Metabolic Detoxification. Wow. Now that sounds intimidating, doesn’t it? However, a Metabolic Detoxification program is actually a diet simplification process that teaches good eating habits. This 5-week program has been incredibly helpful to past participants and will begin with a free informational session on September 25th, with the classes running throughout October 2017. But, before we tell you more about how you can join this program, let’s learn more about the process from our own Dr. Theodore (Ted) Brooks!
Dr. Brooks is a Family Medicine physician at DMC Primary Care who is passionate about Functional Medicine. He has run this program many times and actually participates alongside his patients. He said, “I’ve done the diet at least four or five times. I usually teach the class once a year, but this year I’m doing it twice. It’s great because it forces you to address your relationship with food. When I first did this I was frightened of not having my coffee. However, it was so freeing to realize I wasn’t a slave to it. I had my morning cup of raspberry zinger tea and off I went!”
So what are some reasons that people should choose to go through a Metabolic Detoxification? Well, Dr. Brooks said, “The program is set up to reduce the burden on your system and give your body the things it needs to process and work well. Everything that we take into our system has to be processed before we get rid of it. The foods that we eat, the medications we take, the things we absorb through the skin…all of it has to be processed before we can excrete it, and most of that is done in the liver. The liver has a huge job! Hundreds of years ago that was easier, but today we have thousands and thousands of molecules that the body doesn’t expect. It’s not as simple as it sounds – those fat-soluble compounds must become water-soluble so that we can excrete them. The liver has this phenomenal task of dealing with that.
There are different phases of detox. First your body turns reactive compounds into an intermediate and then into water. Those reactive compounds or free radicals are often more toxic than the original compounds and they can build up and cause us trouble. And, if phase one works really well, but now you can’t transition them to water-soluble compounds, you will get a build-up. If you think about it, if your sink is plugged up and the water is overflowing you don’t start mopping the floor – instead, you turn off the faucet (deprive the body of some of those compounds) then you unplug the drain (getting cofactors and enzymes to unclog) and then all is well.”
In order to reduce this buildup, the detox program eliminates many common problem foods. Dr. Brooks said, “We eliminate caffeine, alcohol, gluten, dairy, eggs and sugar. Those things aren’t individually bad – but they all contribute to the body’s burden.”
While participants are depriving themselves of certain foods, there are other staples they can ingest throughout. According to Dr. Brooks, “They can have organic chicken and fish and green vegetables throughout the whole thing, but it changes throughout. Like in the second week there’s no nuts or grains at all, but there are starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes. We also do a shake with cofactors and a vitamin type pill that includes similar elements.”
Even before starting or committing to the program, Dr. Brooks is available to answer questions and explain it in more detail. Dr. Brooks said, “There’s a free info session a week before the class starts. I give a little talk about why we are doing it, what does it involve, what does the meal plan cost – there’s no surprises.”
Dr. Brooks noted that this program works for anyone really – especially those who may have undiagnosed issues. He said, “This is good for anybody. I don’t care how healthy they are. There is always something more we can learn about ourselves. However, as physicians there are categories of people that don’t get the attention their symptoms deserve. People who are tired, cranky, can’t lose weight, don’t sleep well or have chronic skin conditions. Most doctors never ask them how they eat or about the stress in their lives. It’s usually a combination of lifestyle things. The people who really benefit from the detox program are people who don’t feel well and don’t know what to do about it. The people who’ve seen a million doctors and all the tests come back normal.”
This program targets the causes of chronic disease before they become larger issues. Dr. Brooks said, “75% of our healthcare dollars go into chronic disease – Diabetes, Heart Disease…Cancer. We do a really great job with acute issues, but we’re not treating the upstream causes. We’re looking at what causes immune issues that translate to chronic diseases. We as a culture can’t afford to be treating this much chronic disease when they are totally preventable.”
Of course, when people are considering trying any program, they want to hear about the results! In the case of Metabolic Detoxification, the results have been life changing. Dr. Brooks said, “One woman [who did the program] had Breast Cancer and was very tired all the time and she was able to initially lose 10 pounds and jumpstart her energy. I have a lot of people who want to lose weight and anyone who jumps on this program ends it by eating clean. It primes you for anything you want to do next. If you wanted to jumpstart a different weight loss program, this may be a good first step. If you’re not sleeping well or are congested this may help you identify what is causing it.”
After completing the Program people tend to change their outlook on food in general. Dr. Brooks said, “At the end of the 28 days, you don’t want to go out and have a Coke and Big Mac. You see what happens when you change your diet. I give people a reading list to try to make people aware of what they’ve been eating. It should be clear to most people that the food industry has no interest in our well being. They are just interested in profit. For example, consider the old potato chip commercial ‘bet you can’t eat just one’ – we are programmed to eat and we don’t have genes in us telling us to stop.”
Like Dr. Brooks, previous program participants have done multiple cycles. Dr. Brooks said, “I actually have several patients who do it once a year. We offer a discount for people who repeat the class. Those people are inspirational and can offer tips. Once a year or once every 18 months is a good idea.”
Dr. Brooks openly noted that in theory, people could go through this program on their own, but doesn’t advise it. He said, “It costs $325 and that includes the classes, the supplements and online support. You could do this on your own, but you’d be missing the support, the recipes, the tips. The group gets peoples’ minds aligned with the fact that this isn’t about weight loss – it’s about health. That’s why group is better than take these supplements – follow this plan – and we’ll see you in a month. There are lots and lots of questions that get raised and people learn from each other.”
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Would you like to learn more about DMC Primary Care/ Derry Health & Wellness’ Metabolic Detoxification program? Click below!
