The Detox Revolution

by Thomas J Slaga PH D, Robin Keuneke

Overview

Which foods really enhance your body's ability to cleanse itself of toxins? Which supplements work in conjunction with superfoods to supercharge your body's ability to fight disease? What lifestyle changes can add years to your life? Find out how to rid your body of life-threatening contaminants through the breakthrough program found in The Detox Revolution.

Throughout this powerful program, you'll discover:

• Ways to avoid exposure to common, harmful substances
• The important impact that diet has on supporting your body's ability to fight disease through detoxification
• Recommendations for nutrition supplements, including what kinds, how much to take, and the best times to take them
• An in-depth look at cancer... and how to avoid it
• The detoxifying powers of superfoods... including chocolate and coffee
• Dozens of easy and delicious recipes that incorporate these beneficial superfoods

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780071433136
Publisher:	McGraw-Hill Companies, The
Publication date:	03/15/2004
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	702,999
Product dimensions:	5.72(w) x 9.66(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Thomas J. Slaga, Ph.D. (Denver, CO) is the scientific director of the AMC Cancer Research Center, chair of the Center for Cancer Causation and Prevention, and deputy director of the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Research Center.

Robin Keuneke (Dunwoody, GA) is the author of Total Breast Health.

Read an Excerpt

{CN}Chapter One

{CT}Detoxification: The Key to Wellness

{T}The human body has two major detoxification systems for the elimination of damaging toxins. Since my early years as a cancer and nutrition researcher, I have been fascinated by the crucial role of these systems in preventing cancer and other degenerative diseases. All of us are exposed daily to health-threatening substances that increasingly permeate our air, food, and water. Why is it then that some people with clearly unhealthy lifestyles--such as smokers--can maintain health while others with healthier lifestyles--such as nonsmokers--develop cancer? There are many variables in each person's life that impact his or her health, but this question is best answered by taking a look at the body's ability to detoxify potential cancer-causing agents and other harmful substances.

{A}DETOXIFICATION AND YOUR HEALTH

{T}It's always amazed me--and to my colleagues at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and my research team at the AMC Cancer Research Center--that some people can be exposed for an entire lifetime to radiation, tobacco smoke, or other cancer-causing agents and never get sick. We now know that those people are protected by elevated levels of especially protective detoxification genes. They are truly the lucky ones. For those of us with average to weak inherited genetic protection, such lifestyles appear ill advised if not downright suicidal. We all must play the hand we're dealt, and as there is not a single unpolluted spot left on this earth, we can only control our environment up to a very limited point. We can minimize exposure to toxic conditions present in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the foods we eat. Those people who live in excessively toxic environments, whether at home or at work; who smoke and/or drink excessive amounts of alcohol; or who have bad diets are clearly putting themselves in harm's way. However they may rationalize it, what they are really doing is banking on having inherited strong detoxification systems. If they are right, they may avoid health problems for a long time. But if they are wrong, they will unfortunately become statistics in the mounting evidence that such reckless living leads to a higher probability of developing cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases. Since it is a statistical fact that most of us aren't lucky enough to inherit such strong detoxification systems, doesn't it make sense to reduce as much as possible the health risks from controllable external factors?

Despite great variations in individual genetic makeup, each of us can protect, strengthen, and enhance what we have with sensible lifestyle choices. To eliminate more than 70 percent of the risk factors that can lead to cancer formation and other degenerative diseases we need only make two such choices: eat a healthy diet and don't smoke. Such a proactive mindset would go a long way to help our detoxification systems help themselves.

{BH}Enhancing Genetic Function

{BT}Everyone is born with detoxification genes. These genes work best when supported by good nutrition and key supplements. Optimal genetic function allows the body to effectively absorb nutrients and to cleanse itself.

{T}A healthy diet containing lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes is key to countering the negative health effects of our increasingly polluted environment. Eating a variety of these foods provides access to vital sources of nutrients that support the body's ability to detoxify. As my early studies from the 1970s proved, flavonoids--plant chemicals or phytochemicals found in green tea, flaxseed, soy, and blueberries--provide a jump-start for the body's cleansing mechanisms, which helps to prevent cancer. Hundreds of scientific studies support the role of flavonoids in counteracting the effects of many different known and potential cancer-causing agents.

{BH}Flavonoids are Strong Detoxification Agents

{BT}Experimental studies of both humans and animals have shown many types of flavonoids to be very effective in detoxifying even the most dangerous toxic compounds.

{T}Many people still do not understand the importance of diet and supplements that help the body's detoxification enzymes to perform at optimal levels. As a result, these people lack the necessary amounts of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and beneficial phytochemicals to deal with toxic conditions created both externally and within the body itself.

There are more than two hundred published studies that suggest a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes leads to a decrease in cancer incidence. Also notable, 35 percent of all cancers are directly affected by diet and nutrition. In addition to the key nutrients--proteins, carbohydrates, and fats--a healthy diet supplies important phytochemicals that supercharge the body's detoxification system. Examples of such phytochemicals include flavonoids; D-glucarate, a potent detoxification compound, found in fruits and vegetables, that has been of particular interest to me in my research; many sulfur compounds found in cruciferous vegetables, onions, and garlic; diterpenoids and triterpenoids found in rosemary and other herbs and spices; and phenolic and polyphenolic compounds, such as those in tea and, more surprisingly, coffee. These important phytochemicals will be discussed in detail in chapters 3 and 4.

{BH}Diet Affects Genes Programmed to Eliminate Toxins

{BT}Inadequate nutrition can lead to poor performance of important detoxification genes and in turn lower detoxification-enzyme activity. This weakens the body, which easily can be overwhelmed by pollutants. Cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases may result.

{T}People who smoke and/or eat a lot of junk foods give their bodies even more to break down and eliminate. When these factors are taken into consideration, it's surprising that far more people don't get sick.

{BH}Protect Yourself from Harmful Substances

{BT}Try to avoid overcooking red meat, poultry, or fish; heterocyclic amines are formed in overcooked meats. Don't cook meat over charcoal briquettes; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are produced during the charcoal-burning process. Don't smoke cigarettes or use other tobacco products, which produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrosamines, free radicals, and aromatic amines. Decrease the amount of junk food you consume; nitrosamines and carcinogens are common in processed foods, particularly in preserved meats.

{INSERT ART C1A--CARTOON: MR/MRS SMART AND NOT SO SMART ABOUT HERE}

{T}Detoxification is a key bodily process designed to deal with health-threatening toxic conditions posed by our environment, our diets, and even our bodies themselves. There are many chemical processes taking place in the body all the time and some of these require a detoxification process after completing their work. For example, steroid hormones such as estrogens and androgens perform vital cellular functions within our bodies, but once a particular function has been performed, these chemicals can cause problems such as overstimulating breast and prostate tissues. Consequently they must be detoxified or removed.

{SBH}The Main Organ of Detoxification: The Liver

{SBT}The liver is the major organ involved in many processes of detoxification including the removal of toxins from the blood. Liver cells filter and destroy large amounts of chemicals, bacteria, and other harmful substances, whether those substances are created inside or outside of the body.

The liver also produces bile, which is needed for absorption and proper digestion of fats and excretion of detoxification waste products. It destroys and processes old red blood cells. The liver prepares the nutrients for other tissues of the body. It converts fats and proteins into fuel. It stores excess blood glucose as glycogen to be broken down and released back into general circulation when blood glucose is low. In addition, it serves as a storage site for vitamins B12, E, K, and D, and iron.

Excessive exposure to certain toxins or poisons can lead to liver damage. Alcohol, acetaminophen, cleaning fluids, industrial chemicals, mushroom toxins, and other chemicals can cause extensive damage if exposure is intense and/or long term. Certain viruses can also damage the liver. But this organ has a remarkable ability to regenerate itself under damaging conditions. In later chapters, I will discuss some breakthrough supplements that help to protect the liver from the damaging effects of chemicals and viruses.

{T}Although the liver is the main organ for dealing with toxic bodily conditions, it is by no means the only one. The body's line of defense against external threats is shared among the three major portals through which harmful agents gain entry into our tissues.

The first portal is the respiratory system where life-supporting oxygen enters the body, is converted to energy for the cells, and then exits in the form of carbon dioxide, a waste product.

The second portal is the digestive system. This system processes food we've eaten, then absorbs it into the circulatory system to be used as fuel and to provide building blocks for tissues and nutrients and other chemical components for critical bodily processes and reactions. The digestive system also determines whether ingested material is useless or dangerous by the body, and, if so, breaks it down and eliminates it through the intestines or absorbs it into the circulatory system to be eliminated via the liver

The third portal is the skin, which is the body's largest organ. The skin provides a barrier against external environmental pollutants.

{BH}Detoxification Occurs Throughout the Body

{BT}Enzymes essential for the detoxification of environmental chemicals and metals, as well as chemicals produced by our bodies such as steroid hormones, are not just found in the liver, where the bulk of the cleanup process takes place. They are also found in oral and nasal passages, the respiratory and digestive systems, the skin, and most organs and tissues of the body.

{A}THE BODY'S TWO MAJOR DETOXIFICATION SYSTEMS

{T}Humans--in fact, all mammals--have two major systems for eliminating harmful substances from the body: xenobiotic detoxification and antioxidant detoxification. It is important to understand both systems because, for good health, each must function at an extremely high level.

{B}The Xenobiotic Detoxification System

The first system, known as the xenobiotic detoxification, disarms health-threatening chemicals and metals from food, water, and air. It also neutralizes dangerous substances produced within the body. During this process of detoxification, which consists of many different types of complex enzymatic reactions, the body metabolizes or changes these substances to a less dangerous form (Phase I) and converts them if necessary to a water-soluble state (Phase II), something the body requires before it can effectively eliminate them.

{BH}Toxins Mix with Oil or Water

{BT}Toxic agents, whether environmental air and water pollutants; food additives; or internally produced steroidal hormones such as estrogens are either water based or oil based.

Scientists have a very good idea of how the processes of detoxification work. Cytochrome P-450 is an important class of Phase I enzymes. These enzymes add oxygen to various chemicals such as steroid hormones produced by the ovaries, testes, and adrenal glands, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a combustion byproduct, to make them less toxic. Then, because these toxins are highly fat soluble, Phase II has to bind them to other molecules (a process known as conjugation) to make them sufficiently water soluble for elimination through urination. Other toxic agents go through a similar process but are eliminated through the feces. Toxins are made water soluble through enzymatic processes involving glucuronide, glutathione, and sulfate, which is used in the enzymatic process to conjugate the steroid hormones in our illustration. Glutathione is employed in modifying particularly reactive toxins. But the majority of toxins, approximately 80 percent, are made water soluble by enzymatic processes involving glucuronide or glucuronic acid. These processes are called glucuronidation. Carcinogens such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrosamines, heterocyclic amines, aromatic amines, and many other toxins are conjugated by this process. Glucuronidation is the key Phase II detoxification process. It takes place in every tissue of our bodies.

In some cases, Phase I enzymes can actually increase the cancer-causing activity of environmental compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons if there is insufficient Phase II detoxification. Other enzymes involved in the metabolism of carcinogens, such as peroxides and transferase, can also lead to greater carcinogenic activity under certain conditions.

{SBH}A Phase I and II Reaction

{SBT}Oxidations, reductions, and acetylations are the Phase I enzymatic reactions necessary to decrease the toxic effect of chemicals, to make them more water soluble, and in some cases to facilitate subsequent conjugation reactions and excretion. Here is an example of Phase I and Phase II reactions followed by excretion:

{SBTCH}Phase I Reactions Phase II Reactions

{SBTT}Toxins conjugation with excretion in

carcinogens cytochrome either glucuronide, urine or feces

steroid hormones P-450s sulfate or glutathione

sterols

{T}Perhaps by now you are beginning to feel a bit of the awe I have for this marvelously elegantly protective system of the body. But at this stage of the discussion, awe gives way to drama, because through an apparent perversity of nature, an enzyme called b-glucuronidase acts to reverse the work of glucuronidation, thereby reintroducing toxins--including steroid hormones such as estrogens and androgens--back into the body.

It has been suggested that b-glucuronidase, which is found in many tissues throughout the body, is intended to work as a salvage enzyme, recycling important compounds made within the body for further work. But something obviously went wrong because when it is applied to toxins, cancer-causing agents, and steroid hormones, it appears that rather than serving the body well, b-glucuronidase does damage. What we know about b-glucuronidase is that it exists in all of us in different concentrations. High levels of this enzyme in the body have been associated with an increased risk for cancer development, whereas low levels indicate a decreased risk. Elevated levels have been observed in people following exposure to tobacco smoke, industrial chemicals, and other cancer-causing agents such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrosamines. I have already mentioned my interest in the compound D-glucarate, which is found naturally in fruits and vegetables. Here's why it's so important: D-glucarate has been found to be a potent inhibitor of b-glucuronidase. People who eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables and who supplement with D-glucarate often have low levels of b-glucuronidase. This is because an active constituent of D-glucarate actually and very effectively halts the reversing affect of b-glucuronidase on the glucuronidation and preserves its good work in eliminating toxins from the body.

{BH}D-glucarate is a Potent Detoxification Agent

{BT}Significant levels of the beneficial compound D-glucarate are found in cruciferous vegetables including cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, watercress, alfalfa, and bean sprouts. Apples, grapefruits, cherries, and apricots also contain high levels of D-glucarate.

{T}In this inhibiting role, D-glucarate has been found to have a protective effect against cancers of the breast, prostate, lung, colon, bladder, and skin. It has been observed in research studies of the detoxification process to safely regulate bile acids and steroid hormones to levels that are not likely to progress to cancer. In other scientific studies, D-glucarate has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Not surprisingly then, high levels of D-glucarate in the blood are associated with a decreased risk of cancer and low levels with increased risk. D-glucarate has also been shown to lower triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL, and vLDL (the so-called bad cholesterol), while not affecting HDL (the so-called good cholesterol). And in studies of both humans and animals, no toxicity has been associated with the consumption of D-glucarate.

The significant role D-glucarate appears to play in the xenobiotic detoxification will be discussed throughout this book.

{SBH}Sources of Toxins Controlled by the Xenobiotic Detoxification System

{SBT}Exposure to certain substances found in our own bodies as well as substances in our environment can have destructive effects on health. Xenobiotic detoxification helps to eliminate toxic compounds from many sources.

{SBTCH}In the Environment Within the Body

{SBTT}cigarette smoke androgens

tobacco products estrogens

certain drugs other steroids

combustion by-products bile acids

charcoal-cooked meats other cellular chemicals

overcooked meats

herbicides and pesticides

organic solvents

toxins in food

{B}The Antioxidant Detoxification System

{T}Antioxidant detoxification involves deactivating or destroying what are know as oxygen reactive species, the most significant category of which is free radicals. At the risk of oversimplification, free radicals can be thought of as very unstable electric charges--sparks--that if not properly controlled can set up extremely serious toxic conditions within the body. Free radicals can be generated by environmental factors such as exposure to cigarette smoke and other pollutants or created from internal reactions such as mitochondrial respiration (the use of oxygen to generate energy), by-products of chemical metabolism, inflammation from strenuous exercise or physical work, and the intake of too many calories. Excessive free radicals rob electrons from normal, healthy tissue creating potentially serious damage at the cellular level. Even more profound, we have recently realized that unchecked free radicals can modify DNA structure, possibly leading to mutations and altered gene programming that can initiate the cancer process. Parkinson's disease, cataracts, artherosclerosis, sperm abnormalities, emphysema, sickle cell anemia, abnormal aging, and stroke are all significantly linked to excessive free radicals in the body.

Fortunately, free radicals can be destroyed by these elements by

{BL}specific antioxidant enzymatic reactions

antioxidants, which are found in a wide variety of foods and are even produced by the body itself

certain phytochemicals with antioxidant properties, including flavonoids, sulfur-containing compounds such as those in onions, terpenoids from herbs and spices, and D-glucarate

{BH}Free Radicals Are Not Always Bad

{BT}Researchers at Ohio University have found that certain free radicals, also known as oxidants, play a key role in repairing blood vessels damaged by the buildup of cholesterol. Dr. Goldschmidt, director of the university's Heart and Lung Institute, told the Journal of Circulation Research that oxidants often have a highly positive effect on the process. In addition, protective immune cells called macrophages use free radicals to kill bacteria and viruses. Only in excess are free radicals dangerous. It is now possible to determine the level of free radical damage in an individual by taking a blood or urine sample. This will be discussed further in Chapter 9.

{T}In the enzymatic processes, a group of important antioxidant enzymes work together systematically to destroy various free radicals and other reactive oxygen species. All of us inherit these enzymes to some degree. Those with high levels won't have much trouble with free radicals but those with low levels need to take special care. Most of us fall somewhere in between. Here again, I must risk becoming overly technical in order to explain how these processes work.

The antioxidant enzymes important to the enzymatic processes include several superoxide dismutases (SODs), catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, thioredoxin reductase, and ascorbic acid reductase. How they are employed depends on the task at hand. Take, for example, superoxide, a highly reactive oxygen molecule. The formation of superoxide is a normal physiological process but excessive amounts can lead to damage and must be detoxified. There are three different SODs that enzymatically convert the dangerous superoxide molecule to hydrogen peroxide, and then the antioxidant enzyme catalase finishes the job by converting hydrogen peroxide to harmless water and normal oxygen. These SODs need either manganese, copper, and/or zinc for their important antioxidant function.

Another family of antioxidant enzymes, ones that contain the important mineral selenium are called glutathione peroxidases. These enzymes are capable of neutralizing other types of peroxides, such as lipid peroxides, which can give rise to free radicals and alter important lipids in the body's cellular and nuclear membranes leading to a chain reaction called lipid peroxidation. This process is definitely not good for cells and can be a factor in many degenerative diseases.

For antioxidants to be effective in destroying all types of free radicals, they must be in what we call a reduced state. The antioxidant enzymes glutathione reductase and thioredoxin reductase (another selenium-containing enzyme) play an important role in this. Finally, ascorbic acid reductase keeps ascorbic acid (vitamin C), an important dietary antioxidant from fruits and vegetables in a reduced state so that it can effectively neutralize certain free radicals and in turn help to keep vitamin E, another antioxidant, in a reduced state as well.

The cells of our body produce many chemicals with antioxidizing activity against free radicals. Important examples include glutathione which is probably the best known as well as coenzyme Q10, alpha lipoic acid, L-methionine, L-glutamine, taurine, bilirubin, cysteine, and uric acid. These antioxidants help protect important DNA, proteins, and lipids from free radical damage.

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes contain many dietary antioxidants to help fight against free radicals including vitamin E, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), and several carotenoids including b-carotene, lutein, and lycopene. These foods also contain many different phytochemicals with antioxidant properties including flavonoids, isoflavones, polyphenols, sulfur-containing compounds, and terpenoids.

In addition to the direct effect that antioxidant activity has on keeping free radicals in check, it also gives support to xenobiotic Phase I and II enzymes further improving the overall detoxification process. The xenobiotic and the antioxidant detoxification systems work together to decrease the burdens imposed by toxins and free radicals allowing individuals to live longer and healthier lives.

{SBH}Sources of Free Radicals Handled by the Antioxidant Detoxification System

{SBTCH}In the Environment           Created Within the Body

{SBTT}cigarette smoke            respiration for energy

radiation            overeating

ultraviolet light            inflammation

ozone            reactions to iron and other metals

combustion by-products             overexercising

certain drugs, pesticides, and

industrial solvents

other environmental pollutants

{A}DETOXIFICATION OF HEAVY METALS

{T}Detoxification of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and nickel is a complex function. The body processes metals through a particular metabolic pathway, depending on whether they appear as organic or inorganic compounds or as the elemental metals. Characteristically, heavy metals accumulate slowly in the body, and have half-lives that may span many years. This causes a disruption of homeostatis or normal cellular and organ function, which can lead to a disease state. Heavy metals can alter normal mineral balance, suppress the immune system, and do damage to the brain, heart, kidneys, and liver. Heavy metals are more absorbable on an empty stomach, so it is always advisable to eat regularly and avoid skipping meals. Not surprisingly, fruits and vegetables are at the top of my list of foods I recommend be eaten with great frequency because we know that many phytochemicals contained in them, including polyphenols and silymarin, are able to bind (chelate) heavy metals and help prevent absorption. Even if heavy metals are absorbed, sulfur- and sulfhydryl-containing amino acids, such as L-methionine and cysteine, are very effective components in their detoxification. Glutathione, a sulfur-containing molecule, is one of the key agents in the body for the detoxification of heavy metals. Methylsulfonyl-methane (MSM), which occurs naturally in the body, in addition to being an effective free radical scavenger, is an excellent source of sulfur for this purpose.

{BH}Heavy Metal Detoxification

{BT}MSM and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) are both very effective antioxidants and detoxifiers of heavy metals.

{A}METHYLATION: AT THE FOREFRONT OF NUTRITION RESEARCH

{T}Methylation is a biochemical process that is crucial for life. It is the initiator of many protective activities, such as transcribing genes, creating or converting critical compounds, and detoxifying harmful chemicals, including homocystine. The liver, the major detoxification organ, depends on methylation to perform many enzymatic reactions required to detoxify drugs and foreign chemicals. Recent breakthroughs in the study of this process have propelled it to the forefront of scientific interest.

The primary methylating substance, s-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) is formed when methionine, an amino acid, reacts with adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an energy molecule. Although not an antioxidant, SAMe reverses DNA damage by free radicals. Levels of SAMe have been shown to decrease with age.

Methylation deficiencies can bring on cancer and other chronic diseases, heart disease, depression, and accelerated aging. Elevated homocysteine levels can be a sign of a methylation deficiency throughout the body. High levels of homocysteine can cause lipid peroxidation and sticky platelets and can promote the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. In general when cholesterol is elevated, so is homocysteine; both situations are known indicators for heart disease and stroke. To maintain a low level of homocysteine, it has to be methylated by SAMe and converted back to methionine or cysteine, which is further converted to glutathione. Natural detoxification of homocysteine can only occur when enough B vitamins are present. The conversion to methionine requires sufficient folate and vitamin B12; the conversion to glutathione requires sufficient vitamin B6. These vitamins plus trimethylglycine (TMG) are effective in lowering homocysteine. Most Americans eat plenty of meat so they get large amounts of methionine. Unfortunately, however, the majority of Americans do not eat enough fresh vegetables and whole grains to get sufficient B vitamins. B vitamins are essential in keeping elevated homocysteine from becoming a health problem.

With new breakthroughs in the study of methylation, we now have an answer for why free radicals damage DNA and in turn cause cancer, a question that has eluded scientists for decades. Researchers at Northwestern University found that when a small area of DNA is oxidized, the result is that methylation is altered. As soon as this occurs, protective genetic function is eliminated and cancer genes are free to activate. Scientists now realize that free radical damage occurs through abnormal methylation and that normal methylation keeps cancer genes at bay.

{A}CALORIE INTAKE MANAGEMENT

{T}As sound scientific animal research has demonstrated many times, decreasing caloric intake can positively increase the capabilities of the detoxification system. Studies involving rodents, for example, have shown that decreasing caloric intake by one-third increased their lifespan and protected them against cancer, immunological dysfunction, heart disease, and delayed in the onset of other degenerative diseases.

Significantly for our purposes, it appears that the major health benefit of caloric restriction is a decrease in free radical damage and enhanced xenobiotic detoxification. Caloric restriction has been shown to prevent the overproduction of estrogens, androgens, and other hormones, to decrease the potency of cancer-causing agents, to slow cell proliferation (cell proliferation is a requirement for cancer growth), and to normalize respiratory function, which is important to prevent energy formation from throwing off free radicals. When all of these factors are taken together the evidence shows a reduction in the burden on our detoxification systems.

Experiments using mice have demonstrated the significant positive effects of calorie restriction. In one experiment, two groups of one hundred mice each were fed a healthy diet of scientifically blended proteins, carbohydrates, essential fats, and important vitamins and minerals, generally speaking a diet as good as if not better than what most people consume. The control group was allowed unrestricted access to the food. The experimental group was denied the food one-third of the time--effectively a one-third reduction in calories. In this study, the control group lived approximately two years; the experimental group lived beyond two years for approximately eight months longer. Eight months may not seem like a long time in human terms, but for mice it represents a significant increase in lifespan. In another study with mice, using a similar protocol, both groups were given a potent cancer-causing agent. The results revealed that the experimental group living on the restricted diet displayed greater xenobiotic detoxification of the agent that the control group enjoying unrestricted access to food. One more example involves a study of transgenic mice, mice with known genetic mutations that under normal conditions usually develop cancer and die within three to four months. In this study showed that when the mice with the bad genes were placed on restricted diets, a much longer period of time elapsed--almost eighteen months--before the cancer even developed. And it was specifically noted in the study of these mice that calorie restriction significantly decreased free radical damage and increased xenobiotic detoxification capabilities.

{PLACE ART C1-B CARTOON COMPARING DINNER PLATES HERE}

Table of Contents

	Introduction	v
Part 1	The Detox Revolution
Chapter 1	Detoxification: The Key to Wellness	3
	Detoxification and Your Health	3
	The Body's Two Major Detoxification Systems	8
	Detoxification of Heavy Metals	15
	Methylation: At the Forefront of Nutrition Research	15
	Calorie Intake Management	16
Chapter 2	Decreasing the Burden on Your Detoxification Systems	19
	Twenty Lifesaving Recommendations to Boost Your Body's Ability to Detoxify	20
Chapter 3	Superfoods That Detoxify	39
	Mother Was Right! Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables	41
	The Power of Pigmentation	47
	Spice Up Your Life	50
	The Staff of Life	51
	Essential Fats for Disease Prevention and Detoxification	52
	Dr. Slaga's Top Superfoods for Detoxification	55
Chapter 4	Insights from Traditional Diets	61
	My Grandparents' Diet	62
	Lessons from Okinawa	64
	The Mediterranean Diet	65
	Range-Fed or Grain-Fed Animals	66
	Detoxification Food Guidelines	68
	Problems with the U.S. Government Dietary Guidelines	69
Chapter 5	The Need for Basic Supplementation	75
	Constructing the Optimum Nutritional Supplement Formulation	77
	The Oil-Soluble Vitamins	77
	The Water-Soluble Vitamins	80
	Minerals	83
	Amino Acids and Related Compounds	88
	Adding It All Up: Dr. Slaga's Optimum Formulation	89
Chapter 6	Beyond Basics: Breakthrough Supplements for Detoxification	93
	Supplements for Phase I and Phase II Detoxification	95
	Supplements for Antioxidant Detoxification	103
	Supplements for Enhancing Methylation	109
	Compounds for Preventing Breast and Prostate Cancer	110
Chapter 7	Key Supplements for Chronic Disease Prevention	113
	Preventing Cardiovascular Disorders	113
	Preventing Inflammatory Diseases	116
	Boosting the Immune System	117
	Preventing Diabetes and Obesity	119
	Preventing Brain Degeneration and Aging	122
Chapter 8	Detoxification Endgame: Avoiding Disease	125
	How Does Cancer Develop?	125
	Detoxification Strategies for Cancer	128
	A Cancer Diagnosis	130
Chapter 9	Putting It All Together: The Detox Revolution Program	133
	Your Health Evaluation	133
	Implementing the Detox Revolution Program	138
Part 2	Detox Recipes
Chapter 10	What You Need to Know and Have	147
	Breakfast Is Still the Most Important Meal	147
	Wheat	148
	A Well-Stocked Kitchen	148
	Cooking Glossary	150
Chapter 11	The Recipes	151
	Breakfasts	152
	Soups	158
	Dressings, Sauces, and Dips	163
	Salads	170
	Vegetarian Dishes	180
	Seafood Dishes	187
	Pasta Dishes	196
	Chicken Dishes	202
	Desserts	205
	Resource Guide	211
	Bibliography	221
	Index	237