Regardless of where and how you live, your body is harboring dozens if not hundreds of toxins that could be sabotaging your health. Low on energy? Dealing with chronic illness? Having trouble losing weight? Toxins might be to blame. From your mattress to your toothpaste to your nonstick pans to the food you eat and the (bottled) water you drink -- every day your body is bombarded with chemicals that can alter the way your body works, affecting its natural processes and capacity to heal and maintain vibrancy. Even though we are built to handle foreign substances effectively, our liver and other organs simply cannot cope with today's glut of toxins, many of which are too foreign and toxic for our bodies to manage well. This ultimately causes us to age prematurely, to gain weight, and to become more prone to disease.The Detox Strategyby Brenda Watson, C.N.C., who is the bestselling author ofThe Fiber35 Diet: Nature's Weight Loss Secret, a PBS mainstay, and an expert on internal cleansing and detoxification, introduces us to the revolutionary RENEW program (Reduce, Eliminate, Nourish, Energize, Wellness), which aids in reversing the effects of aging and rejuvenating the body and mind. The program offers a holistic approach to protecting and nurturing your body's innate purification physiology. The result is a higher quality of life, more energy, longevity.The Detox Strategyreveals: The truth about where toxins come from and how they affect our bodies How toxins can accelerate the aging process by causing poor health and chronic disease How to determine your individual level of toxic exposure and the steps you can take to reduce it Why efforts to cleanse and detoxify the body are an essential part of enhancing one's energy and vitality and preserving overall health How maintaining a cleaner, more vibrant body can affect longevityThe Detox Strategyincludes a detailed herbal supplement plan for gently flushing out harmful toxins -- including heavy metals like lead and mercury -- plus delicious original recipes for nourishing meals that further promote detoxification.The Detox Strategyteaches cleansing concepts that are researched and clinically proven, and it provides you with the necessary tools to live in a purer and more energized body. Brenda Watson wants you to know the truth about your body and to help you live a longer and healthier life. With this easy-to-follow program you can jump-start your system and get on a path to optimum wellness. Are you ready?

Brenda Watson, C.N.C., is a New York Times bestselling author and one of the foremost authorities in the country on internal cleansing and detoxification. She is dedicated to helping people worldwide achieve healthy digestion and to leading them on a path toward natural wellness. She lives in Dunedin, Florida, with her husband and their dogs. Leonard Smith, M.D., is a prominent general gastrointestinal and vascular surgeon, as well as an expert on nutrition and natural supplementation. Dr. Smith believes educating others is an essential part of his role as a doctor and has always incorporated teaching the basics of healthy digestion to his patients.

Introduction: A Time to Renew	p. 1
How Toxic Are You? Take the Test	p. 9
The Perils of Pollutants and the Power of Detoxification	p. 21
Reduce Exposure to Toxins in Your Environment	p. 45
The Beauty of Your Body's Natural Detox Methods	p. 77
Eliminate Toxins in Your Body	p. 97
Step 3	p. 125
Step 4	p. 159
Step 5	p. 175
Toxic Myths and the Trail of Chemicals in Our Daily Lives	p. 185
Detoxification and Your Health	p. 219
The Renew Recipes	p. 241
Please Pass the Pesticide	p. 255
The Cancer Connection	p. 259
Medical and Dental Toxins	p. 261
Resource Directory	p. 265
Notes	p. 269
Acknowledgments	p. 279
Index	p. 281
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Introduction

A Time to Renew

This is the most important book I will write in my career. In June 2006 the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that nearly one-quarter of global disease is caused by environmental exposures, but perhaps most striking is what it said next: "Well-targeted interventions can prevent much of this environmental risk," saving what could amount to millions of lives every year. This simple truth is the main reason I bring youThe Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps. I will give you an effective and practical plan for ridding your body and your life of harmful toxins that affect the vast majority of us today -- including ones you may not know about hiding in unexpected places -- so that you can achieve lifelong wellness.

Everyone deserves to feel as alive and energetic as possible, even if we do have to live with a few toxins that are an inevitable reality of our modern era. With this book I give you hope for a healthier tomorrow, and the promise that you can do something to support optimum health now and in the future. It will dispel myths you may have believed in the past about chemicals in our world and offer a revolutionary solution that will revitalize everything about you -- body, mind, and spirit.

The subject of detoxification and cleansing has long been a source of controversy. When first I began cleansing it was considered "odd" or "strange" by many people. Yet, this healing philosophy has become much more accepted over the last ten years. Mainstream thought is just beginning to accept the fact that, as a society, we likely aren't detoxifying as well as we should. This is due to the overwhelming body of evidence about the dangers of toxicity, air and water pollution, and the buildup of chemicals in our environment -- evidence that is mounting daily.

A cultural shift in the last few years alone has brought the topic of toxins to the forefront of the general public's attention, right alongside the issue of global warming. The two do, after all, go hand in hand in a lot of ways. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the onslaught of stories relating the insidious, long-lasting effects toxins can have on our bodies, on our planet, and the future of both. People increasingly seek the knowledge and secrets to leading healthy, robust lives. Who doesn't want to participate in life to the fullest, with abundant energy? Who doesn't want to avoid hospitals and a lifetime dependence on drugs? Now that science is catching up with proving the effects polluted environments can have on our quest for vibrant health, more and more people are ready to hear the message about toxins and ways to avoid them -- or at least limit their impact -- in everyday life. It's true that toxins can play a role in whether or not you can reach and maintain an ideal weight, whether or not you can bear and raise healthy children, and whether or not you would call yourself a happy person.

As I write this, reports are escalating about toxic toys coming from China. Recalls are in force and we are demanding new standards that will prevent such occurrences. Restaurants in major metropolitan areas are boycotting bottled water to help mitigate the damaging effects plastics have in the environment, where they cannot be broken down. (In addition, as you'll soon learn, plastics give off toxic chemicals that you then ingest when you -- or your babies -- drink from a bottle.) There's nothing more powerful than a collective voice for change. And I'm thrilled to be witnessing finally a growing united effort and interest in reducing the level of toxins in our lives.

My mission in teaching people how to live in a toxic world is a personal one. More than twenty years ago I was battling poor health, weight gain, and fatigue, and it was then that I discovered the natural healing principles that would ultimately change my life. I realized that by adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle -- one that involved regular internal cleansing and detoxification -- I could regain control of my body and my well-being. Since then it has become my passion to educate others and share with them the natural remedies that helped me achieve the superb health that I enjoy today. Upon dedicating my life to the fields of healthy digestion and detoxification, and to leading others onto the path of natural wellness, I have studied many philosophies of health and natural healing with some of the great teachers of our time. Through my work as a naturopathic doctor and founder of five natural health clinics in Florida that specialize in colon hydrotherapy and detoxification, I've watched people transform their lives in ways unimaginable to most who rely solely on traditional medicine or who think they must live with persistent illness, pain, and exhaustion.

During the past two decades I have watched the devastating effects of toxic exposure on the human body and the resulting decline in our overall digestive health because of the overwhelming number of chemicals to which we are exposed every day. Together these two factors have led to an alarming increase in chronic ailments, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity ("diobesity"), arthritis, depression, infertility, hormonal imbalances, allergies, gastrointestinal diseases, and cancer. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that more than 90 million Americans live with chronic illness, and that "the prolonged course of illness and disability from such chronic diseases as diabetes and arthritis results in extended pain and suffering and decreased quality of life for millions of Americans." Causal links are also being found between toxins and autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and developmental problems in children.

My first glimpse into the harsh reality of rising toxicity levels came as a result of working in a clinic for many years. There I observed the vast amount of people struggling to overcome disease, many of whom had finally come to the realization that in order to take control of their health, they needed to make significant changes to their diet and lifestyle -- including their stress level. The biggest change of all, however, was the understanding that in order to establish a strong foundation of total-body wellness, they needed to fully comprehend the process of detoxification.

Without a doubt, the state of our planet's well-being, including its climate and ecosystems, has a measurable impact on our health, and that impact has prompted countless concerns about the level of toxicity that surrounds us each day and the ever-growing toxic burden with which our bodies must contend. Individuals, as well as health and government agencies, have begun to acknowledge this alarming reality and take steps to change it.

In its June 2006 report, titled "Preventing Disease Through Healthy Environments," the WHO focused on the environmental causes of disease and how numerous diseases are influenced by environmental factors. In what is perhaps the most comprehensive study yet designed to examine how environmental factors, including exposure to unsafe water and indoor and outdoor air pollution, contribute to disease and ill health, the WHO stated that of the 102 major diseases reported yearly, 85 are partly caused by environmental factors, and it estimates that in the United States alone nearly 400,000 deaths each year are preventable simply by making improvements to our environment.

Having reported similar findings, the CDC feels so strongly about the connection between environmental factors and disease that they have created an entire department dedicated to the investigation of environmental exposure and disease. Over the last four years, the division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects has laid the foundation for a national system designed to track environmental hazards and the diseases they cause. With the help of this system, dubbed the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, scientists, policymakers, communities, and the general public will soon have access to more information that they need to prevent exposure to the environmental factors that can lead to poor health and disease.

I once joked that we would someday be living in a "toxic soup" of dangerous chemicals, and now I realize how true those words were. As time has passed and the reports from health and governmental sources continue to corroborate my unintentional premonition, the future of our society's health has become disturbingly clear. The question is, What can we as individuals do to protect our own health and the health of our families in the coming years?

The purpose of this book is to provide information about the undeniable connection between environmental toxins and the health of the human body. But more than that, this book is a call to action for you to protect not only your health but also the future of our planet. I will show you how, and it's easier than you might think. It also doesn't require a serious investment of money or time. The biggest investment you will make is in taking in this knowledge. Applying it to your lifestyle will be relatively effortless. The payoff, however, can be huge.

Some of what you will learn may frighten you, but please don't let fear paralyze you from taking the steps starting today toward a healthier future. You will find many tried and true ideas on how to nourish and take care of yourself and your environment. You will also find that many techniques and strategies require only a slight shift from what you have already been doing. It's an easy-to-follow plan you can personalize for your life. My hope is that you take the knowledge in this book and become a change agent yourself -- encouraging your loved ones and the people in your sphere of influence to adopt these principles of healthy living. Only then can we truly begin to change the world in which we live. Only then will the risk factors around us lessen as we do our part in creating a toxin-free world. This is not a gloom-and-doom treatise on chemicals and how they will ultimately bring on the end of human civilization. I write this book to inspire you, to motivate you, and to give you the gift of knowledge so that you can treat yourself to the gift of health.

While not a single day passes without someone's attempting to deny the need for regular internal cleansing and detoxification, this book will clearly explain why preserving the body's purification physiology is essential to achieving and maintaining the vibrant, lasting health you deserve. It begins with an eye-opening peek into the state of our toxic world, plus a test so you can gauge your personal level of toxic exposure. Then you complete Step 1: Reduce exposure to toxins in your environment.

I'll be taking you through your body's natural detoxification methods and help you to understand the ways in which you can support its functions through three sequential actions. Step 2 is to Eliminate toxins in your body via specific herbal cleansing regimens. In Step 3 you will Nourish your body properly to encourage optimal self-detoxification; and Energize (Step 4) through exercises and relaxation techniques designed to promote further the body's own health maintenance systems. I will give you formulas for jump-starting the cleansing process of your systems and explain how to replenish your cells with nutrients that will continue to foster good health. This completes the first four steps in the renewal process, which brings you to Step 5: Wellness. In the remaining chapters I will share more insights on where toxins come from, why, and the connection between chemicals and health as you begin your path to wellness. This is where you'll also find guidance on putting your entire RENEW program together in a sensible daily schedule. For continued support, updates, and online access to resources that will further assist you in this program, go to www.detoxstrategy.com.

If you want or require additional help in tailoring this program to your body, especially if you have any special health concerns or needs, please speak with your doctor. Your personal health practitioner can provide that extra guidance and individual support. I also encourage you to keep your doctor in the loop if you plan to commence an exercise program and have not been active in a while. Everyone's response to this program and results will be different.

By beginning this program and adopting a RENEW-based lifestyle, you are making a conscious choice: a choice to live a better, more fulfilling life. I can't think of a more profound decision to make, and I'm excited for you and the improved health that awaits you.

Your partner in optimum health,

Excerpted from The Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps by Brenda Watson
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.