Detoxification, Is It Right For You?

We naturally detoxify every day mainly through our liver and gut, but also through our gallbladder, kidney, lungs and skin. There are a number of contributing factors that may make detoxification difficult for some people.

The main area of detoxification is in your liver. Your liver is a powerful organ involved in many things such as detoxification, cholesterol synthesis, and hormone balance. It is one of the most overloaded organs of the body system. We quite frankly, don’t take very good care of it by the way we live our lives. But, it’s good to know that this organ is quite resilient. If it is overloaded for too long, you can do severe and irreversible damage. So let’s discuss how we can support detoxification and liver health.

Poor diet low in essential nutrients, fats, amino acids, and calories can be an added stress on your system and you could be missing essential enzymes that make detoxification successful. A diet full of vitamins and other nutrients from whole foods and supportive supplements can be an essential part of liver detoxification and health. Eating empty low calorie foods only inhibits this ability.

Stress from emotion, trauma or even physical injury can be a load on the liver. Finding ways to reduce emotional and physical stress will help to reduce toxic load. Regular exercise and meditation are two wonderful ways to support and strengthen your ability to handle stress and process toxic byproducts. Stress management has also shown to help support hormone balance and reduce excessive hormone byproducts and detoxification of these byproducts. Estrogen metabolites are known to be dangerous if not detoxed correctly.

Gut health is vitally important as well. Convenience foods, stress, alcohol, and medication can cause inflammation of the gut, but your own gut bacteria produces toxic byproducts. This is why a balanced gut “flora” is important. There is a war going on all the time in your gut. The gut is part of immune function which is working 24/7. If the gut is impaired, your immune function will also be impaired. A poor immune function adds to inflammation and illness. A healthy gut = a healthy body. Proper digestion and elimination are essential for detoxification. Constipation is something that MUST be addressed.

Lastly, many individuals have genetic susceptibilities that make detoxification even more difficult. They may be more sensitive to the environment and stress than others. These individuals may require additional support to help all phases of detoxification and restore balance and well being.

There are many things can do to support our ability to detox.  First, reduce or eliminate as many environmental toxins as possible. 2) Aid digestion by eliminating any offensive foods.  This may require some time figuring out what foods cause inflammation. An elimination diet plan along with supportive digestive enzymes and probiotics may be necessary. 3) Support your liver, kidney, gall bladder and intestines. Drink plenty of filtered water. Don’t over load your kidneys  with excessive protein and provide a lot of fiber to help digestion and removal. Choose sulfur rich vegetables and protein for liver phase support.

Some people may need to eliminate cooked meats for a short period to rest the gut from toxic reactions to oxidized meats and lipids. Some people may need to start with cooked or juiced vegetables and fruits as they heal their gut from chronic inflammation.

If you have multiple sensitives, gut problems, immune reactions, you may need to do a gut restoration protocol before engaging in any detoxification program. FOOD FIRST!!!  This is part of my health assessment. It is not recommended to try any detoxification program without assessment.  Individual recommendations can be made post assessment.

Signs and symptoms of needed detoxification support: Skin rashes, fatigue, brain fog, headaches, joint and muscle aches, bloating and gas, poor immune function, chemical sensitivities, etc.

Please feel free to ask me any questions in regards to our detoxification protocols, assessments, and health goals. See the “First Line Therapy” tab for more details @ www.eatwellandbeyond.com