Doing Detox Right Guest: Dr. B.J. Hardick

Transcription

1 Doing Detox Right Guest: Dr. B.J. Hardick The contents of this presentation are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This presentation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Dr. Minich: Hello, everyone. This is Dr. Deanna Minich, detox expert and author of Whole Detox. I m so excited to welcome you to this very special interview of The Detox Project. And it really is a special interview. I think everybody I ve been talking with has been just phenomenal. But this time around I m interviewing Dr. B.J. Hardick, who is one of the cohosts of The Detox Project. And I ve had such a great opportunity of getting to know him a bit, finding out about his background. He s got quite the credentials here. And I m going to tell you a little bit about him. What I find really interesting about him is that he was raised in a holistic family. I believe his father was a chiropractic physician. And that s also what B.J. does. In addition to being a chiropractic physician, he s an organic food fanatic, a green living aficionado, and he spent the majority of his life working in natural healthcare. He really knows his stuff inside and out. In 2009 he wrote his first book, which was called Maximized Living Nutrition Plans, which has now been used professionally in over 500 health clinics, alongside a follow up publication to which he was a contributor. And that was called The Cancer Killers. TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 1

2 Dr. Hardick serves on the advisory board for greenmedinfo.com, which is the world s most widely referenced natural health database. In addition to creating recipes and resources for drhardick.com, his strategies for natural health are featured on Food Matters, the Huffington Post, and Wellness.com. He is definitely energizing and passionate. And you re going to have a lot of fun just listening to him speak about what he does. He s just exuding this true motivation and dedication he has, this love for life and helping people to get well. So, Dr. Hardick, welcome to The Detox Project, which of course you re the cohost of, as well. Dr. Hardick: Well, thank you for all that you ve been doing to just bring this message to people for a few more years than I have. You ve reached tens of thousands of people already. And I m really excited about the number of people that we can reach through this project because I really believe that deep down the body is designed to heal itself. I think one thing that really binds all of us as holistic practitioners is this underlying philosophy and premise that the body was designed to be selfhealing. It s designed to be self-regulating, that truthfully the body doesn t really need a lot of help. But it needs no interference. And when we can look at removing interference from the body, the body s very capable of tremendous things, including all sorts of healing. And that s what we ve been hitting on, it s just in the world that we re in now identifying what those interferences can be with such a polluted planet, polluted food. Frankly, even some of the natural supplements out there are polluted, as you know. So making sure people can understand what those toxins can be and how they can avoid them really is a passion of mine. And that s why I m excited that this project is being able to reach so many people. And with the tremendous experts that we have on it as well, making sure that just these different facets of functional medicine are reaching people, really, really can transform millions of lives. Dr. Minich: Yeah, well, we re all hearing your passion. And before I get into a lot of the questions, what I first want to start out with is more of your personal journey because you came from a very holistically minded family. And you did all the right things. Did you ever have any issues with toxicity growing up ever? TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 2

3 Dr. Hardick: Well, I did not think that I ever had any issues with toxicity growing up. Now, looking back through my history, I dealt with some things, particularly in my teenage years, that I think a lot of us, we just would attribute to irregular hormones or puberty. So, for instance, I had horrible acne when I was in grade 11, grade 12. And of course back then I just attributed it to the fact that I was going through adolescence. Well, if it was just adolescence, not every 16-year-old kid has horrible acne. And frankly, we always went from a model of looking at all things really holistic first, drugs second, and surgery as a last resort. And I remember when all of my holistic interventions weren t working. I always wanted to kind of live up to that expectation of doing things naturally and doing things with as little interference as possible. When things weren t working, I just remember being in tears that I was actually going to go seek more of a conventional doctor for some type of medication to address this horrible acne that I had. And sure enough, I went down the road, that first line. I believe it was tetracycline, which did nothing. Then I got put on Accutane, which was this really, really, really more aggressive drug for my acne. The acne went away. Of course I learned many years later about some of the side effects that people could deal with as a result of taking Accutane. Unfortunately, I didn t think I had many of those side effects. Obviously we know that the skin is often a reflection of toxins trying to be released because the skin is an organ of absorption and elimination. So a lot of skin issues can be related to toxicity. And then of course I look at some of the complications with Accutane. And of course years later I m learning about this in school, about many people that went on Accutane had suicidal tendencies and all kinds of things, which of course is also consistent with heavy metal toxicity, which I was later diagnosed with. So that was more in my teenage years. I get to be about 30 years old. And I was a distance runner. I was exercising on a regular basis. I slept phenomenally well. I was following very much what I call an advanced plan method of eating or a Paleolithic method of eating. I really cut down all my starches. And I felt great. I did tremendously well. And then I was 30 years old. And all of a sudden, for no good reason, I start dealing with these severe gastrointestinal issues. And when you first deal with something you start to think, Okay, maybe it s just something that s going to TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 3

4 pass. It s an intestinal virus or just something short term. But when people start dealing with digestive issues, people don t realize that the digestive system really is the number one user of energy in your body. At least that s what I ve always learned. So when your digestive system is shot, you re shot. So here I was, a 30-year-old doctor, and I had all types of issues with alternating constipation and diarrhea. I had all types of food sensitivity tests done. I changed the way I was eating to see if something would change. But I just found that every single day in the middle of the day I would develop this horrible cramping in my body. And actually here I was teaching nutrition to people. And it was actually quite embarrassing because I m thinking, Wait a second. I thought I d figured this whole thing out. I thought I d figured out how to do food combining and test for food sensitivities and all this. But it actually led me down a path that even after a lot of testing -- I finally had the proper testing done -- which was not so much to find out which foods I was lacking but actually to find out which substances in my body were actually toxic. And that really gelled with my philosophy growing up, that the body is sometimes lacking very little. You live in North America, and I have a health food store just right down the street. And I had, as many North Americans do, access to a lot of great things to put in the body. But what I was not addressing was getting stuff out of my body that, as I would learn through the proper testing, had accumulated probably before I was even born. So that s how I got down this path of really looking at interference from a chemical level in the body, which of course now it s now brought us to this moment where we can teach other people about it so they can get their own health back. Dr. Minich: So when you talk about proper testing, what does that mean? What kinds of tests did you have? And what did you find out about you? Dr. Hardick: Well, obviously there are a number of tests. I believe here on The Detox Project we even have a couple of speakers where we re dedicating that entire interview to what type of tests are vital for people. Now, I had had a bunch of tests done that I still recommend for people, obviously looking at what your food sensitivities are, because we do find that when you re eating too much of the same thing, you can have a food sensitivity to it. I also find people that might have a food sensitivity to a food TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 4

5 that they never eat. Well, if that s the case, then you really need to avoid that food. Also, I had testing done that found out that I was okay with a lot of foods that I was eating. That was one thing. I also had some comprehensive metabolic testing to really look at what was going on at the level of my cells and my cellular energy to find out what supplements I may have been missing in my own nutritional regimen. And actually the problem was my body was so toxic and so screwed up that even though I was taking all these vitamins, I actually wasn t retaining anything. So I go get all this testing done, and I find out that I need to take a whole whack of vitamins that I thought I was already taking. So clearly there was something else going on. And actually it led me to a proper test for toxicity of heavy metals. I had a provoked urine sample, meaning instead of just a regular urine sample, I had to go through a 24-hour test to consume a certain chelating agent to make sure that whatever toxins were in my system I was slowly pushing them out through my urine over a 24-hour period to really, really see what would come out of my system. One of the things with detox is oftentimes you may look at something like hair analysis or you might look at a basic urine sample, and it might come up negative. And of course we know that that s often because the toxins and these environmental pollutants, they get stuck in the cells. So they re stuck in the nuclei. They re stuck in the mitochondria. They re stuck in the brain even. Certainly I ve seen children on the autism spectrum get tests done. And nothing comes out. That s because the pollutants are stuck in the body. So once I actually had this provoked heavy metals urine test, I was actually working with the lab very closely because I was trying to figure my own self out, and the gentleman from the lab looked at my mercury level, which was more than five times greater than what was considered the acceptable level of mercury in a person s body at that age. So my mercury was five times greater. And I was also excessively high in lead. I was excessively high in nickel. And I was excessively high in thallium. And of course I thought, Wait a second, how on earth did all this get in me? I did a little bit of research looking into where people can get heavy metal toxicities. And of course instantly when you do look on the internet, and you look up mercury toxicity, at least this is going back ten years ago, one of the first TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 5

6 things that came up was concern over thimerosal, which is a mercury derivative in vaccines. Well, being raised in a holistic family, I never had any vaccines. So that wasn t an issue. Obviously we know this. We ve had some speakers on The Detox Project addressing mercury in amalgam fillings because a silver amalgam filling is 50 percent mercury. It s funny. We call it an amalgam filling, but really we should just call it a mercury filing. A cheesecake is not all cheese, but it s largely cheese. So it should be called a mercury filing. And of course I had a couple when I was little, just in my baby teeth. There was an actor around that time who was diagnosed with severe mercury toxicity from eating too much raw fish. And of course that wasn t my issue. But what s interesting is I actually had my family tested, specifically my Mom. And when we looked at her levels, looking at all of the 17 toxic metals, her levels of mercury, lead, thallium, nickel, they mirrored mine. So obviously we realize now, and we know now through the research I started looking at a lot more of what comes from the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. And a lot of the people are really, really progressive in this field looking at toxicity. Toxins can actually cross the placenta. They can come through breast milk. And there are other ways that kids can become toxic just as a result of exposure that way. So obviously when I saw that mercury test, Deanna, it was one of the worst days of my life. But it was also one of the best days because it showed me what I needed to do. So I found out what my levels were. Dr. Minich: Now, did you ever find out why your levels of lead and thallium were also elevated? I know that we re focusing on mercury. But were there other things maybe in the soil? Were there environmental things in the area that you were living in that you think you could ve had that exposure from? Dr. Hardick: So looking at my Mom s heavy metal test versus mine, if there were any metals that all of a sudden showed up in the next generation as opposed to the first generation, then I would ve been more concerned about a direct exposure to me. However, since all of my Mom s levels were so similar in terms of which ones were high and which ones were low, I do have to assume that a lot of that came down through the placenta or through me breastfeeding. And it s a real wake up call for people because obviously we want our little TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 6

7 kids to be well. And now people instantly say, Well, what am I going to do about my kids? Well, this is the world that we live in. This is why you ve written your book. I ve written my book. It s why we re doing this project, because truthfully these noxious chemicals, they do need to be ridden from the system. In my Mom s day, though, that was really the lead generation. So back then, prior to me being born, there was leaded paint. There was leaded gas. I know in my parents home, frankly -- this was before I was born -- lead paint was an upgrade. And actually mercury was used in paint. So a lot of these things, they were used in the environment, when you think about it. It was the lead generation, the 1950s and the 1960s. So certainly I ve gone through a process of getting well. And definitely my mother has had to do that, as well, too. I ve had a lot of people looked at from those years. And my suspicion, Deanna, is that probably a lot of people that would be listening to this summit, who would come from what we call the heavy metal generations, so the 1940s, 1950s, 60s, 70s, you re going to deal with a lot of those heavy metal toxicities. They can now come down through generation to generation. Frankly, with the younger generation now, I don t know exactly how many new chemicals we re deriving every single year, but I can tell you that testing for these things, which things are involved in the production of pesticides, herbicides, all of the different plastics, all of the household products that kids can be chewing on, frankly, it s really, really scary. So we ve now gone from these 17 toxic metals to really thousands of individual chemicals that are approved by the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Safety. Kids levels are becoming quite high because kids bodies, the blood-brain barrier doesn t even fully develop until the age of seven. So kids, as they get this very, very slight exposure as a child, they re very, very susceptible. And that s how I think I got a lot of it, even though I then went through 30 years of eating organically and taking my vitamins and doing all the health practices that I thought were right. So it s a bit of a wakeup call that we all really need to look at some level of perpetual detoxification even if we ve made good nutrition choices in our life. Dr. Minich: Yeah, it s so true. And I m even trying to visualize your life span and the things that you ve done, you being an athlete and a distance runner, TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 7

8 just thinking of all the sweat. Heavy metals come out in sweat. And even then you weren t able to effectively reduce your toxic burden. B.J., you re just so knowledgeable. You know all these sources. You ve done all the homework. You ve looked into your own case to figure out where everything was coming from, where were your exposures. I m just wondering how would you guide a patient, even a pen and paper test, a questionnaire of some type, where they could kind of go through the different layers that they might be exposed to. Let me give you an example. One time long ago I had a patient who was doing stained glass. And stained glass of course is a hobby, at least for this person in particular. And obviously he was getting exposed to a lot of lead. Sometimes we may not know that the things that we re doing on a day to day basis are actually toxic. But we need that level of awareness. So is there a checklist somewhere that people can just run through, like do they have amalgams? Do they use pesticides? Do they have things in their home? Do they change their filters? How do we educate people into finding out where those exposures might be? Dr. Hardick: Well, absolutely through my seminars on nutrition and then certainly in the ebook that I produced call Real Detox, we actually put much of that questionnaire in there because so much of it is awareness at first. Certainly I went down the road of having all kinds of testing done. And I am a big, big backer of testing because if you don t know what your levels look like, it s really, really difficult to monitor your improvement. But obviously one of the first things that we do is look at what are your everyday exposures. So some of the questions that are on there, although we can t possibly hit every single question, is eye care products. Back in the 1980s, one of the major sources of mercury was the eye care products. Dr. Minich: Thimerosal. Dr. Hardick: Yeah. So when people that are going through a questionnaire and they re eating organic food but they realize that they used contact lens solution in the 1980s, well, that s a wakeup call. Usually the questionnaire that we ve incorporated has looked at heavy metals as one component. So that s when you re thinking about lead, lead paint, the lead generation, heavy metals, so getting into mercury and so forth. And then TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 8

9 we look at biological toxins, as well. So now you re thinking about molds, Lyme. There we think about okay, so could you have lived in a circumstance where you could ve had some type of mold generation in your home or your work environment. Maybe you have a flat roof, or maybe your home has a constant drip behind a toilet that you re not even aware about. And it s in a dark environment. Frankly, mold pretty much requires lack of oxygen, lack of light, water, and something to eat for 24 hours. Then you have mold. And you can have mold spores in your home when there s not necessarily water damage because your roof caves in, but when you have the slow drip or accumulation of water somewhere. Certainly also in that biological toxin type of evaluation you d be evaluating somebody to see okay, have they done a lot of camping? Have they ever had an obvious bite that could lead them to be concerned they may have had some type of Lyme or infestation that way? But then I also really get into, in the questionnaire, just the everyday products that really are in our food, pretty much the ones that would be in our food and then getting on our skin. So when it comes down to food, obviously you can ask people if they use certified organic foods. And again, the reasons why we re looking for that as well is obviously sprays of pesticides, additives, preservatives, all of these things. That s when you think about produce. One of the other questions that we ll ask people is, Are you consuming meat that is conventionally raised or certified organic? Obviously if somebody s consuming conventional meat, there s more of a concern, although it doesn t mean that there s not going to be any persistent organic pollutants in meat even if it s organic. But you know what? We know that there are going to be fewer growth hormones. It s really more of a practice that you re evaluating. You re saying are we limiting the number of exposures with foods? And then certainly even with vitamins, when people tell me they re taking vitamins, I like to look and say, Well, wait a second, is somebody taking the vitamins that you buy at the grocery store, where you also buy your cookies and your white flour? Or, if you re doing nutraceuticals, are you doing ones that come from a practitioner brand, which you know is allergen free, soy free, gluten free, doesn t have any fillers, doesn t have any excipients? So it s really just the pure source of the nutritional. A few years ago it was identified that there was TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 9

10 actually mercury toxicity in some of the whey proteins that are available just in your workout stores, which is unbelievable. Then the last piece that we look at is obviously what s going on your skin with your personal care products because this is a real biggie. Really our bodies are the dumping grounds for the petrochemical industry. Most of the personal care products that people are using really are using byproducts of the petrochemical industry. They re full of parabens and all sorts of chemicals that really can be endocrine disruptors in the body. So identify those sources, heavy metals, biological toxicities, pollutants in food, and then pollutants that you can directly be putting on to your skin. Again, if it goes on your skin it s in your body. So through a questionnaire we can identify, well, gee, how many of these things are in our lives? And one of the first things people can start to do is just start to reduce the number of exposures that they have on a day in and day out basis. It doesn t mean that you re going to be detoxing. But you re going to be limiting the amount of retoxing that you re doing for your body, at least starting to look at the habits. Dr. Minich: Excellent. As a scientist I m always looking for patterns. And one of the things that is coming up a lot in our discussion here is about the skin, which is one of the largest organs of course. I would like for you to talk a little bit about those products that we do apply to our skin. Talk about sunscreen, if you can. What do we use? Should we be using sunscreen? The different lotions and things that we apply to the skin, are these good or bad? Should we be going out just completely without any covering on our skin? Talk a little bit more about detoxing through the skin and what kinds of products we should be using, if any. Dr. Hardick: I actually did a little article and a video on sunscreen years ago. And it s still one of the most popular ones on my website. If people just look up Dr. Hardick sunscreen, I m sure they ll find it. It was also in GreenMedInfo. One of the things with sunscreen is when you flip that bottle over, you ll see that it has active ingredients, which is the exact same way that the active ingredients in a medication are listed. So people don t realize that conventional sunscreen is a topical medication for your skin. So the first thing is, obviously coming from the holistic world, I m thinking, Well, wait a second. I m TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 10

11 lathering a drug onto my body to change some type of physiological process? That just doesn t seem right to me. So when we look at types of sunscreen, obviously I like to look at something that doesn t penetrate deep down into the skin, but actually something that more sits on the surface of my skin and has more of a reflectant. Now, oftentimes you ll see people refer to titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Well, the thing is, titanium dioxide, we actually find that when that s exposed to UV rays, that actually creates free radicals, which is the last thing we want to be doing on the skin when we re trying to prevent cancer. So even when you look at like a zinc oxide, the one thing that people need to make sure of is that they re getting a non nanoparticle, so not a particle that s broken down so small that it can penetrate into your body. And it is true, when you look at a sunscreen that is actually going to have a reflectant ability on the body, it does stay a little bit more on the surface. And it might wash away a little bit more. And you know what? It might be a little whiter. So you might look a little funnier at the beach. But frankly I want to be looking funny at the beach until I m 95 or 100 years old. I don t want to be inside because I m not well when I m 80, or 60 for that matter, or 50. So those are some of the options there. So obviously sunscreen s a perfect example of something where I want it on the surface of my skin. Now the other oils, the other compounds when I look at a personal care product, I m looking for a product that has, generally speaking, certified organic, phytonutrients, and antioxidants, because if I m going to be penetrated with UV rays, and there s a risk for free radical formation, well obviously I can offset that by boosting up my body s own antioxidant s abilities. So that s why I like sunscreens that use antioxidants, phytonutrients, and non nanoparticles, zinc oxide. And it does the job. It does a tremendous job. It s really better enabling your body s ability to withstand the sun as opposed to just saying, Here, let s change the physiology of your skin, which really is medicating. It s an over-the-counter medication. And then when you look at other personal care products, really at that point it just comes down to reading the label. I know there are people in the detox world who are sometimes criticized for over generalizing the concept that if TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 11

12 you can t read it or if you can t pronounce it, then you shouldn t eat it or it shouldn t go on your skin because there are probably some big words that might be acceptable for your body. But you know what, Deanna? It s a pretty good rule. I prefer to say if it comes from an actual plant out of the ground, then it s probably acceptable. If it comes from a manufacturing plant on the side of the highway, that s probably something that you should avoid. So when people look at their personal care products, we re talking about the lotions, the shampoos, the nail polishes, their lipsticks, Cosmopolitan magazine did a feature not many years ago showing that a female on a day in and day out basis probably has 400 plus individual chemicals on the skin. And of course we study these things and identify that they may be safe in their own individual amounts, but what happens when we combine all these things? And what happens when we penetrate them into the skin every single day, and there s repeated exposure over time? And also, what happens when they re used on young children? So there are great organic companies now that use food based things. Really, anything you put on your skin, it should be safe enough that you should be able to eat it because again, if it s going on your skin, it s going in your body. So look for things that use avocado base, coconut base, aloe vera base. These things are the safer mechanisms. And you know what? People find that their skin is healthier. Their energy is better. Their breathing is better because they re not inhaling these things every day. But it s a big switch. And I think sometimes the changing the personal care products ends up being the last change that people make. But it s definitely a vital one to make. Dr. Minich: It is. I can remember having a patient where she was getting better and better. She was following a certain food plan. She had an autoimmune disease. And we just couldn t seem to nail the last piece. And the thing that we hadn t looked at was her use of personal care products. And then I asked her to bring them all in. And she brought in a huge garbage bag of everything that she used: toothpaste, deodorant, soaps, makeup, and hair dye. I remember reading, I think it was in the book Slow Death by Rubber Duck Dr. Hardick: I love that book. Dr. Minich: Yes, Canadian authors, too, right. TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 12

13 Dr. Hardick: I don t love it just because it s written by two Canadians, but it was written by two Canadians, yes. Dr. Minich: And what I recall, if I have this right, is that obviously women usually spend more time with personal care products. And they use more. And they have more chemicals, something on the order of like 12 products before breakfast. But men are not far behind. They re at eight products before breakfast. So if you think about it, I think men just kind of tune out when they hear personal care product talk. But I want to let men, especially through The Detox Project, know, if you re listening, that you re not exempt. Dr. Hardick: Well, yeah. Really the difference may be with some of the obvious things like lipstick and mascara. But again, men are not exempt by any means. And men really do need to switch over. And frankly, when you look at something like a shaving cream, when you look at an after shave, you look at a facial cleanser, a soap, any of these things really, we re all exposed to it. So people do need to pay attention. And you know what? There are some great homemade things that people can do. I have them on my site. You have them on your site. And there are also tremendous companies as well. The one thing that I will say is that through my years, I certainly find, when it comes to personal care products, not everybody wants to just take some coconut oil out of their coconut oil jar in their kitchen and put it in their armpit. People do like the idea of it feeling like a deodorant. So that s why, again, now we have this rise in the number of companies that are using nontoxic products so people can use products that look and feel like what they ve always used but then not have the toxic impact on their body. And generally people find they just feel a whole heck of a lot better. Dr. Minich: Yeah. And a lot of the more natural products, people complain that they don t work as well. Or there s kind of that middle ground, where you have some people that will say, I can compromise on these, but I can t on those. Let s just finalize skin here. What about skin brushing? Is that something that we should be doing to help with our lymphatic flow? How do you feel about just doing a very simple practice like skin brushing? TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 13

14 Dr. Hardick: I m a big fan of it. Frankly I like to combine it with infrared sauna just to kind of double up on two different detox practices that can be used there. And also, sometimes in the infrared sauna I can t use my iphone because it s too hot. So it s actually good because I get away from the wifi. I get away from that electronic pollution. And then I can obviously get into an infrared zone and work on detoxifying that way, because of course the detoxification benefits of the infrared sauna are huge. We have a whole interview on that right here on The Detox Project with Robby Besner that you did, actually. So people should be listening to that one. But obviously skin brushing is something that people can also do as well while they re in there. When you think about the skin and the lymphatic system, the body has always been designed to naturally detox. So look at something as simple as skin brushing is. You know what? If you look back through the history of detox, I had a tremendous opportunity to visit the Roman baths in the United Kingdom. And of course you go to this place, and nowadays you get people that really, really come down harsh on the holistic world. They say, Oh, all these detox products, it s just a joke. Your body has a liver. Your body has kidneys. Your body has a colon. Your body s detoxifying all the time. But you know what? We recognize that if we go back hundreds of years that there can be limitations to the body s detoxification abilities. And it s really, really interesting. A lot of these practices, they ve been used for centuries, something as simple as skin brushing, for instance. Actually, what s really interesting, Deanna, when you go to the Roman baths, you can actually see on the rock the discoloration where you d see mineral flow. So obviously one of the issues that we know happens when people detox is they can lose some minerals, which of course then need to be replenished in their diet. You can also sniff into some of the Roman baths. And they smell of sulfur. And of course people went there because there was this natural pulling of sulfur into the earth, into the baths. People would go and they would soak in them. So obviously now we have ways to more technologically advance all these things. But people have used these practices for hundreds of years. So detox really isn t a fad, obviously. TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 14

15 Remember, historically people were looking to detox from maybe the inhalation of coal from a fire or something like that. Or maybe the fungal toxins could have been maybe something that was released from a mushroom under a tree. But the problem that we have right now is the toxins that people are getting in, these are being made by the petrochemical industry. So they re going beyond the body s innate ability to even recognize them. So we have to work a lot harder. And then when you think about the indoor toxins, let s also not forget, too, that, again, historically I wouldn t even say historically. I would say even if you go back 50 or 60 years ago, before homes started to become very, very airtight, because obviously now we want our homes to be warmer in the winter and colder in the summer, homes are perfectly airtight. We re not getting a lot of air exchange. So historically there was a time when we would ve inhaled fewer toxins. And those that we would ve inhaled also would ve been probably a little easier for the body to recognize. Where now we re getting to a point where we re creating things that the body cannot recognize. And therefore there s just a greater need to pay attention to the detoxification pathways. Dr. Minich: Yeah, that makes sense. Well, the last thing I want to ask you is a question that I always get, which is, How do I detox safely? And, What if I m wanting to conceive? We started out this conversation talking about the toxicity that probably you inherited from your mother because with breast milk and just even the process of birth, we take on those maternal toxins. So what can women and men do? If they re thinking about having a child, how can they best prepare? And what if women are pregnant? Can they do anything? Maybe you can talk about those two levels there. And how do we do this safely? Dr. Hardick: This is a tremendous question. Deanna, as my cohost, I d like to thank you for asking me the question that probably needs the biggest disclaimer because of course when you look at any vitamin, even you look at a bottle of vitamin C, it says, Do not consume this if you are breastfeeding or if you re pregnant. It s such a concern. And I get the question all the time because people hear my story, and they say, I want to do a detox. But I m thinking of having kids. Or, I am breastfeeding. And there are a few ways to look at this. So Deanna, please do not let me off the hook because there are a couple of different avenues to look at on this. TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 15

16 Dr. Minich: Okay. Dr. Hardick: We ve started out by saying that detoxification is a natural process for the body. And we know that being exposed to sunlight and elevating our levels of vitamin D, that that can actually contribute to natural detoxification. We know that consuming foods that would be high in glutathione, that that also contributes to detoxification. We know that when people consume more cruciferous vegetables that that can actually, obviously, elevate their levels of antioxidants, more fiber. It can promote detoxification. So let s say someone is carrying a baby or looking to become pregnant, well they would want to do all those things, would they not? They would want to do anything that is going to improve their own individual health. So obviously there are these lifestyle strategies that everyone should incorporate. But now comes the question of saying, Well, now I need to look at do I follow a specific supplementation regimen specifically to detoxify? So I m no longer just saying that I want to exercise more, and I want to sweat more, and I want to do the sauna, and I want to sleep more because that ll help to detoxify me. But maybe I m actually going to go through a protocol. Or I read Dr. Hardick s story. I m dealing with mercury toxicity. I want to follow some of those heavy metal detox protocols that are laid out in his ebook, for instance. The first thing I say is this. Even the vitamin companies that specialize in testing things with kids, they ll always have that disclaimer on there. And really that is a liability concern. Now, when it comes to liability, the first thing I say is, Well, you re not going to stop getting some sunshine. You re not going to stop exercising just because you re pregnant, or you re going to have kids. You re doing things all the time that are helping your body detoxify. At the same time, no one would want to get into a situation where they start to go through such an aggressive detox that perhaps they start to move some toxins around in their body and then dump them into a baby maybe more aggressively than they would have if they were just getting lots of sleep. So obviously it s generally going to be recommended that if somebody is looking to conceive, or they are already pregnant, that detox isn t recommended for that period of time. You know what I say, Deanna? Detox can be tough on the body. So pick your battles wisely. I ve had this conversation with clients in the past who have said, Hey, you know what? I ve looked into the ingredients. I know all the TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 16

17 nutritionals that I m going to be taking. They appear that they re going to be safe. But I m like, Wait a second. You re still breastfeeding for six hours a day with your first baby. Your body is so taxed to begin with. Do you really, really want to do this now? So that s, generally speaking, when I have that conversation. Particularly with moms breastfeeding or moms that are pregnant, it comes down to saying, Well wait a second. There s a time and a place to detox. But not when my body s going through all these physiological changes. The truth is, when people do start detoxifying, specifically and sometimes aggressively, they can get kind of wiped out. I remember when I started detoxing I went from thinking that I was this great distance runner, and I had all this energy, and then all of a sudden my body s energy mechanisms started to change. I started needing more sleep because my body was clearing. And all of a sudden I didn t have the same energy. So I would suggest that when someone decides they re going to do something beyond a basic detox, looking at the sun and exercise and eating better. But when somebody s going to look at some form of supplementation, they really need to dedicate some time to that. People with kids would consult us. And they d say, Hey, I m pretty concerned that because I was so toxic that my kids could be dealing with some toxicity. What can I do there? Well, you know what? They re probably is a time and a place where you and your family will want to look at some family detox. But you need to identify a time when there s a not a lot of stress, when your body s not going through a lot of other physiological changes. And that even gets to this other main theory of just trying to only change so many things at once. I know when I look at certain chemicals in the body, that they can actually compete for the same receptor sites in the brain, as does sugar. So if somebody s going to do a serious chemical detox, don t also quit smoking. And don t quit sugar. And don t do all these things at the same time because your body can go through withdrawal. So I hope I ve answered that question in a few different directions there. I think everyone needs to do it. But recognize that the world is toxic to begin with. People also really need to pick their battles wisely when it comes to detoxification, while still recognizing that a perpetual detox is something that really everyone wants to incorporate if they really want to achieve optimal health. TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 17

18 Dr. Minich: Beautifully said, B.J. In fact, the way that I m thinking of it, too, based on what you said, is that detox is really a spectrum. And so it just depends on where we want to be on the spectrum, a little bit lighter and kind of every day detox, things that we would do with food and breath and sweating anyway, or is it an aggressive approach, which of course would be contraindicated for somebody that s going through something like that. Dr. Hardick: And very similar to you, in the ebook Real Detox, I look at basic detoxification, things that we all can do. There are some things that people can do whether they realize it or not. Then you have advanced detoxification. And there also is in there the threshold at which people need to recognize when they need to work with a detox professional. So they not only can monitor how well they re doing but also test their levels and monitor how well their body is responding. And that s why now in the world of functional and integrative medicine there are plenty of people that can do this. So it s no longer just that it s the individual in the health food store, and they re kind of out there in no man s land. People can definitely work with practitioners now that can help them identify are they following along the right paths. When they get their labs done, are all the right biomarkers showing up in the right direction? In my case, I was able to see an after result. I not only saw a horrible high level of mercury, which was five or six times greater than what it should be, but I saw that level cut by 90 percent because I followed protocols. And I continued to work with my practitioner. So when people want to go beyond lifestyle, that s where I think there s this beautiful field of functional and integrative medicine of practitioners that are helping people do it right. Dr. Minich: Well said. There are so many great takeaways here, B.J. And I m going to do my best to kind of consolidate as best I can and bring it full circle back where we started. I was taking copious notes while you were talking, by the way. So the first takeaway that I m extracting here is get tested to find out if you are detoxing properly before and after. So one of the first things that you mentioned was even in your personal journey really looking at why you weren t feeling well. You were doing all the right things, but it wasn t until you actually did the functional tests that you were able to see under the hood of what was really going on. So it sounds like you re an advocate of functional tests, which is great. TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 18

19 The second thing that I have is to really look at everything in your environment. Do an inventory. You mentioned eye care, which I thought was brilliant because many people don t even think about contact lens solution, all these different chemicals that we re bringing into the eye, which is a rapid turnover type tissue and very vulnerable. You talked about lead paint, biological toxins, Lyme, molds, the everyday products that we re exposed to, the meats that we re eating, the vitamins. I don t think many people think about vitamins. So I wanted to mention that as number two, really doing the inventory throughout your life. And as B.J. said, you can get more of that information in his 92 page ebook called Real Detox. The third thing that I have is about the skin. I do think it s relevant that you mentioned acne and skin and detoxifying through skin. These are all really relevant. There s good research now on acne and dairy and sugar and things like that, things that are toxins that are being processed through the skin. You talked about skin brushing and all the things that we re applying to our skin. You talked about sunscreen and gave some great tips. You mentioned the video that s on your site, if people want to know more about how to select a sunscreen. And then the final one, which I think is pivotal, and I d like this to be our final message, how do we go forward with detox for all generations. And it s really about thinking of multiple generations. So anytime we re looking to conceive or have children, really think about the toxins that we have in our bodies and try to get well as best we can because those toxins are carried on to the next generation. And in fact, in studies, what we see, at least in animal studies, is the transference of toxins for three generations. So B.J. probably those toxins were not even just coming from your mother but probably your grandmother and maybe even one generation before that. It s hard to say. So I think you ve given us some great pointers on how to safely detox along that spectrum of wherever you are in wanting to conceive. So B.J., this has been a pleasure. You are obviously a wealth of knowledge. And what really brings all that together is the passion that you exude for this, your commitment and really your dedication and how long you ve been doing this work with patients over all these years. So I want to thank you not just for this interview but for all of your momentum, your direction, your vision in terms of putting together The Detox TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 19

20 Project because it s quite an undertaking. I don t think many people listening realize all that s involved with these summits. But you ve done a phenomenal job of being the consumers advocate and really spearheading this whole venture. So I want to thank you so much. And I don t want everybody to forget your website either, which is drhardick.com. There s a wealth of information there as well. So thank you so very much for your commitment. We all appreciate it and really look to your other projects in the future, as well. Dr. Hardick: Thank you for teaming up with Jay Davidson and I, Deanna, because you ve really been way out in front in this topic for many, many years. We ve got a lot of people to help. And at the end of the day, that s what it s all about. Dr. Minich: It is. We re all in it together. So thanks again. And we look forward to the other interviews and really culminating all of this wealth of knowledge and getting it out there. So thanks everyone. Take care. TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 20

21 TheDetoxProject.com. All rights reserved. 21