For Immediate Release

Contact:

Elaine Schock or Meredith Louie
Shock Ink, 818-932-0001

It’s Spring Cleaning Time!

Neurologist Dr. Ilene Sue Ruhoy Shows You How To Detox

Your Home, Diet, & Medicine Cabinet

Dr. Ilene Sue Ruhoy’s Book,

Invisible No More: Embracing Your Road to Recovery

from Long Covid and Other Complex Chronic Illnesses,

Is Out June 17 via St. Martin’s Essentials

“Dr. Ruhoy’s book empowers you…

to take control of your illness and treatment.”

 — Vivian Kominos, MD, Integrative Cardiologist

NEW YORK — As we welcome the season of renewal, there’s no better time to spring forward to better health, starting right at home. In her eye-opening new book, Invisible No More: Embracing Your Road to Recovery from Long Covid and Other Complex Chronic Illnesses (out June 17 via St. Martin’s Essentials), renowned neurologist and integrative physician Dr. Ilene Sue Ruhoy, MD, reveals how the everyday toxins lurking in our homes may be quietly undermining our well-being. With a blend of personal insight and practical advice, Dr. Ruhoy empowers readers to detoxify their environments—and their lives—one mindful step at a time.

One of the many topics related to Long COVID and other complex chronic illnesses that Invisible No More takes on is the issue of toxicity in the home and body. The book tackles the reasons why exposure to a common illness or toxic environment can trigger a chronic response and can cause long-term disease and disability, including brain fog, constant headaches, dizziness, and reduced cognitive function.

In the chapter “Cleaning Up Your Environment,” Dr. Ruhoy, a noted neurologist, toxicologist, and integrative physician,shows you how to detoxify your living environment to prevent further exposure to daily pollutants, including those in our food, makeup, and cleaning products. She shows how one can make well-informed lifestyle changes to protect oneself, limit your exposure to toxins, and improve overall health.

“We need to find small things we can do in our lives to either directly improve our health or increase our chance of improvement, even by small measures,” says Dr. Ruhoy.

While it’s impossible to avoid all the toxins and contaminants we are exposed to in the world, Invisible No More offers up some easy-to-follow tips on how to cut down on the ones in our home and use on ourselves. Here are a few…

Detoxify Your Home: Replace the chemicals in your household cleaning products with non-toxic products made of natural, organic, and eco-friendly ingredients. However, beware of those labels. Look for the Certified Organic seal or the Certified Biobased seal on products. Terms such as “eco-friendly,” “natural,” “clean,” “green,” and “organic” are not regulated and cannot always be trusted to give the full story of the product used. ​Using air purifiers and water filters in the home is an additional way to keep pollutants out of the body.

Purge Personal Care Products: Personal care products can introduce toxins into the environment, and consumers should seek natural and organic alternatives, but, again, look specifically for the USDA Organic seal. This goes for beauty products, medicines, supplements, and other personal care products, such as deodorant, skincare, and haircare. Polypharmacy, defined as taking more than five medications, poses risks for chronic-illness patients, necessitating careful management. ​Supplements often contain excipients and may not provide significant benefits; targeting specific symptoms is advised. Consult your doctor before making any changes to medicines or supplements.

Clean Up Your Diet: Convenience in food choices often leads to unhealthy options, increasing the risk of inflammation and disease. ​A plant-based diet is recommended, as meat and fish can contain harmful contaminants and require significant energy for metabolism.​Organic, non-GMO foods are encouraged, especially for the “Dirty Dozen,”  which should be eaten only in organic form because they tend to be grown with too many chemicals. The 12 foods on the “Dirty Dozen” list are strawberries, spinach, dark leafy greens, cherries, blueberries, green beans, peaches, pears, nectarines, grapes, apples, and peppers.

Dr. Ruhoy has been down this road herself. On her health journey of being treated for a brain tumor, she made these lifestyle changes. “I made these changes, and I felt my recovery advance subtly. I felt good knowing that I was controlling the things I could control to reduce my exposures now and in the future. The best way to describe it is that I felt less contaminated,” she writes the book.

Part of the book’s early warm reception is Dr. Ruhoy’s integration of her own story with those of others, mixed in with practical advice that anyone can follow. As Vivian Kominos, MD, integrative cardiologist, says, “Through her courage and never-ending search for answers, Dr. Ruhoy’s book empowers you… to take control of your illness and treatment,” says Vivian Kominos, MD, Integrative Cardiologist.

Invisible No More: Embracing Your Road to Recovery from Long Covid and Other Complex Chronic Illnesses, whichaims to empower patients living with chronic and complex illnesses to take their health into their own hands and work with healthcare professionals to make actionable steps to improve their lives, will be available in hardcover, e-book, and audio formats on June 17 from St. Martin’s Essentials.

About Dr. Ilene Sue Ruhoy

Dr. Ilene Sue Ruhoy is a neurologist and environmental toxicologist who specializes in chronic and complex illness, including ME/CFS, EDS, and Long Covid. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, completed her residency in neurology at the University of Washington, and earned a PhD in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Nevada. In addition to her private practice in Seattle, WA, Dr. Ruhoy serves as a Medical Director, co-editor, and speaker on the role of connective tissue in neurological disease.

# # #