Detoxing has become hip lingo in the health world. Look at what is out there and you get dizzy. I’m going to share what I have come to learn about detoxification in this article; things that will help you to improve upon your ability to detoxify, as well as things to avoid.
I have recently found a very powerful and well tested detoxification supplement called Max GXL. It is a Glutathione precurssor which has been clinically tested through placebo controlled studies and was shown to raise intracellular glutathione levels. As you will learn below, glutathione is one of the most important antioxidants your body makes for detoxification.
In the coming weeks and months I intend to monitor my own levels of heavy metal and chemical excretion as I take this product. Click here to find out how you can order this powerful product.
What Is Detoxification?
Detoxification is a fundamental process of our cells. The most basic form of nutrition and detoxification is breathing. Oxygen is the most fundamental and important form of nutrition and carbon dioxide is the most common waste product generated when we engage in the respiratory process of breathing.
Cells have the ability to detoxify. When there is energy produced, there is waste that is generated. The body eliminates this waste through the feces, the urine, the breath, the sweat and the hair.
Toxicity, Nutrition & Detoxification
The body uses the nutrients from food in combination with oxygen to make ATP (biological energy). The constituent properties of foods (macro-nutrients, minerals, amino acids, vitamins) have specific functions within the metabolic processes. Besides nutrients, there are other exogenous substances that enter the body called xenobiotics.
The word ‘Xenobiotic’ is derived from the Greek words meaning “foreigner” or “stranger”. Xenobiotics classically pertain to chemicals, but I will include toxic metals in this classification because toxic metals are also foreign to the body.
Common xenobiotics are pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, pesticides, PCB’s, dioxins, and other chemicals. Common toxic metals are aluminum, mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic and nickel.
How the Body Detoxifies
The human body is capable of detoxifying xenobiotics and toxic metals. Liver cells and enzymes are the primary mechanisms that filter, oxidize, reduce, hydrate and then conjugates and eliminates xenobiotics. The family of 50 liver enzymes known as the cytochrome P450 enzyme system is hugely responsible for phase I liver detoxification. In phase I, the liver also creates the powerful antioxidant Glutathione, which is then used during phase II liver detoxification.
Xenobiotics and toxic metals are then shunted into either the bile for excretion through the feces or to the kidneys to be excreted through the urine.
This process can be hampered by high levels of toxicity. If the liver is congested and overburdened, if glutathione production is low, or if the liver’s pathways are deficient, dysfunction can take place and the body’s burden of xenobiotics can overwhelm the system.
Problems With High Amounts of Toxicity
Toxic metals and chemicals can damage endocrine function, neuron activity in the brain, communication in the autonomic nervous system, cause reactions in the immune system, and cardiovascular system. In today’s world, environmental toxicity has reached an incredible proportion.
It is critical to maintain healthy functions in one’s body and the best way to ensure this happens is by good nutrition and enhancing the detoxification pathways.
Methods of Detoxification
Improving liver function is the key to detoxification. What is fundamental to improving liver function? Eat high quality food that is right for your type of metabolism. Include adequate amounts of metabolic type appropriate protein, preferably minimally cooked or non-heat damaged protein.
Amino acids from protein are essential for initiating liver detoxification. This is particularly true for the sulphur rich amino acids cysteine and methionine. I do not recommend vegan diets because plant sources of protein are very poor sources of sulphur rich proteins. Consuming animal fats and protein will also help to increase bile production. As mentioned earlier, bile is necessary for the elimination of xenobiotics. Bile is also essential for the assimilation of fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.
The other organs that are very important for xenobiotic detoxification are the colon and the kidneys. It is important to have 2-3 bowel movements daily so that xenobiotic toxins are not re-absorbed back into the blood. This can happen if fecal matter gets compacted in the descending colon where a re-absorption into the blood and liver can take place through the hepatic portal. system. Taking good probiotics as well as colon cleansing, colonics and coffee enemas are excellent ways to enhance colon function.
The kidneys can also excrete chemicals and metals. Some experts on detoxification emphasize not to use the kidneys as the primary pathway of detoxification of toxic metals because the kidneys can be seriously damaged. Aluminum poisoning can often be a cause of kidney failure. The liver/ bowel pathway may be safer.
Other pathways that the body uses for detoxification is the hair and sweat. The hair is a preferred method of testing metal elimination because it can reflect a deposit into the soft tissues over a longer period of time than the blood or urine. Sweating is known to increase circulation, which is excellent to mobilize chemicals and metals, moving them to the liver for detoxification. Sweat mostly consists of chlorides and also contains xenobiotics, minerals and toxic metals as well as a small amount of urea. Sauna therapy and exercise is an excellent means to increasing perspiration. Infrared saunas may have great benefits beyond conventional saunas due to their light spectrum and their ability to healt the body rather than the ambient air.
Supplements, Herbs & Detoxification
As stated earlier, enhancing your nutrition through food is the most important way to enhance detoxification in the body. I have found an incredible, well studied Glutathione precurssor product which enhances detoxification in the cells. Email me for more on this. There are additional supplements and herbs which can be very beneficial:
- Colon: Psyllium fiber, bentonite, cascara sagrada, barberry, turkey rhubarb root, cayenne, senna leaf, aloe vera, marshmallow root, slippery elm, inulin, apple fruit pectin, activated charcoal, chicory, magnesium salts, castor oil, Vitamin C bowel tolerance, coffee enemas and colonics, probiotics
- Liver: Extra virgin olive oil, garlic, burdock, sulphur, ox bile, turmeric, carrot, apple, ginger, tomato, dandelion, milk thistle, NAC, L-Glycine, Vitamin C, silymarin, cordyceps
- Kidneys: Watermelon, hydrangea root, uva ursi leaf, dandelion leaf, juniper berry, burdock root