Epigenetics and Cellular Detoxification with Dr. Ashley Beckman: Rational Wellness Podcast 141
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Dr. Ashley Beckman discusses Epigenetics and Cellular Detoxification with Dr. Ben Weitz.
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Podcast Highlights
4:42 Epigenetics is the study of how certain mechanisms like diet, lifestyle, and behavioral choices can switch our genes on or off. We have a lot more control over our future and our genes are not our destiny. In fact, according to Dr. Beckman, they are our greatest opportunity.
5:50 Cellular detoxification is a detox program specific and targeted to our genetic predispositions and our constitution our detox needs.
7:15 To determine our genetics and our epigenetics, Dr. Beckman prefers to determine our genes with a testing company like Apeiron Genomics rather than using 23andMe or Ancestry, since these companies are generally selling your data and now offer a limited number of genes. Apeiron Genomics uses a large number of genes and provides actionable reports with recommendations for diet, exercise, supplement, and lifestyle tendencies and it does not sell your data.
12:22 Dr. Beckman explained that her patient who gets tested through Apeiron Genomics receives various categories of their tendencies. For example, they get an insulin resistance score based upon about approximately 20 genes, which gives them a score of the likelihood of developing type II diabetes. This can provide motivation for people to be mindful and makes changes in their diet and lifestyle, esp. if they have a high propensity for developing insulin resistance and diabetes.
23:22 Looking at your genetic tendencies can help you tailor your detox program to be more effective. Dr. Beckman said that she had been doing Dr. Schultz’s detox programs since she was a kid and did them seasonally. She eats very clean and uses clean products and doesn’t use plastic and doesn’t buy plastic bottled water, etc., but when she did the Great Plains toxin test, she was one of the most toxic folks they had ever tested. She was in the top 75-95% of the highest levels for 15 different toxins, like BPA, MTBE, and perchlorate. She also learned from her genetic testing that she does not make or process glutathione much at all. So now her detox program involves precursors for glutathione and also binders to soak up the toxins to get rid of them, like fulvic and humic acids and modified citrus pectin, which are more effective than charcoal. For testing for toxins, she likes to run the organic acids, the mycotoxin, and the environmental toxin tests. She also likes the Quicksilver Mercury Tri-test, which is a combination of serum, urine and hair mercury testing. She may also run a fuller heavy metals screen. She may also run a GI Map stool test or a Gut Zoomer test.
34:25 Dr. Beckman combines the genetic testing and what shows up in the labs to tailor the detox program for each patient. She will do a preparatory phase prior to starting the detox and if the person cannot tolerate toxins well based on the genetics, then this phase will be longer. She will start patients with certain foundations, like optimizing nutrient levels and making sure their bowel is functioning properly and that they are not constipated and ideally pooping twice per day. If they are constipated, the toxins will recirculate instead of being eliminated. Dr. Beckman will also give them some nutritional formulas to support the lymph, the kidneys, and the liver. She likes CellCore Bioscience products, including their HM-ET Binder product, which contains extracts of humic and fulvic acid, and their Biotoxin Binder, which contains humic and fulvic acid and also molybdenum, broccoli sprouts, and yucca root, as well as some products from Designs for Health and also from Quicksilver. She likes to get her patients off eating gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. She also works with her clients on breathing and also with dealing with stored grief and sadness and other emotions, including with acupuncture, meditation, and visualization. Dr. Beckman works out of offices in both Beverly Hills and Malibu and she can work with clients through the phone and her website is DrAshley.com.
Dr. Ashley Beckman is a Doctor of Chinese Medicine and a licensed Acupuncturist and herbalist. She received her doctorate in Healthy Aging and Longevity and wrote her thesis on Epigenetics, the study of how our genes are affected by our diet and lifestyle. She specializes in healthy aging, epigenetics, pain management, fertility, detoxification, headaches, stress reduction and facial rejuvenation. She also co-founded Golden Path Alchemy, an organic skincare company based on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She can be reached through her website, DrAshley.com.
Dr. Ben Weitz is available for nutrition consultations specializing in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders like IBS/SIBO and Reflux and also specializing in Cardiometabolic Risk Factors like elevated lipids, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure and also weight loss, as well as sports chiropractic work by calling his Santa Monica office 310-395-3111.
Podcast Transcript
Dr. Weitz: Hey, this is Dr. Ben Weitz, host of the Rational Wellness Podcast. I talk to the leading health and nutrition experts and researchers in the field to bring you the latest in cutting edge health information. Subscribe to the Rational Wellness Podcast for weekly updates, and to learn more, check out my website, drweitz.com. Thanks for joining me and let’s jump into the podcast. Hello Rational Wellness podcasters. Thank you so much for joining me again today for another discussion on important functional medicine topic. For those of you who enjoy listening to the Rational Wellness Podcast, please go to Apple podcast and give us a ratings and review that will help move us up the rankings and help more people find the Rational Wellness Podcast. If you’d like to see a video version of our podcast, please go to my YouTube page and if you go to my website, drweitz.com you can find detailed show notes and a complete transcript.
Our topic for today is Epigenetics, and Cellular Detox with licensed acupuncturist, Dr. Ashley Beckman. Our genetics are the DNA code that we inherit from our parents and these direct the activities of our cells and our DNA code does not change over time. Our DNA code is a sequence of nucleotide basis known as adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. I know that it’s kind of scientific jargon, but it’s the specific sequence of these A, C, G and T bases. This is the code that provides the instructions for our cells to make specific proteins that trigger various biological functions in our body, including the production of insulin, for example. The definition of epigenetics, epigenetics is a set of triggers and switches that turn our genes off or on, and so epigenetics doesn’t modify the genetic code, but it modifies the expression of our genes. And our genes, our epigenetics is based on a whole series of factors including environmental factors, diet, lifestyle, and our exposure to toxins. Such toxins that have been shown to be drivers of epigenetic processes include heavy metals, pesticides, diesel exhaust, tobacco smoke, bis phenolate, mycotoxins, radioactivity, as well as hormones, bacteria, and basic nutrients. Some of our genes get switched on and get expressed and other of our genes get turned off and do not get expressed.
The other part of our discussion is about detoxification and detoxification is how we get rid of toxins that we’ve been exposed to over our lives and then may be stored in our cells, our organs, and even our bones. This occurs naturally on a daily basis, but we can also stimulate the detoxification process by doing a detoxification program, which often involves some form of fasting combined with taking specific nutrients to support delivery detoxification pathways to support cellular detoxification, and to support the various forms of elimination, including the digestive track and it facilitate sweating another form of elimination such as by using infrared sauna.
Dr. Ashley Beckman is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist and a doctor of Chinese medicine practicing in Los Angeles. She received her doctorate in healthy aging and longevity and wrote her thesis on epigenetics. The study of how our genes are affected by our diet and lifestyle as I just mentioned. She specializes in healthy aging, epigenetics, detoxification, pain management, fertility, treatment of headaches, stress reduction, and facial rejuvenation. She also co-founded Golden Path Alchemy, an organic skincare company based on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Dr. Beckman, thank you so much for joining me today.
Dr. Beckman: It’s a pleasure to see you and be here today.
Dr. Weitz: Good. Let’s start by giving some definitions. I know I’ve gone into it some, but why don’t you explain what epigenetics is?
Dr. Beckman: Sure. Epigenetics is the study of certain mechanisms such as diet, lifestyle, behavioral choices that we have like exercise and these different factors we have in our different … in the way we live. And basically these can switch our genes on or off. One thing that I really like about this is that we have a lot more control over our health destiny than what we have been known to believe in the past. So many people just believe if something has been passed down to you by your parents, that you’re destined to get this and more likely doomed to get it. And so people just really focus and are scared for their future. And I love this theory of epigenetics because we really have a lot more control than people had thought before.
Dr. Weitz: Right. Our genes are not our destiny.
Dr. Beckman: No. And I say they’re our greatest opportunity.
Dr. Weitz: Great. The other part of our discussion is going to be about cellular detox. Maybe you could explain what is cellular detox?
Dr. Beckman: Sure. The word detox gets thrown around all the time and people equate this with a three day juice cleanse that they picked up at a juice bar. And especially as someone coming from Chinese medicine, you really need to tailor things towards someone’s constitution. Even on the detox level, we have to know how the body is and even some genetic predispositions and how we detox, like how our phase one and phase two pathways are wired, so that we can actually tailor a detox specific to that person. Some detox that you pick up, like I said, like at a juice bar or even off the shelf at Whole Foods, it’s not going to be exactly what you specifically need. And so a cellular detox really we want to get in, make sure that you’re targeting all the areas that really need to be addressed and taking the right supplements. And then kind of what you were speaking about, all the other lifestyle factors that accommodate what is needed in a detox with, from mindset to some fasting, the right foods and the right supplements. Something that’s very targeted and actually effective.
Dr. Weitz: Okay. With respect to epigenetics, how do we find out what our epigenetics are?
Dr. Beckman: Well, so the main way is you basically … what I do with patients is you take someone’s raw genetic data, so you get a test. There are various ones out there. I have utilized raw genetic data that people have already received from somewhere else, like 23andMe or … there’s a various amount of companies now.
Dr. Weitz: Ancestry.com, so why don’t we talk a bit for a minute about which is the best one to use?
Dr. Beckman: Sure.
Dr. Weitz: Because for a while I heard that 23andMe was providing the most amount of genes and then they change the way they do their testing, so they actually provide fewer genes. What do you think is the best company to use if we have a choice?
Dr. Beckman: Sure. I use a company called APEIRON and that’s the company that I’ve actually trained with and studied with. They do not store your data and it’s actually extremely private. Your name is not associated with the bar code on your test. That is something because they will never sell your data. And I think that that is actually one of the most important pieces right now.
Dr. Weitz: And you’re referring to the fact that 23andMe and Ancestry, the way they make a lot of their money is by selling your data to be used for research by Big Pharma and others?
Dr. Beckman: Yes, I believe that that’s accurate. I think a lot of the companies out there are data mining companies and where you get in exchange your raw genetic data. But at the same time I caution anyone who has not done that already to pick another company that does not work in the same manner.
Dr. Weitz: Do you mean for privacy concerns?
Dr. Beckman: For privacy, and the thing, this whole area is very new and nobody really knows what they’re going to be doing with gathering all this genetic data. I think privacy is of utmost concern. And sometimes I tell people, “If you want a little bit more privacy you could also maybe use a different name when you send it in,” things like that. But at the same time, my number one choice is to tell people to use another company that doesn’t do that and the one that I’m secure with is APEIRON.
Dr. Weitz: Okay. How do you use this APEIRON to find out about your genetic code and your epigenome?
Dr. Beckman: Sure. It’s the same as the little swab that you do, and the cheek swab, you send it in and then about six weeks later you’re given your raw text file. And then, so what I do is I take that information and put it through a program and then also go through it with this long Excel sheet that I have that has a lot of different of the expressions and what they can mean and what they’re significant for, for different health reasons. Then I compile this report and I go over that with my clients. And it looks at different factors, so it looks at the foods that you eat, supplements, athleticism, hormones, the way you detox and sleep patterns. Those are main areas of epigenetics.
Dr. Weitz: When you take the results from that test, what exactly are you getting? Are you getting a genetic code? Are you getting the epigenome? Can you explain?
Dr. Beckman: I’m sure. It’s the genetic data, so it’s your genetic blueprint and it is grouped in certain … it’s put in certain groups to test a variety of the SNPs together. When you’re looking at something-
Dr. Weitz: Can you explain what a SNP is?
Dr. Beckman: That’s basically just like the single nucleotide morphism. It’s the little genetic codes for each area, but what we do is we look at the ones, so you … Sorry, you need to look in a grouping of things. It’s not that great to single out one genetic code and say, now you have this. You know what I mean? We look at a group together usually-
Dr. Weitz: What software do you prefer to use?
Dr. Beckman: I use the software from APEIRON. And then I pair that with, like I said, this kind of like long Excel sheet that then I dive deeper into which one is the norm and which one is the exception. And so then it gives you some more probabilities of how this might express in your system. This is all just the genes and then
Dr. Weitz: How many genes are you analyzing with this software?
Dr. Beckman: Oh, shoot! I would have to look it up. I don’t remember.
Dr. Weitz: Okay.
Dr. Beckman: I’ll look it up so you can put it in the notes though. But it’s very comprehensive.
Dr. Weitz: Okay. And then how does this help us?
Dr. Beckman: For example, one of my favorite areas is it gives an insulin resistance score. This is a probability that you might have, based on your genes, of your probability of having an issue or developing type 2 diabetes. It basically, for me, and especially because I’m very passionate about getting people to reduce their sugar consumption and because I think that it has such long lasting effects, but a lot of these clients have a high insulin resistance score, so … And they might not even know that. They could be someone, though that tends to be eating a lot of starchy carbs and things like that and is not really that cognizant of how much sugar they’re eating. And so when I see this in someone’s report, to me it’s a really big push for them to start being mindful of that and to change that. Because that’s, as you probably see with your clients as well, prediabetes is so rampant and most people in their 50s and 60s and unfortunately now children are getting prediabetes at much younger ages. And so it’s something we can completely prevent.
Dr. Weitz: Which gene or genes are the ones that most commonly code for insulin resistance? Do you know those offhand?
Dr. Beckman: I don’t know them offhand, but I have-
Dr. Weitz: Okay.
Dr. Beckman: Do you want me to give? I have them right here. Okay, so the thing about the genes that’s kind of … so okay, this grouping is actually about 20 genes that we use to look to-
Dr. Weitz: 20 genes for insulin resistance, okay.
Dr. Beckman: Yeah. This is one thing that I think is very important and I touched on a bit, it’s these grouping of genes. Often we hear about one specific gene all the time, but it really is how they work together. That’s one thing I really like about this company too, like is that it’s never just one gene and then you create this whole idea around it. We hear about these famous genes, sort of from certain people and I think a lot is built on that-
Dr. Weitz: Some of these genes are now being referred to as diseases. “I have MTHFR”
Dr. Beckman: Right, exactly. And there’s actually a kind of a little joke that a friend of mine who’s another Functional Medicine doctor said. He just, it’s kind of like, no one would know that unless you recently went to a Functional Medicine doctor and you were told you now have this terrible disease that you need to change all these things.
Dr. Weitz: Or they could have gone to Dr. Google or Dr. YouTube.
Dr. Beckman: Yes, I know the amount of people actually that talk to me and ask about it, again, I just say actually we look at a bit of a grouping of a lot of genes to see how big of an impact that might be for you. But that’s just one of them. You know what I mean? There’s a whole lot that are, like I said, they are getting well known.
Dr. Weitz: When a patient has … How do you determine how significant these genes are? Let’s say you have one copy, which means you’re … or heterozygous or two copies, which means you’re homozygous or you could have multiple copies of one, multiple versions of one copy of these different genes. How do you know when it really matters? And then do you need to wait until they have positive testing in terms of a fasting glucose and Hemoglobin A1C, et cetera?
Dr. Beckman: No. One thing that I like about this is that they give us clues. They give us areas to focus on. There are certain genes that have more weight than others. That’s why these ones, it is true, the ones that are more well known have more weight. But again, it’s still the grouping. Let’s say you have one that is more weighted and more significant, but then you have three that are totally normal. Then that average is your risk down a little bit less than if you were just looking at that one gene, because you do need to look at them together. I mean, the genetic code doesn’t work independently and genes don’t work independently unless it’s something very specific that has a genetic, very specific genetic disease where there’s one … When you have that switch on one specific thing that it actually creates a very specific pattern or disease in somebody. But those aren’t as common as these groupings creating a probability, if that make sense.
Dr. Weitz: Let’s say they have an increased risk for insulin resistance, but they actually have a fasting glucose of 80 and a fasting insulin of three and their Hemoglobin A1C is 5.0. What do you do with that?
Dr. Beckman: This is one other thing I love. I love having this and then backing it up with data. I love using even regular lab tests and then Functional labs to basically get a better idea of what’s actually happening right now. Because the genes give you your blueprint and some of your probabilities; your lifestyle, your emotions, your exercise habits. Those are what really can turn things on and off and make significant change. When you have some of these probabilities and then you look and see what their Hemoglobin A1c it’s, it’s steadily creeping up and creeping up, then this person needs to make significant changes so that they can revert back to somebody who doesn’t have those extra probabilities or increased probability of getting the type two diabetes.
Dr. Weitz: Does everybody who has some of those genes that code for increased insulin resistance, do they all need to follow a low carb diet?
Dr. Beckman: Well, so again, I would say I like to look at them individually. Certain people constitutionally, according to Chinese medicine do better with some starches and grains. A lot of people don’t, especially if there’s some sort of autoimmune issues happening, things like that. I personally don’t think anybody does well with refined sugar. I mean, that’s not any type of news, but my main thing is really getting people just cognizant of how much sugar they’re getting, that they’re not even realizing. Most people never flip something over and read the label. I tell everybody if there’s double digits, 10 grams of sugar in something, you should not be eating it. And then I give them an amount per day, so a max of 25 grams a day. My goal, like I said, is I don’t want people really having much sugar at all. There’s no benefit of having refined sugar. It actually is just more detrimental. And people, once they get it out, they start to feel better and it has a long reach, I believe in their health span in multiple ways.
Dr. Weitz: Right, okay. Give us some other examples of what you get from doing the genetics. And then explain how epigenetics factors in here.
Dr. Beckman: Sure. The epigenetics part really is … that is not tested in kind of what you’re getting with the raw genetic data. The raw genetic data shows you what areas you could focus on, so like, which foods would be helpful to silence some genes that might create a problem or the same. It talks about supplements, so sometimes certain supplements would be toxic to somebody if they take too much. But for example, a lot of people were taking a lot of vitamin E for a long time as an antioxidant. It’s one that can be toxic for a lot of people if they take too much of it. It actually shows that-
Dr. Weitz: Vitamin E?
Dr. Beckman: Yes. But it shows that in the raw genetic data. Some of those are pretty interesting. And then also checking the types of the B vitamins to take, for vitamin D. It shows, which is pretty interesting if people can get the benefit from the sunlight and absorbing it or if they’re not someone that actually can absorb much of the D from sunlight. Because I’m sure as you’ve seen with some of your patients, some people can absorb it really well and some people don’t. Even though they’re in the sun all the time, they’re still deficient.
Dr. Weitz: I’m amazed in Southern California how many people get exposed to sun all the time and their vitamin D levels are low.
Dr. Beckman: Right. Yes.
Dr. Weitz: I think it’s more common than not.
Dr. Beckman: Yeah. And a lot of people think … they just think that, and actually I was one prior to testing it is I just thought there’s no way I’m in the sun constantly. And you know, the first time I checked, I think I was at 19 and I literally-
Dr. Weitz: Very low
Dr. Beckman: … always in the sun because I love sun. I’m just not someone that actually absorbs it from the sun, so I need the supplementation. That’s one thing that I really love again is I’m sure you go by this too, is test, don’t guess.
Dr. Weitz: Absolutely.
Dr. Beckman: We assume all the time these things that we hear and have known for a while, but they’re not always accurate.
Dr. Weitz: Yeah. We occasionally get people with modest amounts of supplementation that their levels shoot up, but more common, it’s really hard to get the levels up. And sometimes doing modest supplementation, like 1000 or 2000 milligrams of vitamin D doesn’t do anything. And it’s not unusual that we have to go to like 10,000 a day to get up to those target ranges that we’re trying to hit, like 50 to 70 or 60 to 80 or something like that, nanograms per milliliter.
Dr. Beckman: Right, yeah. And that’s not something from, sort of, in the natural medicine world, we have not heard that. We just thought, if you’re out in the sun and the right hours of day without sunscreen, you’re fine. And as you know, vitamin D is one of those precursors that it’s implicated in over 200 genetic processes. It’s crucial on so many levels that it’s actually in an optimal range.
Dr. Weitz: Yeah. And of course we can measure vitamin D receptors and whether people are going to respond and produce vitamin E or absorb the vitamin D that they take in.
Dr. Beckman: Yep.
Dr. Weitz: How does genetics, how does that change a detox program?
Dr. Beckman: Sure. I can give an example of myself for one. I’m someone who, since high school had been doing detoxes. I studied Dr. Schultz’s products, got into that. And since you’re from LA, right, or you’re in LA. I’ve been doing Dr. Schultz’s products since I was a kid. I’ve been obsessed with detoxes since I was little and I did them seasonally. All of that.
Dr. Weitz: And what did most of these detoxes consist of?
Dr. Beckman: Sorry. Okay, so it’s like a bowel, kidney, liver detox with herbs and just raw foods. It was five days, but I would say–
Dr. Weitz: For five days you eat raw foods and you take a series of supplements in pill or tincture form?
Dr. Beckman: Yeah, tinctures, pills and tea. And I did this for years. Well, I wouldn’t say I loved it, but I love detoxing. And so I really thought that I was just cleaning everything out. It was great. And then I even did these things for preconception planning. I’m a huge fan of preconception planning, checking for heavy metals, things like that. And I had my daughter almost eight years ago now, but I thought I did all this to clean myself out. I recently did some testing with Great Plains Lab. I love their organic acid tests, their environmental toxin tests. And it turns out on my environmental toxin test, it was one of the most toxic they’d ever seen. No, it was terrible. And, and I mean, granted, I live in LA, so there’s that factor, which is very big. But I literally have … I don’t use plastic ever. I don’t use any … ever buy bottled water, only grass fed meat. I’m one of the cleanest people that you would come across. Like I said, I even created my own skincare company because I was concerned that a lot of the things were stored in plastic when they had essential oils and-
Dr. Weitz: What kind of toxin showed up and where do you think you got these from?
Dr. Beckman: Well, basically almost, I think it was 15 out of the ones that they tested were all 75 to 95%. That means that I was in the highest group possible.
Dr. Weitz: Right, what kinds of toxins were these?
Dr. Beckman: They were still the ones from the plastics, so the Bisphenol A, the ones that have … they are all with the gasoline, very high. And that makes sense because I live in LA.
Dr. Weitz: Okay. Like MTBE and-
Dr. Beckman: Yeah. The MTBE was very high, the perclorates, high. That again is from the air generally and the rocket fuel, believe.
Dr. Weitz: Which was dumped into the water and-
Dr. Beckman: Yeah. And that’s the thing, but I-
Dr. Weitz: Still found in Colorado River where we get some of our water in Southern California.
Dr. Beckman: Yeah. And again, those things aren’t filtered out with filtered water. I mean, not everything can be. I mean, again, it depends on your system that you have, but a lot of the organophosphates from pesticides, things like that. And that’s the thing that was shocking to me-
Dr. Weitz: That might be a good marketing strategy. Get your rocket fuel water.
Dr. Beckman: I know. And it seeped into the groundwater. I mean, it’s terrible. And you know, you do everything you can, right? I mean, I buy organic products, but then I still eat out at restaurants. And I tell this to patients too. I mean, the meat is not grass fed out. And generally the fruits and vegetables aren’t organic, unless you’re really going for that. That’s the thing is that I know a lot of it is because I live in Los Angeles, but the main factor which came back to my genetics is that I don’t process or make glutathione like much at all. I had never taken any precursors for glutathione. I’d never taken glutathione. I was doing these traditional detoxes that were still very strong, but they didn’t actually work for my system. I had also gone to the process where I was doing IV glutathione and it made me so sick within about five seconds. I realized that something was … that pushed toxins into my system and they were recirculating and then I felt sick instantly.
Dr. Weitz: That’s one of the things that can happen when you do a detox is a lot of these toxins may be stored somewhere in your body. And if you use a strategy that helps remove some of these toxins, they may not get all the way removed. They may come out of storage into circulation and then that can create a lot of detox reactions like you’re describing.
Dr. Beckman: Right. And so now the products I use are very different and they go into soak those up so that you basically … my whole goal is to really minimize any detox reactions that people have. And I think a lot of the things that we used before, if your body and detox pathways weren’t prime to deal with that, that’s where everyone’s getting really sick and nauseous and headaches and those are just minimal side effects. It’s really important to do a detox properly and prime the pathways, and have the binders in there that will soak it up properly.
Dr. Weitz: Okay. So you’re saying your detox now that you’re doing involves binders and what are some of the substances involved in binders?
Dr. Beckman: I use some products that have fulvic and humic acids. I like them a lot. The way that they have been described to me is that they are much more effective and powerful at soaking up things beyond an activated charcoal because the activated charcoal does not have enough energy left in it to actually go in and soak a lot of that.
Dr. Weitz: Activated charcoal is one of the most common substances being sold as part of a binding product or separately. And in fact charcoal is right now being used in many consumer products. You can find-
Dr. Beckman: It is. Charcoal lemonade.
Dr. Weitz: Exactly.
Dr. Beckman: And charcoal toothpaste is everywhere.
Dr. Weitz: Yeah.
Dr. Beckman: I have changed what I’ve done-
Dr. Weitz: Those two, what other substances do you find effective for as binding agents? What about modified citrus pectin?
Dr. Beckman: Yeah, I like that. And it’s-
Dr. Weitz: Cilantro.
Dr. Beckman: Yes. And it just depends the … everyone is a little bit different, so some people can handle one type and other people can’t. Some people are so sensitive and so bound up that they basically really need something super gentle. And sometimes I start people off with the homeopathic detox so I can go drop by drop because there are patients that are that sensitive. There’s a wide spectrum, but I think that it’s really important to prep the body before dumping it, like getting all these toxins just dumping into your system without anywhere to go.
Dr. Weitz: How long should a detox program take?
Dr. Beckman: I would say always customize the patient kind of, so that’s why I like the testing because we want to see if there’s mold exposure, what the viral load is, possibly what the bacteria situation is, what’s going on with the gut, fungal issues, metals, parasites. So it all depends.
Dr. Weitz: How do you determine what testing to do and what testing is … Do you have a standard screen or does it depend on history?
Dr. Beckman: Yeah, it depends on history. I pretty much always run the organic acids test with Great Plains. I love the mycotoxin test if they have anything positive on the oat. I love the environmental toxin test to see what’s happening there. Some sort of heavy metal testing, I use the Mercury Tri-Test a lot from Quicksilver.
Dr. Weitz: Okay, so that utilizes a combination of serum, urine and hair mercury testing?
Dr. Beckman: Yes. And then still if they need to check for other metals, can do a metals test. Let’s see what else I love. I mean, I add in the genetics so that we can put that piece in there. And then sometimes like a GI-MAP for stool or to see what’s going on in the gut or as a Zoomer test, Gut Zoomer test.
Dr. Weitz: Okay. Just out of curiosity, what’s the approximate cost of that genetic test you’re talking about?
Dr. Beckman: The genetic test varies based on kind of how many areas you want to look at. People can get, let’s see like-
Dr. Weitz: Just ballpark.
Dr. Beckman: All right. Like $1,000.
Dr. Weitz: Okay. Now they can get a 23andMe or Ancestry for $100.
Dr. Beckman: Yes.
Dr. Weitz: Is it that much better?
Dr. Beckman: Well, I just think that 23andMe is sort of fluff. It’s not actual information that you can utilize much for your health. That’s what I’m thinking, but it has … it’s like, do you turn red when you’re drinking? Do you have-
Dr. Weitz: No, but even if you get the raw data, there’s not enough genes there?
Dr. Beckman: No. They’ve changed it a bit and there are less, but there … I mean, yes, the raw data on itself is good, but you are giving up your privacy, which I 100% think is not a good idea.
Dr. Weitz: I agree. But I doubt there’s any privacy in our society since they’re monitoring every phone call, every email.
Dr. Beckman: I know. If someone really needed to, they could link up everything that you … if they were really trying to find that out for you.
Dr. Weitz: Your phone is monitoring every place you’re going. Your phone right now knows that you’re talking to me, where you are. I mean, yeah.
Dr. Beckman: I know. It’s so scary. You could talk about something your phone’s off and then that’s all your Instagram feed, Facebook feed, you know everything. It’s true there really is no privacy.
Dr. Weitz: Absolutely. I got in my car this morning and my phone says it’s 13 minutes to Gold’s gym. How do you know I’m going to Gold’s gym, right?
Dr. Beckman: I know. It’s pretty scary.
Dr. Weitz: How does the detox program … you were talking about epigenetics changing your detox, so give me a little more meat on the bones there about how you change the detox according to epigenetics.
Dr. Beckman: Basically what I do is, I mean I have a program that I use with a lot of people, but what gets tailored is what we focus on first based on what shows up in their labs and then with their genes. If there’s somebody that can process toxins better, then they might not need as much time in the prep phase. Or if there’s somebody who tends to be more sensitive to metals, then we might need to work on that a lot longer.
Dr. Weitz: What’s the prep phase?
Dr. Beckman: Sorry, so that’s where we … Certain people need certain foundations, so that would be where I would put in certain vitamin deficiencies that they might have or just optimizing some of their nutrient levels so that they’re prepared to start a detox. And then again, and this part is a bit traditional. We still want to make sure that the bowel is functioning really well. If someone’s constipated, you have to get that under control before you start anything.
Dr. Weitz: Number one, you want to make sure somebody is not deficient in nutrients. How do you determine that? You do some sort of nutrient panel?
Dr. Beckman: Yes, I can do a nutrient panel. The organic acid test does have part of that in there utilized as well. There are special tests you can do in addition to just see. The SpectraCell has a micronutrient deficiency panel, which can be good if people like that. I use the organic acid one quite a bit.
Dr. Weitz: Okay, so you’ll beef them up with some nutrients first to get them ready for the detox?
Dr. Beckman: Yes. Then we look at their bowel and make sure that, like I said, they’re not constipated. Make sure they’re going to the bathroom twice a day as ideal.
Dr. Weitz: Because if they’re constipated, they’re going to be recirculating the toxins, correct?
Dr. Beckman: Yeah. And that happens a lot with estrogens and different toxins and things like that. And then we make sure we look at the lymph, the kidneys, and the liver. I have special supplements for that as well.
Dr. Weitz: How do you look at those?
Dr. Beckman: Sorry, not look. I just mean address-
Dr. Weitz: Okay, so you give them supplements to make sure those are working properly?
Dr. Beckman: Yes. Yeah. And then we figure out what-
Dr. Weitz: What do you give him to make sure the kidneys are functioning properly?
Dr. Beckman: Let’s see. There’s some different herbs that, sorry … There are some herbs that I use. I like some homeopathic tinctures too. You mean which specific herbs?
Dr. Weitz: I was just curious. You have some kidney formula you like to use in some-
Dr. Beckman: I use CellCore products a lot. I really like them. They have a great kidney-liver formula. And then, I mean, I’ve used other ones in the past too. I also use some products from Designs for Health. They have some great detox packets that are super simple and altogether. And then they have some that are spread out, individual products.
Dr. Weitz: Okay. Yeah, go ahead. So you support lymphatic’s, the kidneys, the liver?
Dr. Beckman: Yep. Then we need to make sure too what’s going on with the gut. We need to see if there’s any intestinal permeability to make sure that we’re working on the lining. I check, if there’s someone who has a lot of autoimmune or food sensitivities, we need to make sure that’s a big factor. See if they need to eliminate some foods just temporarily, if it’s making things worse. Often I see a lot of issues with gluten, dairy and sugar. Nobody really likes to hear that, but initially I just ask if they can try to go off things for maybe 30 days minimum to just see if we can get some information down as well from what they’re putting in their body.
Dr. Weitz: What’s a specific food regimen you put them on? You eliminate gluten, dairy, and what else did you say?
Dr. Beckman: Refined sugar. And then-
Dr. Weitz: And refined sugar. Are there other things or just those three?
Dr. Beckman: It all depends on the person. If there’s somebody who already has a lot of issues, we need to see what would be specific for them. Some people think they’re totally healthy and they don’t feel anything from food, so they … it’s a big deal for them to just get off of sugar. I work with the client to see where they are too. But if someone who-
Dr. Weitz: Get them off of caffeine and alcohol as well while they’re doing the detox?
Dr. Beckman: Yes. The caffeine is less of an issue for me. If someone can get off all those other things and they still want one cup of coffee a day, usually I say that’s okay. But-
Dr. Weitz: Especially if it’s organic.
Dr. Beckman: Yeah. And I then love Purity and Bulletproof Coffee. I at least send them to ones that are mycotoxin free and tested. And just, yeah, it’s all about, to me, making healthier choices and swaps too. If I can get people to just make some better choices in their life, get off the granola and yogurt, they start their day with that has 25 grams of sugar, get them onto something that’s healthier. I think those are all big wins and can take them a long distance.
Dr. Weitz: Yeah. Or their Count Chocula cereal.
Dr. Beckman: Oh yeah. Or even cheerios. There’s better things to do. There’s all these … We have to pick our battles, right? And food is a really one that people like grip on and hold tight to or they have, again their favorite cup of coffee with sugar and cream. And so if I can get them to switch to a healthier version of that, then I feel like I’ve had a good win. And that they will benefit greatly. Because again, I say to people, we often have to look at our daily habits cause it’s in our daily habits where we see some of these really big things that make a big difference, so we can change those. It’s very important. And even hydration. Many people still just don’t drink enough water. And these are core foundations that if you don’t have sleep, hydration, good food and exercise and some form of meditation, it’s hard to build a base from that.
Dr. Weitz: How do you know if somebody is drinking enough water and how much water is enough?
Dr. Beckman: I look at their caffeine intake for sure. A lot of people are drinking way more caffeine than water, so that’s my first area to start with. I still do go by the half your weight and ounces. I know some people say that works, some people say it doesn’t. I think it’s a good barometer just to start with. Most people though are drinking so little water that I tell them to just double what they’re doing. And honestly for a lot of people they’re drinking two glasses of water a day. Then I say, drink four and that seems like a stretch for them, but it’s not a huge stretch. If I tell someone that’s drinking two glasses to then go to half a gallon, that doesn’t make any sense to me, and they don’t do it. Sometimes it’s baby steps and-
Dr. Weitz: Try to meet them where they are and get them to make changes that are reasonable.
Dr. Beckman: Exactly. Again, those are some of those things that are in the beginning part of a detox and the prep phase, is really just getting their foundation solid and then getting them prep so that we can then start addressing the things that are more pertinent and causing more damage, I guess I would say. Like the gut bacteria, the fungus, any sort of mycotoxins, viruses, bacteria … sorry, parasites and then metals we do last usually.
Dr. Weitz: Okay, so then-
Dr. Beckman: It can be awhile.
Dr. Weitz: Right, so multi-phases of this program?
Dr. Beckman: Yeah. And it’s based on the lab testing to see what’s there. We want to a lot … for people in general, we have things where basically a big host for a lot of different organisms. And so to think that they’re not all living in us I think is sort of inaccurate. It’s basically something’s high. You know, we have viruses that just lie dormant and then they get activated. Basically if we can create our system to be a good environment, then it’s kind of the best shot we have. And then [crosstalk 00:43:16] up things that are creating damage.
Dr. Weitz: Let’s do a couple of sample detox programs. Let’s say the person tests high in mercury. What’s your preferred protocol for that?
Dr. Beckman: I do use a lot of Quicksilver products and CellCore products. They have really great binders for pulling out heavy metals. CellCore has something called HM-ET, which I really love. But again, this is the thing. This is all done after months of preparation. You don’t just go in and start trying to pull out heavy metals, which is what everyone wants to do. And that’s where people feel really sick. And another thing is heavy metals can reside inside parasites. If you don’t kill the parasites first, then you could be pulling out all these heavy metals and then you haven’t even addressed the parasites and then you could be releasing more metals that you thought you’d cleaned up.
Dr. Weitz: Get rid of parasites and clean up the gut, get rid of nutritional deficiencies, show the body up that way, support the basic organs and then go for the metals and the other toxins?
Dr. Beckman: Yes. Yeah.
Dr. Weitz: Do you incorporate glutathione in that detox protocol for mercury?
Dr. Beckman: I do. I do use glutathione even earlier in the phase to just start helping support the liver, helping it support what already is there before we’ve really started to detox. Sometimes using a precursor like NAC, just it depends on how the person is and what they can handle. A lot of clients have had so many bad issues with taking really strong chlorella, things like that. I just have to be careful with … I tend to get a lot of patients who are really sick and really toxic, so it’s just seeing what works for them and creating something that has the minimal side effects.
Dr. Weitz: How long does it typically take to get rid of mercury?
Dr. Beckman: Kind of depends on the levels and it can take a year, but that’s the whole thing. You know what I mean? That’s at the end. I wouldn’t just target mercury and it would be so rare that nothing would come up before then. I mean, that actually wouldn’t happen. Like, you know what I mean? No one would just have a mercury issue. I’ll just say.
Dr. Weitz: Okay, so what’s your protocol for mycotoxins, which is for mold?
Dr. Beckman: Right. Again, I do use CellCore products for that. And so I love the mycotoxin test, because then you can see exactly which ones are the strongest. And again, you still have to really prep the body first, of course, which we talked about. And then in Chinese medicine too, like we want to see what’s happening with the lungs. We want to support. Sometimes I use some other herbs that are kind of like a lung support. Yeah, I know the mold … that’s the thing about mold is it can go everywhere and anywhere, so that’s why it’s extra detrimental. But a lot of people, a big part is from inhalation. I work on a bit with stored grief and sadness with the lungs and we want to make sure just to always addressed the emotional issue of things. And detox is stir up a lot, because they deal with lungs, they deal with liver, which is related to anger and resentment and depression. A lot of people have some issues with that. We just want to make sure that we’re addressing the emotional side of things as well as the physical.
Dr. Weitz: Okay. How do you address the emotional side of things?
Dr. Beckman: Well, I love acupuncture and if someone’s not local or not getting acupuncture on the side, there’s visualizations with color that support each organ. And as with Chinese medicine and this people know, the emotional side and the physical side, they’re intertwined. When we’re treating a physical condition, we want to also address the emotional aspect of that. One of my favorite things again is acupuncture, meditation, and then some visualization.
Dr. Weitz: Okay. I think that’s pretty good. Everything is-
Dr. Beckman: Yeah, we covered a lot.
Dr. Weitz: Yeah. I think we covered a lot. Any other specific things you’d like to make the listeners aware of or talk about?
Dr. Beckman: No. My main thing is that, and this is what I talk about with my clients every day, is you have a choice every day. You choose what food you put in your body, you’re choosing what products you put on your body, you’re choosing some of the thoughts you have, the way you live or lifestyle. And it’s so crucial for us to be mindful of what we’re doing that everything that we’re doing is either feeding our body or doing something that’s going to make it harder and possibly leading to disease down the future.
We have so much control and I think we forget that. And I see our body as a machine and what we’re doing and putting into it as fuel, and we want to be putting the best quality fuel in it. And you know, we have these beautiful bodies and so we just need to take care of them and you get to do that.
Dr. Weitz: All right. How can listeners and viewers get a hold of you and find out … how can they contact you?
Dr. Beckman: Sure, my website’s, drashley.com, and that’s D-R-A-S-H-L-E-Y.com. And I always offer a complimentary call if someone wants to just see if we’re a good fit to work together.
Dr. Weitz: And so you can work with them by phone?
Dr. Beckman: Yes.
Dr. Weitz: And if they’re in the Los Angeles area, where’s your practice?
Dr. Beckman: I’m in Beverly Hills and in Malibu.
Dr. Weitz: Okay, great. Thank you Dr. Beckman.
Dr. Beckman: Sure. It’s always fun.
Dr. Weitz: Thank you.
