxification program which actually stimulates cells to release toxins, it will draw on the resources of the body to eliminate the toxin. This means that a patient with high toxic load and low energy resources will experience sluggishness and fatigue while energy is being redirected to a cellular level.

When the elimination process is done successfully, most patients experience:

	Disappearance of reactions and symptoms
	A distinct increase in energy and vitality
	Increased feeling of general well-being
	More tolerance and resistance to stress
	Increased resistance to colds, flu, and infections
	Amelioration or reduction in disease symptoms

The specificity of NutraScan is unique in that we are able to determine what body organs are being affected and also by what toxins. This enables us to assess an individualized treatment approach for detoxification and tissue repair.