A Functional Medicine Look at Detox and Cleanses for Breast Health Awareness Month
I know, I know! It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I am an Obgyn! So I should be writing about breast health, right?
Let me explain.
What This Has to Do With Breast Health
If you visit my Instagram, you will see that my mission has been to help people avoid toxic people, places and things. It is why I created Whole Body Detox Spa.
And now you are wondering what this has to do with breast health. I have to tell you, it has everything to do with it!
Toxins Are Everywhere
Every day we are bombarded with toxins in our air, water, food. Not to mention our clothing, cars, and the off-gassing of packages we ordered and unboxed in our homes.
I could go on and on. Just think about all the plastic you are exposed to every day:
Food and Drink
Food wrappers in the grocery store
To-go utensils and disposable cups
Grocery bags and shopping bags
Food storage containers, like Tupperware
Plastic cutting boards
Personal Care
Sunscreen tubes
Toothpaste tubes
Shampoo, lotion, and makeup packaging
Everyday Objects
Ink pens
Keyboard keys
Phone cases
Did you know that receipts (those long strips of paper from CVS, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Old Navy, etc) are coated with a plastic, BPA?
And, BPA, or a plastic substitute for it, lines most cans that contain food to keep them from rusting. That means almost all canned food!
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs)
All plastics are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). These cause hormone imbalances that can lead to infertility, endometriosis, fibroids, PCOS/PMOS, and yes, breast diseases, including cancer.
Other EDCs to know:
Phthalates: fragrance chemicals, think air fresheners, makeup, nail polish, etc. Also found in shower curtains, vinyl flooring, IV tubing, and toys
PFAS: non-stick coating
PAH: car fumes, smoke from fires, fumes from gas-powered lawn equipment or propane-fueled BBQ pits
You see, they are all around you, once you know what to look for!
Detox vs. Cleanse
This is why we need to distinguish between Detox and Cleanse.
To some, they may be the same, depending on how they define these terms.
To me, a detox is a program that helps you support your liver gently while following an eating plan that removes the foods most likely to expose you to toxins, including:
Non grass-fed red meats and any conventionally raised poultry, farm-raised fish, or conventionally produced eggs
Non-organic dairy: butter, cheese, yogurt, kefir, from any animal
Non-organic GMO grains: wheat, corn, barley, oats, etc
Non-organic/GMO beans/legumes or oils
Non-organic/GMO coffee/tea/kombucha
Along with these removals, the focus is on consuming organic, non-GMO legumes, nuts&seeds, oils, fruits and veggies and spices. I typically recommend only low-fat pasture-raised poultry (no red meats) or low-mercury wild-caught fish (salmon, sardines, anchovies) on the first few days, followed by only vegetarian meals for a few more days and then wrap up with a few days of similar intake from the first three days.
This alone will help reduce toxins coming in and help somewhat to lower the overall toxin burden we carry but it is also augmented with a detox supplement (there are several that I recommend:
Advaclear by Metagenics
Detox Formula by Vital Nutrients
Pure Body Clear by Energetix
You can even add a detox shake mix, UltraClear Renew from Metagenics or Core Support by Ortho Molecular, for extra support.
The emphasis in distinguishing between Detox and Cleanse is on the power behind it. Think of a detox plan as a gentle autumn breeze. It may knock down some leaves and acorns and a few twigs, helping the tree to remove unnecessary hangers-on.
A cleanse is more like the tropical storm that blew through here in Georgia last weekend.
There are large branches down, a flurry of pine straw that coats everything, small branches everywhere; you get the idea. The cleanse gets rid of things you didn’t even know you needed to release!
What Does a Cleanse Look Like?
I think conventional medicine would call it extreme, but the idea behind it is to use plants and their amazing properties to help the body release toxins and heal. Nothing else is used, just plants! And even some plants are avoided.
My current cleanse is based on information gleaned from the Medical Medium series. One of my patients discovered his books and began to use his cleanse to heal her chronic infections and feel better. She gifted me with his first book and I bought several others, curious to know the specifics of what she was doing to help her heal. I found the specifics in his book, Cleanse to Heal.
In medicine, it is important to stay open and curious; otherwise you have the conventional model of hunting for a 'label' to put on symptoms and match it to a pharmaceutical. Then side effects from the drugs are addressed with more drugs! A vicious cycle that doesn't heal; it just covers up the underlying problems.
Besides the principles of the detox, the cleanse requires a 9-day commitment and avoidance of everything in the detox PLUS all fats (even healthy fats), salt, beans and all animal products, except the first few days when you can elect to have a serving of wild-caught salmon or sardines at dinner.
He has written several books, each addressing specific cleanses for specific conditions, autoimmune, chronic Lyme, chronic EBV, infertility, PCOS, and more. I am loosely following the general cleanse outlined in Cleanse to Heal, since I am not battling any of those specific conditions myself, unlike many of my patients. But I always like to experience something before I recommend it. I am my own guinea pig, a cohort of 1.
My Cleanse, Day 5
I'm on Day 5 of the cleanse and have lost 4 pounds (he says this may happen and will likely be water weight or stuff that has been stuck in your colon that is being loosened and removed). I feel like I have more energy and less joint stiffness. Overall, all is good, except I miss my chocolate that I consumed nearly every day!
I wasn't eating chocolate bars! Just organic cacao powder and/or cacao nibs in my smoothies. They have fat and caffeine, both of which are to be avoided in the cleanse period. Fat, because it slows down the liver (yes, even healthy fats) and caffeine because it taxes the adrenal glands. The cleanse also helps to restore the adrenal glands.
Once I've completed an entire cleanse, I hope to help individuals design their own personalized cleanses, because there are a lot of options within the structure of the cleanse. It does rely a lot on just a few things, which helps the body focus on healing and be free from dealing with non-helpful foods.
Back to Breast Health
Circling back to breast health, we can have healthier bodies through occasional (or even frequent, depending on your situation) cleanses.
Cleansing not only releases EDCs and stored toxins and heavy metals, but it can also restore the adrenal gland. The adrenal gland needs to be functioning normally for the immune system to do its best and the immune system's job is to detect cancer cells and gobble them up!
Thermography and Breast Health
Also important in breast health (and overall health) is knowing where inflammation lies in your body. Intense inflammation localized to the breast or other areas can evolve into cancer. If you have not heard of thermography, it uses infrared heat seeking technology in a controlled environment to detect inflammation.
A few things to know about thermography:
Infrared cameras detect areas of increased heat in the body, often a sign of inflammation or abnormal activity before it’s otherwise detectable
Tumor growth typically increases blood flow to the area, and more blood flow means more heat for the camera to pick up
Used for breast cancer screening since the 1950s, and FDA-cleared in 1982 as an adjunctive tool, meaning it’s used alongside mammography, not instead of it
No radiation involved, yet another toxin/carcinogen we regularly encounter, making it a comfortable option for monitoring breast health over time
This month, we are partnering with Precision Thermography to offer breast scans, half-body scans, and whole-body scans, right here at our office in Alpharetta.
It’s one day only, October 26, 2026, though we're hoping she will come back quarterly if there is enough interest.
Scans can detect potential problem areas long before they become issues, using infrared heat detection, with no radiation exposure (yet another toxin/carcinogen we regularly encounter).
If you want to secure a spot, you can book directly with her at 404-991-9094, or contact our office for details.
A Whole-Body Connection
Everything in this post connects back to the same idea: the fewer toxins your body carries, and the better your organs of detoxification, immunity, and hormone regulation function, the better equipped you are to catch problems early and keep your whole body well. A detox or cleanse helps reduce the toxic burden your body is carrying.
A functioning adrenal gland supports a stronger immune system. And thermography gives you a window into what’s happening beneath the surface, often before it becomes something bigger. None of these stand alone.
Together, they’re all part of taking a proactive, whole-body approach to your health, including your breast health.
Comments