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POSTED BY TORONTO FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE CENTRE
What exactly does optimal health mean? In our functional medicine and IV therapy Toronto Lounge, this is frequently discussed, as improving wellness can help promote detoxification.
We are exposed to chemicals every day. We inhale air pollutants from transportation. Packaging from the food we buy can contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals. And sometimes the piping linked to our water sources may contain lead.
The human body is uniquely designed with detoxification processes, which helps remove harmful elements through sweating, exhaling, and organ function and filtration. But these cleansing actions can be compromised from toxin buildups, hindering detoxification and potentially causing oxidative stress, hormonal imbalances, poor immune function, and more. Poor detoxification processes may also contribute to weakening cellular health and increasing your vulnerability to a chronic illness. You can read our previous blog post on how IV therapy may optimize cellular health.
Sustaining overall optimal health – which encompasses immune health, energy production, the functioning of nerves, and effective detoxification – is possible through exercise, nourishing the body with nutrients, and the use of integrative functional medicine therapies (i.e. allopathic medicine, naturopathy, bio-identical hormone treatments, oral supplementation, etc.). But if you want to apply additional support, intravenous therapy is an option, too.
Here, the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre (TFMC) discusses how adjuvant vitamin drip therapy works, and detoxifying items to consider for your custom treatment service.
Getting a nutritional drip as adjunct support therapy
Functional medicine-based IV therapy – when used as a supportive tool with healthy living and other therapy treatments – may lead to wellness improvements.
It should be noted that, in order to achieve wellness improvements, several core components of your individuality must be considered; this is practiced by the integrative functional medicine model. These components include various aspects of your current health status, including lifestyle and environmental factors, family/medical history, and health goals. Sometimes functional medicine lab tests (i.e. hormone testing, metabolic testing) may be conducted for further analysis. Then, after scrutinizing your “whole picture”, a tailored treatment service may be applied to your biological needs.
In some cases, test results may reveal nutrient deficiencies, which can potentially trigger some of your health concerns (i.e. brain fog, aging effects, etc.) Treatment plans would then be customized to alleviate these nutrient shortcomings, which may include dietary modifications and oral supplementation (i.e. liquid drinks, capsules, powders, etc.). IV therapy, when tailored with functional medicine therapies, can be added to our patient treatment plans as supportive measures.
To be assured a full absorption of nutrients, tailored-made, scientifically-formulated IV therapies may be administered with regular oral supplementation. Keep in mind, though, when you ingest supplements, there’s a likelihood of losing some amounts of nutrients due to digestion. So, vitamin infusions may act as an additional tactic for alleviating nutrient shortages.
Our IV Lounge provides patients with drips for wellness upgrades, which could also help improve detoxification. In the next section, we explain which natural ingredients could potentially target toxin removal.
Optimal nutrients to consider
In our IV Lounge, key ingredients and doses of nutrients are tailored for your unique needs, which could potentially promote optimal functioning and help improve detoxification processes. Our supportive IV nutrient therapy drips are freshly compounded without added preservatives, and each session is monitored by our health team (a medical doctor, naturopathic doctor, registered nurses, and a nurse practitioner).
For chief health concerns that involve detoxification, we may recommend the items featured in the table below. These are available as an IV vitamin drip and/or oral supplements.
Nutrient/Treatment |
Beneficial effects |
Available as IV vitamin therapy at the TFMC |
Available as oral supplementation |
Glutathione |
Composed of three different amino acids, this powerful antioxidant can help strengthen cellular health; naturally defends the body against free radicals that can hinder natural detoxification. |
x |
x |
NAC (N-acetylcysteine) |
This is a potent antioxidant that may help support immune function and replenish your natural supply of glutathione. |
x |
x |
Milk thistle |
This herb contains anti-inflammatory components and may promote liver detoxification; could protect liver cells from the damaging effects of alcohol overindulgence and pollutants. |
x |
|
Chelation therapy |
Chelating agents may be administered for removing heavy metal toxicities; in turn, it could help reduce whole-body inflammation and other unwanted side effects from lead, mercury, etc. |
x*
|
x |
*Available under the conjoint supervision of nurse practitioner, medical doctor and naturopathic doctor
Getting a boost in energy levels, mental clarity, muscle recovery, and liver detoxification may require an individualized approach to wellness. Our integrative functional medicine programs could play a role on your road to recovery! Let’s customize therapeutic doses of nutrients to support your detoxification health goals.
About our private downtown clinic
Sometimes we need a nudge towards healthy longevity. At the TFMC, our functional medicine and IV therapy providers can tend to a wide range of health issues, including nutritional deficiencies/mineral deficiencies, fatty liver disease, cellular damage, chronic inflammation, muscle recovery, blood pressure regulation, rehydration of fluids, much-needed energy, and more.
To become a new TFMC patient, please book your initial appointment with us. This would consist of a detailed assessment of your individuality and a discussion on tailoring your treatment service. We adhere to integrative medicine, which combines different health strategies to help alleviate symptoms (i.e. a hangover symptom); for example, this may include combining conventional medicine with naturopathic medicine, detoxification tools, and more.
If you’d like a custom-made IV drip as an adjuvant treatment, please let us know at your initial consultation! When administered with regular exercise, a healthy diet, and other treatment modalities, vitamin IV drips can foster an improved quality of life. Our IV Lounge menu contains numerous nutrients that can be blended into intravenous drips, such as ascorbic acid/intravenous high-dose vitamin C, a medley of amino acids, glutamic acid, vitamin A, vitamin E, folic acid, major minerals, major antioxidants, and other key nutrients. Vitamin D injections can also be administered.
We’re ready to book your initial visit! Let’s introduce you to our IV therapy Lounge in Toronto, where you can boost your intake of nutrients and get integrative functional medicine advice. Click here to send us a note.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. You should always consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on this website. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider because of information you have read from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre website or other affiliate media.
References
Achufusi TGO, Patel RK. Milk Thistle. [Updated 2022 Sep 12]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541075/
“EPA Proposes Designating Certain PFAS Chemicals as Hazardous Substances Under Superfund to Protect People’s Health” from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, press statement, posted August 26, 2022, updated August 10, 2023, viewed on November 8, 2023.
Miranda CL, Reed RL, Kuiper HC, Alber S, Stevens JF. Ascorbic acid promotes detoxification and elimination of 4-hydroxy-2(E)-nonenal in human monocytic THP-1 cells. Chem Res Toxicol. 2009 May;22(5):863-74. doi: 10.1021/tx900042u. PMID: 19326901; PMCID: PMC2730585.
Mold M, Linhart C, Gómez-Ramirez J, Villegas-Lanau A, Exley C. Aluminum and amyloid-β in familial Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis. 2020;73(4):1627-1635. doi:3233/JAD-191140
Panieri E, Baralic K, Djukic-Cosic D, Buha Djordjevic A, Saso L. PFAS molecules: a major concern for human health and the environment. Toxics. 2022;10(2):44. doi:3390/toxics10020044
Pastore A, Federici G, Bertini E, Piemonte F. Analysis of glutathione: implication in redox and detoxification. Clin Chim Acta. 2003 Jul 1;333(1):19-39. doi: 10.1016/s0009-8981(03)00200-6. PMID: 12809732.
Pizzorno J. Glutathione! Integr Med (Encinitas). 2014 Feb;13(1):8-12. PMID: 26770075; PMCID: PMC4684116.
Sears, M. E. (2013). Chelation: Harnessing and Enhancing Heavy Metal Detoxification—A Review. The Scientific World Journal, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/219840
Zolkipli-Cunningham Z, Falk MJ. Clinical effects of chemical exposures on mitochondrial function. Toxicology. 2017 Nov 1;391:90-99. doi: 10.1016/j.tox.2017.07.009. Epub 2017 Jul 27. PMID: 28757096; PMCID: PMC6078194.
Toronto Functional Medicine Centre uses a combination of Acupuncture, Integrative Functional Medicine, IV Therapy, Naturopathic Medicine, Detoxification and Bio-Identical Hormone Treatments to optimize health. The clinic is located in the heart of Yorkville.
162 Cumberland
St 222 A
Toronto, ON
M5R 1A8
Canada
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