What is Detox?
Does it work? Work at what?
As I expanded beyond my career as a pharmacist, gathering knowledge and moving on to studying natural medicine – I was intrigued with the term “Detox”.
Now you must understand, in my past I prepared chemotherapeutic and radio nuclear drugs for injection in a highly sterile lab, so my notion of detox was nuclear reactors or decontamination of one of our technicians from having jabbed themselves with a harsh pharmaceutical.
Physiology and biochemistry would have you believe that our bodies are totally capable of their own detoxification – through blood, bile, urine, sweat, feces, and breath. All true. The question became: is our personal detoxification systems keeping up with environmental pollutants, stress produced pollutants, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agricultural debris or pesticides, fungicides, insecticides etc the likes of which are bodies have not developed methods to remove these unnatural compounds…or at the least reduce the amounts of these compounds as in the case of stress. This answer is no – not adequate at all.
In fact, these systems if not able to eliminate toxic chemicals or byproducts will find somewhere to store them in the body usually in fat cells as many compounds of a toxic nature are fat-soluble. Hence breast tissue, prostate tissue and brain (although there is the blood brain barrier to cross thankfully) are highly susceptible to toxic affects of chemicals, plastics etc. Okay alcohol (affecting the brain and liver) maybe water soluble, but cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury, Teflon, to name a few and the list is scary long are not water soluble.
Main detoxification organs are the intestines, liver, spleen, lungs, skin and kidneys… these filtering organs are responsible for eliminating, processing, and converting to biodegradable substances that can be eliminated in the bile through the intestines/bowel, or urine created in the kidneys.
While we age, the cells of these organs can be congested with mucous and byproducts that inhibit their action not unlike the oil filter in your car, or the filter of your water filtration system, coffee maker filter – you get the idea. These filtering systems are either replaced or cleansed! Another interesting term equated with detox is cleanse. Professionally I became accustomed to yet another term – drainage. Draining the toxins from the filtering organs and tissues is a means back to health, balance and full function. Spices, herbs, sweat lodges, salt water baths, hot cold therapies, massage, acupuncture, and homeopathics have a history long before drugs to return our bodies back to homeostasis and therefore health. These worked exceptionally well before the advent of so many chemical pollutants. Infection was their demise more than pollution. However, not being able to replace these filtering organs meant substances or activities altering circulation were relied upon to enhance detoxification.
So, for the naysayers out there with a variety of symptoms, who have NEVER considered a cleanse (detox or drainage program), I highly recommend consulting me about further explanations and solutions to their myriad of symptoms. These symptoms are rarely a pharmaceutical deficiency or a surgical requirement IF addressed soon enough. It may be a nutrient deficiency creating a metabolic deficiency, rarely is it a genetical issue as the same deficiencies and imbalances can occur in families. The joke about being overweight runs in the family when really no one runs in the family? Studies have shown that issues are less than 15% caused by so called genetics.
Epigenetics, is proving that nutrient deficiencies corrected prior to conception and avoided throughout life can typically bypass so-called genetic tendencies to disease. Ancestral or lineage programming is another fascinating area to explore when it comes to repeated family issues health and otherwise such as repeated conditions of pneumonia or, addictions, money management, miscarriages, etc. but this a discussion out of the scope of this article.
If you are willing to fast for a day with water only this also will qualify as a form of detoxification by resting the digestive track similar to the popular notion of Intermittent Fasting which technically naturally occurs while we sleep.
The liver is considered the main detoxification organ however after the years I have committed to practicing and understanding means to better health, I realize it really starts with intestines, maybe even our mouth and taste buds – then, I may as well go the whole distance and say our brains and emotions. We choose what we are going to consume.
Our gut is digesting then absorbing so what goes in there ultimately passes on to our liver and kidneys for processing. The liver is supported by the spleen. The spleen is impacted by the lymph or vice versa, and this plus the circulatory system impacts the skin and lungs, heart etc.
The liver has 2 main enzyme systems – Phase one addresses all substances from the gut by processing it according it’s to content – fats, proteins carbohydrates and converts it to water-soluble substances often more toxic than the substances consumed! These are then further processed by Phase 2 liver enzymes to be moved on through the bile to the kidneys or lymph. In other words, lots is happening in this particular organ. The kidney decides what to keep as far as macro nutrients – calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and what needs to be eliminated as water soluble gut byproducts.
This was Detox 1.0 and if you wish catch more information on my youtube channel … Time to Detox (To Detox or NOT to Detox) SoupAThon
or – stay tuned for a Webinar series on a 14 day detox with food…
Detox is another term for TREATMENT…you are treating by draining and eliminating, resetting by purging pathways of detoxifiction or enhancing them through addressing nutrient deficiencies.
Whether you detox with food mindfulness, eliminate sugar, alcohol, drugs, tobacco or through fasting or maybe even just consuming more water!
Wellbeing is improved.
A note of simplicity -Hydration – Many health ailments have been corrected by simply drinking more – water properly!
Hard to believe but true.
Cadillac treatments with EDTA for lead poisoning via chelation, formulas of herbs, supplements, and energetic substances such as homeopathy can stimulate pathways of release and support natural chelation and removal from the body. Often this is required because so many individuals let this go too long that drastic measures are required for drastic symptoms.
Detox gone wrong or bad?
Well, this is because many off the shelf or do it yourself detox can begin a cascade of events unexpected, too harsh, or not appropriately targeted to the individual. Maybe they needed more building before detoxing or drainage. Maybe they were too dehydrated, too constipated or too harsh for their age, weight, condition or medication profile.
I mentioned Phase 1 and Phase 2 enzyme systems of the liver? maybe they need to step up Phase 1 before activating phase 2 – as you do not need a build up of toxic water-soluble byproducts of phase 1 disturbing the entire system!
Now that you understand – EVERYONE needs to detox, cleanse, fast and support their detoxification pathways.
Step into this world of supporting your natural good health.
LK ND