Ever since the industrial revolution, with the prevalence of petroleum-based chemicals (including pharmaceuticals), diseases have exponentially increased. The correlation between diseases and the growing use of heavy metals and synthetic chemicals is alarming. Recent studies have conclusively proven that our natural detoxification pathways have not adapted to these toxicants, called xenobiotics (substances foreign to the body), adequately enough to be safely processed. In other words, these lipophilic, or fat soluble, xenobiotics are not fully converted into water soluble waste to be eliminated via urine or feces. Therefore, unhandled lipophilic toxicants lodge in our adipose tissues (body fat) where they cause mitochondrial dysfunction in fat cells.
The result of this damage, as well as the deficiency in nutritional building blocks from poor diet, manifests in most inflammatory diseases, autoimmune disorders, endocrine disorders, degenerative neurological diseases, and many cancers. Symptoms include chronic illness (especially in children), chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, adrenal fatigue, brain fog, insomnia, obesity, anxiety, depression, migraines, and many more common conditions.
In 1982, Dr. David E. Root pioneered the use of a sauna-based therapy, first developed by L.R. Hubbard and had been widely used for drug addiction, to treat workplace chemical, heavy metal, and radiation exposure injuries. For over 35 years Dr. Root has effectively administered this protocol personally to over 4,000 patients, and supervised detox programs both here and abroad.
Advancements in technology and research have further improved the efficacy and user experience of this unique protocol, and it is now offered as a preventive care modality called Detoxination® (detoxification + decontamination). The protocol consists primarily of niacin, exercise, and sauna in daily 2-hour sessions over a minimum of two-week period. Other supporting elements include polyunsaturated oils, lecithin, electrolytes, vitamins and minerals to replenish those lost to sweat, and binders consisting of activated charcoal, Bentonite clay, and/or micronized zeolite.
The goal of Detoxination is to first liberate fat-stored xenobiotics into the bloodstream, increase blood circulation through low impact aerobic exercise to deliver the mobilized toxins to the dermis layers, and then eliminate the majority of these toxins through sebaceous sweat from far infrared sauna. While some toxins may permeate the lining of the GI tract, binders are provided in order to absorb or adsorb these before they undergo enterohepatic recirculation (reprocessing by the liver).
Niacin, or Vitamin B3, is the key component required to liberate toxins from fat cells. Only pure, immediate release nicotinic acid can be used for Detoxination. Increasing daily niacin doses set up conditions for a substantial increase in toxin mobilization from fat cells by inducing a state called rebound lipolysis (for a comprehensive overview, click here to view our 48 minute video).
Dr. Root and his colleagues have published many peer-reviewed papers, some of which have been cited in over 25 other papers and one medical text, presenting the results from several detox projects:
1985-1987 – Capacitor workers in Semič, Slovenia contaminated by PCBs.
2003-2007 – New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project that treated over 4,000 First Responders, volunteers, and residents from Ground Zero after 9/11. Donations covered the cost of their treatment.
2007-2010 – The Utah Meth Cops Project funded by the State of Utah under supervision of Attorney General Mark Shurtleff to treat 68 police officers exposed to solvents used in the manufacture of methamphetamine during meth lab raids.
Other notable projects involving Dr. Root include:
1983-1985 – Dr. Root, a Vietnam veteran himself, personally treated several Vietnam veterans exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange. Excerpted from an article by Dr. Joseph Mercola from May, 2014, he states, “Dr. David Root has the most experience detoxifying the veterans with Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. He used niacin (vitamin B3) as a way to mobilize fat and free up toxic chemicals locked in all lipophilic fatty tissues, i.e. the fat and in your brain.”
A former Marine who fought in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange and other toxins said, “the program has changed my life, my physical well-being and my attitude toward a much better existence…. There is hope for those Vietnam vets who are still in the Vietnam War syndrome after being out of the war.”
Another Vietnam veteran wrote, “Memory is much improved, mind clear. I visualized that all of the Agent Orange, arsenic, filthy food and water I consumed in Vietnam came out of me here. Hallelujah! Headaches are gone — not one. I feel like I’d have to ram my head into a wall to get one ([they were] very frequent before). Back and neck pain are gone. Sleeping well. Cough gone. Overall sense of well-being is beyond description!”
2010-2015 – Gulf War Illness: Evaluation of an Innovative Detoxification Program, funded by government grant, studied 32 veterans with Gulf War Illness. This project was funded after several presentations to the EPA and the Presidential Special Oversight Board for Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf War Chemical and Biological Incidents by David E. Root, M.D., MPH, Col., USAF, (Ret.) in the late ‘90s. Study results were recently published that provide conclusive positive outcomes.
After a challenge to the California Medical Board was filed by four state physicians over Dr. Root’s medically unorthodox treatment of chemical exposures, he presented a 50-page scientific review to the Board of Quality Assurance in 1987. This report closed their probe, and allowed Dr. Root to carry on with sauna detoxification to save lives and improve the quality of life for his patients. The Detoxination Protocol is now administered by Daniel Root, the son of Dr. David Root, at their center in Rancho Cordova, California. He is the author of Sauna Detoxification Using Niacin: Following The Recommended Protocol Of Dr. David E. Root available at Amazon.com. A video tutorial course is now available at Teachable.com, as well. Remote Detox Coaching is also available for those who have access to a sauna or wish to acquire an infrared sauna.
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