In the 21st century, two things have become increasingly apparent:
- We are exposed to a more complex array of toxic compounds in our air, water, and food than ever before. The EPA estimated that in 1994 more than 2.2 billion pounds of toxic chemicals were released into the environment in the United States. That more than doubled to 4.7 billion pounds in 2002. There is mounting evidence supporting relationships between these toxins and a variety of chronic health issues. The connections to dysfunction are often subtle, multifaceted, and complex.
- An individual’s ability to detoxify or biotransform and excrete toxic substances, both exogenous (xenobiotics) and endogenous (products of metabolism), is of critical importance to overall health.
While the concept that toxins accumulate in the body and are the cause of various health problems has long been a fundamental tenet of traditional healthcare systems around the world, we have learned a great deal in recent years about how toxins affect us, where they are coming from, and how to improve our ability to detoxify in a toxic world. Understanding toxicity and taking practical steps to improve biotransformation are essential and critical pieces in any integrative approach to your patients’ health and well-being.
About the Detox APM:
The Detox Advanced Practice Module™ will focus on systemic influences of toxins and on how to help patients with tools that you can use immediately in your practice. We will supply you with the foundational background, insight, and in-depth clinical thinking to confidently work up and treat any patient who may present with conditions and signs and symptoms indicative of toxicity and/or impaired biotransformation. Our faculty team will discuss in detail the important laboratory evaluations to be considered, the appropriate clinical connections that must be made, and the treatment approaches that should be used. This program will provide a unique, hands-on, experiential, case-based, integrated approach that leaves you with the tools you need to apply a comprehensive functional medicine approach to your patients.
