Woodson Merrell - The Detox Prescription: Supercharge Your Health, Strip Away Pounds, and Eliminate the Toxins Within

This book is intended as a reference volume only, not as a medical manual. The information given here is designed to help you make informed decisions about your health. It is not intended as a medical prescription or a substitute for any treatment that may have been prescribed by your doctor. If you suspect that you have a medical problem, we urge you to seek competent medical help.

Mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities in this book does not imply endorsement by the author or publisher, nor does mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities imply that they endorse this book, its author, or the publisher.

Internet addresses and telephone numbers given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

2013 by Woodson Merrell, MD

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Book design by Chris Rhoads

Medical Symptom Questionnaire 2013 by the Institute for Functional Medicine. Used with permission.

Dirty Dozen Plus and Clean Fifteen 2013 by Environmental Working Group, www.ewg.org. Reprinted with permission.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the publisher.

ISBN-13: 9781609615352 hardcover

eISBN-13: 9781609615369

We inspire and enable people to improve their lives and the world around them.

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For my brilliant and beautiful wife, Kathy, and my bundles of joy and inspiration, Caitlin and Isabel. W.M.

To my superduper amazing daughters, Brynne and Rhiannon; to my husband and best friend, Tim; to my wonderfully supportive parents, siblings, family, and friends; to cancer survivors everywhere; and to all the individuals who have allowed me the great honor of using food as medicine to share in their care. M.B.A.

To the brilliant writers Martha Hume and Chet Flippo, my newly minted guardian angels. And to the Turczyn boys, Truman and Coury, who remind me that health and happiness are lifes biggest priorities. H.D.

A thorough explanation of what toxins are, where they come from, and how theyre wrecking your life. Plus: case studies of real peopleand real results.

Two self-administered tests help you determine how toxins are affecting your health and your home, and let you decide how serious the problem really is.

Whether you need a little tune-up or a major overhaul, the Detox Prescription can meet your needs with a 3-, 7-, or 21-day plan based on the best in current nutrition science.

Once you decide which plan is for you, well help you prepare your kitchen, body, mind, and spirit for success.

Three days worth of juices, smoothies, and nut milks will yield quick results and kick-start your energy! Plus: a guide to the best possible smoothie boosters.

A weeklong juices-and-foods plan that will deepen your detox results and reset your health. Plus: detoxifying teas and grab-and-go snacks.

Three weeks to cleanse your mind and body, gain great new eating habits, and lose weight in a sustainable way. Plus: sensationally sweet desserts that offer detoxifying side benefits.

What to do if youve tried everything and still need help: our guide to meditation, elimination diets, integrative therapies, saunas, probiotics, enzymes, medical foods, smart supplements, and more.

Every cell in the body can go through the phases of detoxification. Well explain how that happens, why nutrition is so critical to the process, and what measures you can take to support the detox process at the cellular level through smart use of targeted foods and nutraceuticals.

T his book can transform your life. Heres why:

Our bodies often have a remarkable capacity to begin healing if we allow them to do soto a much greater degree and more quickly than had previously been realizedif we simply stop doing whats causing the problem.

So much of Western medicine is based on the supposition that we need to get our health from outside ourselves. The internist says, Take this pill, youll feel better. The surgeon says, To cut is to cure.

But we now know better. For most people, health is not something we get; its something that we already have until we damage it.

The concept of detoxification is to identify what is harmful to your health and to stop doing it. This simple idea allows your body to maximize its potential for healing.

In this context, the most useful question can be, What am I doing that is disturbing my inner health? For a surprising number of chronic diseases, the answers are:

what we eat;

how we respond to stress;

how much we exercise;

whether or not we smoke cigarettes;

how much we sleep;

how much love and support we have in our lives.

In this wonderful new book, Dr. Woodson Woody Merrell broadens the concept of detoxification beyond food to include these other aspects of our lives that so profoundly affect our health.

When we realize whats causing the problem, we can make different choices that allow our bodies to begin healing. Dr. Merrell shows how, and why. He can help you tailor a program thats just right for you, one that is based on good science and extensive clinical experience. Youve come to the right place.

Ive known and admired Dr. Merrell for many years. He is a renowned leader and pioneering clinician helping to create a new paradigm of true health care, rather than just sick careone that is more caring and compassionate as well as more cost effective and competent. He is an extraordinary healer and educator. His patients love him, and so do I. Youre in good hands.

We often think of advances in medicine as something high-tech and expensive: a new drug, a powerful laser, an innovative surgical technique. It may seem hard to believe that such simple aspects of our lifestyles can have such a powerful impact on our health and well-being, but they often do.

For the past 36 years, my colleagues and I at the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute have conducted a series of clinical research studies showing what a potent difference changes in diet and lifestyle can make and how quickly they can occur. These lifestyle changes include stress management techniques such as yoga and meditation; a mostly plant-based diet; moderate exercise; and increased social support, community, and love.

We used high-tech, state-of-the-art scientific measures to prove the power and efficacy of these simple, low-tech, and low-cost interventions.

We showed that these lifestyle changes alone may reverse even severe heart disease. At any age. We also found that these lifestyle changes may reverse type 2 diabetes and may slow, stop, or even reverse the progression of early-stage prostate cancer.

Because of these findings, Medicare and many insurance companies are now covering our program of comprehensive lifestyle changes for reversing heart disease for those with type 2 diabetes and early-stage prostate cancer. Dr. Merrell and his colleagues at the Continuum Center for Health and Healing at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York are now offering this program.