Health Tip - Detoxification

6.14.08

In last week’s health tip I reminded you that cancer is now the leading cause of death in our country.   I also mentioned that I believed most cancers were caused by viruses and I related some of the evidence supporting that belief.  Since our immune systems are responsible for fighting viruses, an effective strategy to prevent or cure cancer would then involve enhancing immune system function.  Ridding our bodies of toxins, the process known as detoxification, is a key to accomplishing that objective.

Heavy metals, chemicals, bacteria, electromagnetic radiation, genetically modified foods, emotional and spiritual stressors are all categories of toxins with which our bodies must contend.  We often use a combination of therapies including nutritional supplements, infrared sauna, colon hydrotherapy and intravenous treatments to help remove many of these toxins.  But if you asked me to name one thing that I believed to be the most important step in detoxifying and boosting immune function; the answer would have to be: dealing with a lack of forgiveness.  Addressing this one problem, even though it won’t rid your body of ALL toxins, can make a dramatic difference in your health.

Many of you have heard me say that stress CAN kill you.  The mechanism responsible for making stress so devastating is that it suppresses immune system function.  Ask yourself how many people with cancer that you’ve known, were diagnosed after a period of prolonged or intense stress.  Dr. Esther Sternberg, a rheumatologist and NIH researcher is one of the leading experts in the world on stress and its impact on the immune system.  Her book, “The Balance Within”, published in 2000 reveals the research that supports her assertions.  It’s been my experience and the experience of many of my patients that dealing with a lack of forgiveness provides relief from one of the most powerful stressors anyone will ever face.  Stress from this problem can be very intense, it can last a long time and if often goes unrecognized as a significant factor in the development of chronic disease.

Forgiveness isn’t necessarily easy, but it is necessary.  An excellent resource on this topic that provides insight and a plan is the book by R.T. Kendall called “Total Forgiveness”.  He also has a follow-up book which deals with the even more difficult topic of forgiving one’s self.  It’s entitled “Forgiving Yourself Totally”. 

I encourage you to take a thoughtful personal inventory.  You may be affected more than you think and the effects can ripple through your family for generations.  Forgiving someone is like freeing them from a debt they can never repay and then realizing that the one you really freed, was yourself.

Blessings and Good Health,

Dr. Bernui