Posted by BarbaraCat on May 16, 2002, at 15:46:05
In reply to Re: Your liver is ill, posted by bookgurl99 on May 16, 2002, at 14:49:16
Before I answer this directly, let me first say that we have to be real careful about the whole issue of paranoia about antidepressants. I'm pretty hooked into the natural healing community and there's a great deal of antagonism between the allopathic and holistic practitioners, ESPECIALLY when it comes to treating such a multi-faceted problem as depression. You have to be extremely discerning and consider the source regarding who says what. Is it really a spiritual issue? A nature vs. nuture issue? A somatic vs. psychological thing? Best treated by herbs and yoga? On and on.
The answer as far as I'm concerned is YES to all the above, but even though I wish with all my heart I could heal myself with pure living, nothing works except medication - believe me, I've been down and all around that path. I need all the support I can get, but I need my meds. So with that out of the way...
Don't do a water fast because that will dump toxins into your system and make you real sick. You can clean out your system gently by eating primarily fruits and steamed veggies (not together at the same meal - fruit until noon and veggies until 6 -- all you want!). Don't eat anything after 6 pm except for herbal tea and drink LOTS of filtered water everyday. It's best to go slow at first, one day a week for a month, then 2 days a everyother week for a month, the third month go for 5 days only. You'll be feeling pretty great after a five day cleanout. Work up to 10 days if you can of eating only fruit until noon, then steamed veggies until 6. Raw lettuce and sprouts are OK, but don't eat raw carrots, broccoli or hard to digest veggies - they have to be steamed. Lot's of good books on the subject.
Get a good colon regulator that's not too harsh, something with plantago, flax seeds, psyllium and best yet, triphala, so that you're moving the toxins out. Use it every night. A good natural foods store with a knowledgeable staff can help choose one. Again, LOTS of water.
Good herbs are dandelion root and milk thistle which is actually used in hepatitis to rebuild the liver. Take them in liquid tincture form rather than pills.
Glutathione is important in that it detoxifies and provides a good nutritional support for an amazing array of things. You can't just take it by the pill, however, but need to take it's precursors. SAME-e is good for this. There are some specialized denatured whey products that claim to boost glutathione levels. A good info site is www.immunesupport.com, however, they do sell products so again, you have to use discernment.
Also, there are loads of books on detoxifying, which primarily means taking the load off the liver. I'm sure your naturopath can give you alot of guidance here. But be careful of those who think ADs are evil incarnate and ascribe all kinds of bad health problems to them. They most likely have never been where we've been and just don't understand. The important thing is to keep taking what works, and to also realize there's a price to pay with any substance that has to get broken down by the liver. Oh, and did I mention alcohol? That's the hardest one for me since it can get me feeling good so fast! Hope this helps. Barbara
> Hey Bcat, my naturopath thinks that my memory problems may be related to toxic buildup of an AD in my system. Do you know anything about the effectiveness of fasting/homeopathic remedies to clear such problems?
>
> Elisa
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:106056
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020510/msgs/106693.html