ICIM convened in Indianapolis, Indiana for its 40th anniversary conference with the focus on enhancing detoxification. The conference opened on Thursday with two workshops.

Yolanda Fletcher discussed ways to keep the lymphatic system moving to reduce pain and inflammation.

John Humiston, MD, and Jane Yip, PhD, discussed "Intravenous NAD+ with Amino Acids for Brain Optimization." Humiston’s work with addiction has been previously featured on our FAIM website, but in this session, he showed how his addiction protocol can help with brain detox and repair in many other conditions. He pointed out how various neurotransmitters are impacted by specific addictive substances as well as just burnout, fatigue, depression, pharmaceutical overload, and other problems. He creates an Emerald Neuro Recover infusion by combining NAD+ with specific amino acids given in the form of IV drips. Yip has used Humiston’s protocol with children who have suffered severe physical and emotional trauma. Her specialty is brain mapping and she showed remarkable before and after brain scans of her clients. Often, children subject to early abuse never recover normal brain and nervous system function. Yip demonstrated that the Emerald Neuro Recover protocol, along with other therapies, could restore brain function to a more normal state. For more information, visit the Emerald Neuro Recover website.

On Friday, Dale Guyer, MD, presented "Peptide Protocols to Support Detoxification and Cellular Healing." He noted that there are now over 7,000 identified peptides, over 60 currently approved by the FDA and many more in various stages of research. He discussed the use of various peptide formulations for detox and restoration in treating conditions like chronic fatigue, long covid, brain and gut problems and mitochondrial restoration. For more information, visit The Guyer Institute website.

James Lavalle, RPh, CCN, MT, presented his work "Cellular Detoxification - A Systems Biology Approach." He talked about the Biology of Metaflammation and its effect on the skin, gut, and overall health. He showed how this metaflammation induces a catabolic state that triggers many degenerative pathways. He talked about the relationship between the skin and the gut and presented various combinations of prebiotics, probiotics and other natural substances can be used to improve these conditions. For more information, visit James Lavalle's website.

Koichi Tanji, ND, LMHCA, FMAPS, presented "The Neurological Consequences of Screen Addiction: Unveiling a Hidden Cause of Neurodevelopmental and Psychiatric Disorders." He talked about how to diagnose screen addictions. Boys have greater issues with gaming addiction and girls more social media and texting. The average American child age 8-18 spends over 7.5 hours daily on entertainment media. He noted that there is more dopamine produced from gaming than drug abuse. This leads to various disorders like anxiety, OCD, depression, ADHD, loss of coping skills, “virtual autism,” and other problems. He discussed various treatment protocols for these issues.

John Richardson, JD discussed some of the latest legal concerns affecting integrative medicine practitioners.

Julia Malkowski, ND, DC, discussed "The Gut-Detox Axis: Gut Microbiome and Detoxification Perspectives." According to Hippocrates, all disease begins in the gut. Malkowski talked about the increasing toxic exposure that impacts all of us. She described the processes that occur in each phase of detoxification and how it impacts the gut and the entire body, especially in Phase 3 where the gut microbiome takes on a more important role. She discussed the importance of glutathione, GALT, short chain fatty acids, and microbial diversity and how they impact gut health. She suggested various protocols and strategies for improving the microbiome.

Virginia Osborne, NMD, presented "Detox: A Collaborator in the Depuration Steps for Health." She noted that some form of cleansing protocol has been part of health regimes throughout the world for thousands of years. She explained the difference between detoxification and depuration – detoxification is only one subset of depuration and if it is done before preparing the body it can make the patient sicker. She talked about how to develop the right protocol for everyone, taking into consideration the type of toxins they are dealing with. She presented several protocols and discussed the various components involved.

Joe Cleaver, MD, presented "Senolytics: The Science of Human Aging." He discussed the process of aging and how damage to the DNA leads to cell senescence, immunosenesecne, inflammaging and disease. He described the physiological cascade of decline in these areas and discussed his use of peptides and senolytics to repair physiological function and slow the decline of the aging process. He discussed his use of the klotho gene as an antiaging risk marker. For more information, visit Joe Cleaver's profile on the Paradigm Wellness Medical Group website.

Joseph R. Purita, MD, presented "The Nuts and Bolts of Stem Cell and PRP Therapy." His very informative discussion delved deeply into the mechanisms of regenerative therapies, covering the role of platelets, growth factors, various ways to use PRP and the variety of ways to use stem cells. He discussed adjunctive therapies that could augment the ultimate effect of regenerative therapies including hyperbaric oxygen, photobiomodulation and supplementation. He maintains that Redox Biology and oxidation explain all disease. He noted that with oxidation, all toxins take electrons from a normal biomolecule. Reduction happens when antioxidants return electrons to a biomolecule. He discussed the role of heavy metals, how they accumulate in the heart and protocols for heavy metal detoxification. He also talked about how spike proteins can lead to clotting problems and heart failure. For more information, visit Joseph Purita's profile on the Stem Cells Group website.

Holly Groh, MD, presented "Students of All Ages, Screens and Legislation." Groh talked about the unintended health consequences of too much screen time. As an ophthalmologist she has studied the effects of screens for many years and noted especially the effect on the eyes. She works with a consortium of doctors and other interested parties to introduce legislation in Louisiana aimed at establishing healthy guidelines for screen use. She shared ideas for developing proper ergonomics when working with screens and gave tips on how parents can limit device use at home.

Jill Crista, ND, presented "The Naturopathic Approach to Mold-Related Illness." Crista relayed some important facts about mold toxicity and how it impacts people. There can be allergic and/or toxic reactions. She pointed out the various symptoms and ailments caused by mold and mycotoxins. She then presented treatment options and protocols intended to detoxify mold from the body and restore health. For more information, visit Jill Crista's website.

Derek Guillory, MD, presented "Essential Immune Detoxification – Clearing Everything from Spike Protein to Food Allergies." He noted that there are two causes for all disease: deficiency and toxicity; and two dispositions: genetic and environment (both inside and outside). In serious immune issues it is important to clear the trigger and allow intrinsic processes to work effectively. He discussed various treatment strategies including ozone, hyperbaric oxygen, and a lengthy and informative discourse on urine therapy. For more information, visit the Root Causes website.

Peter McCullough, MD, MPH, presented "Base Spike Detoxification for Post-Acute Sequelae After SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19 Vaccination." McCullough discussed issues surrounding the origins of SARS/COVID and how the virus has evolved. He has reported his findings to federal, state and local governments on the complications related to COVID as well as various treatment options. He discussed issues around the vaccine and noted that there has never been a vaccine issued with this amount of toxicity and side effects. There are over 4,000 papers written on this throughout the world. He shared his protocols for testing and treating COVID related clotting disorders, long COVID and other symptoms. For more information, visit  Peter McCullough's website.

Bruce Lipton, PhD, gave the keynote presentation, "New Biology: New Medicine." Lipton began his career in the medical system studying the human genome. He noted that there are two misconceptions about genetics: Genes control biology and biological processes employ Newtonian physics. Predictability is the hallmark of science and leads to a convenient idea that we are biochemical machines controlled by DNA. Genes are not self-actualizing. There are only 6 known diseases that are wholly caused by genes. Lipton’s research with cells gave rise to the field of epigenetics – it is a signal from the environment (internal/external) that drives gene expression. Epigenetics, not genetics, control biology. Environmental signals acting on proteins elicit a behavior. The signals must go through the cell membrane. The cell “mem-brain” is like a semi-conductor with gates and channels, essentially, a chip (carbon-based, not silicon). The cell nucleus is like a hard drive with instructions that activate proteins. The cell is a programmable chip. Self-receptors on each cell are unique. Personal identity is a broadcast/field with unique receptors. Even when we die, the broadcast remains. The data in your membrane is acted upon by a signal/perception. Not all perceptions are real, some are beliefs. Belief controls biology. Perception is fundamental consciousness and the membrane is the receiver. The brain creates thoughts (signals) that can act upon chemistry. It is the function of the mind to create coherence between beliefs and reality. Changes in thoughts, diets, emotions, etc. (epigenetic factors) do not change the code, but the read-out of the code.

Today, people are closing down. So many “bad” signals from trauma, toxins, negative thinking, etc., create stress so that the drive to survive controls one’s life. The amygdala scans the environment for potential threats then sends a signal through the HPA axis to prime the body for fight/flight. This chronic stress leads to disease. We are all made of atoms that are simply energy. The reason you can see things is that the lights are on: Photons make you appear. Atoms are wave generators – invisible forces that cause ripples. Ripples create a pattern of interference that then creates a field. The field is the sole governing agency of matter. Matter plus the field equals structure (Einstein). Constructive interference is the highest form of love. Destructive interference is the loss of energy that can lead to disease.

Newtonian physics separates the mind from the body. Quantum physics puts the mind over the body. We have a choice in how we program ourselves. For more information, visit Bruce Lipton's website.