Detoxing and science and doctors

I talked to a patient today who is mad. Mad at doctors who are unprofessional, disrespectful and who disparage other doctors. This is what I recommend.  Calmly call out the doctor's misbehavior. Be the grownup. Rise above the petulant, entitled child who never grew up.  This describes many doctors.  My patient wants to be proactive, respond to ill=treatment form doctors.  Something about ratings in Apps. No comment.

If you are like me you sometimes grab an orange from the basket, hold it under the faucet for a few seconds, peel and eat it.  Perhaps you grab a waxed apple and do the same. You should scrub the fruit with a natural detergent. Your produce is likely grown in an invisible stew of things like the widely used pesticide 1,3 dichlorpropene banned in the European Union, Roundup, Organophosphates, Arsenic related and others to name a few.  Big agra-business makes the oranges and apples shine – with more chemicals.  The FDA assures us the levels of toxins and carcinogens are safe. Organic produce has less of the same but is exposed to the same contaminated water table and soil, our toxic biosphere.  The FDA tells us the levels of these entirely safe.  The Mayo Clinic suggests natural products used by organics farmers are not proven safer than unpronounceable chemicals known to quickly kill white mice.  Who told them that?

Weeds, like unwanted bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to the usual pesticides calling for more drastic measures. Nice. 

This is not my usual topic and I know little about the subject and have much to learn.  But I hear a lot about detoxing. This what it might mean to me. 

Enter the word Xenobiotic.

You already know about probiotics and antibiotics. 

Xenobiotics are foreign, non-biological substances which may be toxic to tissues including liver and kidneys. Very bad toxic substances we ingest daily. 

Likely the doctor has never heard the word.  Give them scientific source material. 

Xenobiotics can be difficult to eliminate and cycle endlessly through enterohepatic re-circulation.
This is where activated charcoal comes in.  It waits in the intestines for the toxin laden bile, grabs the xenobiotics and eliminates them through the colon. Charcoal and cholestyramine eliminate mold toxins (mycotoxins) the same way. They may also eliminate your expensive medicines. Follow directions. 

Frequently sage allopathic doctors, especially infectious disease experts, jump down the gullets of Lyme patients who say they are “detoxing.” The word detoxing is foreign to mainstream medicine and practitioners. It raises the antennae of doctors who are quick to denounce such talk as voodo pseudoscience.  

Lyme bacteria do not have toxins they will opine. 

It’s true Lyme bacteria lack the endotoxins of pathogenic gram-negative bacteria. That’s not at issue. 

I always try to teach patients how to talk to doctors. The answer is, “Of course not. The chronically ill patients may have difficulty with toxic xenobiotics (look up the word doctor). General inflammation challenges the ability of the overworked liver and kidneys to remove the toxic chems.  And doctor, if you are content with paraquat and roundup in your diet it doesn’t apply to you.” (Less snarky -- unless the doctor is a narcisistic, arrogant piece of excement).

The doctor may come away realizing there is something here to learn. Nah. 

In general, don't mention detoxing. Its not worth it. 

Charcoal helps with Herxeimer reactions because it binds cytokines. This can be further explained if the doctor if she/he is still standing in the exam room. This straightforward, unassailable science. 


A lot of doctors don't like science. Ironically they are quick to lable those with whom they disagree anti-science. Old news. 

Don't be angry with doctors. Set realistic expectations. Unless they attack me. Then go for the jugular. JK.

Organic foods  are better.  GMOs are not the problem. They are the bright, shiny object which distracts. A discussion for another day.