Dr. Ring explains the difference between fasting and detoxification.
Dr. Ring:
Fasting typically means you’re not going to take anything in. Sometimes it’s a juice fast where you only take in juice or vegetable juices or things like that.
Detoxifying usually implies that you drink other things to actually promote the withdrawal of toxins from your body’s stores and so, it will often include things like herbs that help support the liver and help detoxify, things that help the bowel function to keep it moving, sometimes supplementary sort of things like dry skin brushing or lymphatic massage, which help the lymph move and help detoxify, saunas are very popular in detoxifications.
Again, the idea that you help to draw it out through sweat and then, the idea of chelation or colonics, again, drawing more toxins out. So all of those things are adjuncts to an actual diet.
About Dr. Ring, M.D.:
Melinda Ring, M.D., is an Integrative Medicine physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Dr. Ring believes the patient and physician are partners in the healing process. She uses evidence-based approaches from other cultures to complement Western medicine treatment and stimulates the body's innate healing abilities. Her philosophy embraces treating the whole person, physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions, to achieve optimal health. Dr. Ring received her medical degree from the University of Chicago/Pritzker School of Medicine and has been practicing medicine since 1997.
Visit Dr. Ring at Northwestern Memorial Hospital