7 Day Detox Miracle

Book Review by Janet Bridgers

7 Day Detox Miracle
by Peter Bennett, N.D., Stephen Barrie, N.D., with Sara Faye
Foreword by Jeffrey S. Bland, Ph.D.

From a consumer perspective, 7-Day Detox Miracle: Restore Your Mind and Body's Natural Vitality with This Safe and Effective Life-Enhancing Program, offers a great "package deal." On the one hand, its an excellent combination of highly readable biochemical information that forms the basis for an easy-to-implement self-help program. And on the other hand, it includes an impressive list of scientific references organized by subject, that can alleviate any misgivings mainstream practitioners or cynical friends or family members may have as to the proven validity of the detoxification approach for protecting or recovering wellness.

It offers the reader the combined wisdom of Dr. Bennett, an N.D. in British Columbia who has been using detoxification techniques with his patients for 20 years, with that of Dr. Barrie, also an N.D., who founded one of the best diagnostic testing labs in the country (the Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory in North Carolina). Both graduated from Bastyr University in Seattle, the U.S. school of naturopathy that's working most closely with the National Institutes of Health to research alternative therapies.

What I like best about this book is that it brings a wide spectrum of information together, makes it easy to understand, and then presents the reader with a program that's safe, relatively easy and inexpensive to follow.

The basic program is a two-day, water-only fast, followed by five days of all-you-can-eat in the categories of rice, fruit and vegetables. This is augmented, among other things, by hydrotherapy techniques to dramatically improve circulation. It's possible to actually do the program while working, though planning it for a lower-than-usual-stress week is a key to success.

The book informs the reader on not only nutrition and supplementation, but also on physical aspects including exercise, yoga, saunas, and hydrotherapy. IN addition, it addresses less tangible areas that affect millions of people who are suffering, by emphasizing how and why a positive mental outlook relates to physical health. It thereby encourages a person to wade through emotional "swamps" that may be blocking an individual's journey back to health.

I was fortunate to attend a three-hour evening workshop in which Dr. Bennett presented the core information in his book.

The first half of the evening was devoted to a subject covered thoroughly in the book: Health from an individual cell's perspective. The following quote describes the concept very concisely.

"The needs of cells are very simple. They are not greedy, needy, neurotic whiners. Each cell wants only three things: food (nutrients), a little conversation (the cell-to-cell communication that drives the metabolic machinery), and perhaps most importantly, a clean house (proper elimination of toxins and waste products)... Most sick people become toxic because poisonous metabolic waste is being recycled back into their cells instead of being removed." (Page 20)

Extracellular Matrix

As an example of the sophistication of the information that follows later in the book, the authors inform us about the importance of the extracellular matrix, something I have not seen mentioned as such in any other book.

"The condition of the space around a cell (its "front yard") and what happens there are as important to health as what occurs within the cell and in the membrane that encloses it.

"The extracellular matrix is prone to damage from both toxins and disease. The structure of this matrix gel controls blood circulation to the cells. As a tissue becomes diseased, the matrix thickens and loses fluidity, impeding the flow of nutrients to the cells and the transport of cell waste products away from it. Toxins that have accumulated as a result of poor circulation are first deposited in this extracellular space. Diseases that change the gel matrix disturb circulation, providing a breeding ground for bacteria and other microbes. Diseases caused by toxicity commonly manifest in the spaces around cells rather than inside the cells. If conditions in this front yard environment become too unfavorable, seriously impeding normal oxygen and nutrient exchange and waste removal, cell function breaks down, and eventually cells die.

"When disease occurs, it is essential to reverse the tendency of the extracellular matrix to thicken and solidify. Unfortunately, no conventional medical approaches or drug protocols are available that can reestablish a healthy extracellular matrix. However, it is very responsive to a variety of holistic therapies such as acupuncture and massage... These therapies can return the matrix to its normal, semi-liquid state, increasing circulation to the cell so that toxic material can be carried away to the liver and kidneys for breakdown and removal." (Pgs. 60-61).

Dr. Bennett made a couple of statements at the workshop I attended that I thought were extremely important. The first of these was that he isn't able to spend three hours with each of his patients to educate them on a scientific basis for protecting and improving their health. "That's why," he said, "I wrote the book." This statement gets to the heart of one of the major problems with healthcare today. Primary care physicians in a managed care environment typically have about 5-10 minutes to spend with each patient. Unless the physician has known the patient over a long period of time, or has taken a truly extensive medical history, the physician is basing his or her decisions on minimal knowledge obtained through standard diagnostic mechanisms. We know that these standard diagnostic mechanisms can be way off for problems faced by millions of women (and men as well) – syndromes such as chronic fatigue, chemical sensitivities, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, and a number of other major modern health problems. This is why it is so crucial for each person to become as well informed as possible about his or her health. [Empowerment Through Information]

A second statement Dr. Bennett made that really impressed me was the answer to a question of whether this book could be safely recommended to individuals who live in areas where there is no access to a wide range of alternative health care providers. He replied, "Those are exactly the people for whom the program is designed – busy, hard-working people with limited budgets, who may need to carry out a program without any support from family, friends or healthcare practitioners." A concrete example of how practical and affordable his advice is shows up in the area of exercise. He suggested buying a jump rope, and to start skipping five minutes a day, and build up to 15 minutes. "By then, you'll be getting quite a bit of exercise," he said, adding, "anybody can afford a jump rope."

It's this level of simple practicality which makes 7-Day Detox Miracle one of the first detox books we recommend to people.