Detoxification

This Journal entry presents some ideas about ways to detoxify the body. Incorporating detoxification practices on a daily basis is recommended.

The best ally of Spirit in its human journey is the body. Learning how to detoxify and enhance the body is arguably as important as exercise, good sleep and recreation, and good nutrition.

An essential element for our daily health is our physical body’s ability to detoxify and eliminate thousands of by-products of cellular metabolism, as well as doing the same with the manifold external environmental toxic exposures we encounter throughout the day.

Since the advent of fractional distillation of a barrel of crude oil, there are now over 100,000 new types of chemicals in our environment as a result of burgeoning petro industry chemistry spin-off. Most of these chemicals’ effects on human health have never been studied. These new chemicals increase at the estimated rate of about 5000 new chemical derivatives on a yearly basis. All petrochemical derivatives are toxic to any life system.

Without our body’s ability to detoxify its own by-products we would be done for in about a week. These days, as opposed to the days of our not very distant forebears (grandparents), we must manage this heterogeneous mixture of petrochemical derivatives with efficient biochemical detoxification processes.

Please keep in mind that our recent ancestors of the last century also had the advantage of chemical free and more robust foods to assist their health. The environment was also cleaner. People born before WWII are generally more robust in all ways and tend to live long lives. The biggest chemical threats of the pre WWII people were tobacco and alcohol. These days we still have tobacco and alcohol and also thousands of environmental xenobiotic toxins to contend with.

Detoxification is important because it is becoming increasingly clear that the biggest threat to human health right now is the growing exposure to environmental toxins. Since we humans are at the top of the food chain, we are bioaccumulators of toxins like pesticides, herbicides, flame retardants, solvents, and the thousands of man-made chemicals that have been developed over the last 80 years. This list includes exposure and toxicity from plastic products. These sorts of toxins are extremely hard for the environment as well as our body to neutralize and get rid of.

Here are some good reasons to incorporate a detoxification regimen:

1. Detox improves how we age. The bioaccumulation of toxins increases as we age. Not surprisingly, we are reaping the negative consequences of this bioaccumulation. In fact, since toxins damage basic cellular function, they adversely affect every cell, tissue, organ, and body system. Toxins play a key role in destroying our health.
2. Detox increases energy levels. The ability to detoxify is critically tied to our energy levels. If you drag through the day, promoting improved detoxification can really boost energy levels.
3. Detox improves brain function. The brain is very sensitive to toxin load. When toxin levels are high the brain will short-circuit making it hard to maintain concentration and focus, remember things, and solve problems.
4. Detox improves immune system function. If you get more than one or two colds a year, or if a cold seems to drag on and on, or you just seem to get one infection after another, it could be a sign that your immune system is being impaired due to an overload of toxins. A cleanse can help eliminate an obstacle to healthy immune function.
5. Detox improves the health and appearance of the skin. The skin is the largest organ of the body and plays a key role in the elimination of some types of toxins. A cleanse generally has a phenomenal effect in promoting beauty from within. Clear, vibrant, radiant skin is a sign of health, inside and out.

One of the challenges with dealing with toxins is that they can actually impair our ability to detoxify. In other words, the toxins hit and burden our detoxification system first. So, it is important to devote some focus and effort in support this vital system.

The important organs which assist detoxification are the liver, lungs, kidneys, GI tract, and skin. The liver is felt to be the most important of these organs to focus on first.

Liver Detoxification

The liver goes about the biochemistry of detoxification in a 2 step process. Please bear in mind that the liver is performing a vast number of other biochemical functions which are essential for health, in addition to this 2 step detox chemistry.

The 2 step liver detox chemistry is performed by what are known as Phase I and Phase II enzyme systems. Phase I enzymes are known as the Cytochrome p 450 enzymes, a family of some 100 enzymes which take the toxin through chemical stages of transformation into an intermediate form, which is usually still toxic.

The intermediate toxin is then taken through Phase II enzymes which consist of methylation, conjugation, sulfonation, hydroxylation, glycination, and glucuronidation pathways. These enzyme driven chemical pathways render the intermediate toxin into either fat soluble or water soluble forms.

Fat soluble toxins are then excreted in the lipophilic (“fat-loving”) bile liquid which is produced by the liver in the amount of 700-1000 ml/day. This gold to green colored liquid passes through the bile duct system down into the duodenum where it mixes with foods, aiding in digestion and absorption of fats and fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K), and delivery of toxic wastes to the fecal stream.

If there is not adequate fiber present in the diet and intestinal tract to adsorb and bind the excreted toxins and help transport them out of the intestinal tract, then the toxins will be reabsorbed back through the intestinal lining, and transported right back to the liver by way of the enterohepatic venous pathways and portal vein, which is known as the portal circulation. Toxins thus accumulate, and must be reprocessed.

Water soluble toxins are excreted via a hydrophilic (“water-loving”) dissolution into the watery bloodstream which circulates the toxin via blood borne transport to the kidneys for excretion via the renal tubules into the urine, down the ureters, into the bladder, and out of the body via urination.

If there is not enough water present in one’s daily intake, then the efficiency of both Phase I and Phase II elimination pathways will be compromised. A touted guideline on the maximum daily water intake one can consider is to take one’s weight in pounds, divide that number by 2, and work up to that number of ounces of water per day.

That is a lot of water, in my opinion, but the number is at least a reference point for maximum daily intake. Those people who have any issues with hypertension, congestive heart failure, or kidney failure will be consulting with their physician specialists about how much water they can safely consume in a day’s time.

Good hydration makes all systems work better, especially the central nervous system. People who live in dry or high altitude climates should practice some scrutiny and vigilance about their hydration levels, particularly if they are physically active every day. One should know their physical and physiological systems well enough to know when they are even mildly dehydrated.

To over consume water above and beyond the reference noted above can result in water intoxication. This disorder will result in serious electrolyte disturbance for sensitive organs like the central nervous system and heart. Water intoxication is a serious medical emergency.

Another important consideration in one’s hydration status is to consider the effects of diuretic chemicals which one may consume on a daily basis. Chemicals such as caffeine and alcohol create an increased loss of water and attendant minerals via enhanced urinary filtration and diuretic effect. Such a diuretic loss of water and minerals must be replenished daily. If one is using diuretic pharmaceuticals then this effect is enhanced.

The metabolism of alcohol in the liver also consumes the B vitamins in its metabolism. Furthermore, alcohol has direct toxic effect on brain, heart, and liver. If you drink any alcohol, it is very important to utilize robust nutritional countermeasures to ameliorate these negative health effects. This subject is grist for another mill, but the measures presented below will help.

Genetic mutations of Phase I and Phase II enzymes are common. Everyone has some important mutations in these important enzymes. A mutated enzyme will not be as functional as it should be, but can be assisted back into good function by providing the enzyme with its nutritional co-factor. Please refer to reference #5 in the reading list at the end of the Journal writing for more information on how to determine your genetic mutations.

It is important to assist Phase I and Phase II detoxification pathways by:

1. Eating more fiber rich foods. Food fiber lists abound for your edification. An apple, pear, and orange contain about 4 grams of fiber, on average, as an example. Here is one food fiber listing.
2. Using a fiber supplement. I recommend a psyllium based fiber as well as a fiber product from Designs for Health known as PaleoFiber. Such a combination will insure adequate soluble and insoluble fiber ratios. A total of 25 to 50 grams of fiber per day (food plus fiber supplement) per 1000 calories consumed is a recommended goal, depending on one’s body size.
3. Eating more mineral rich foods. Generally the foods that are richest in calcium, magnesium, and zinc are the foods which are richest in all minerals needed for health. The minerals are essential because they catalyze (make possible) all of the body’s enzyme activity. Inadequate minerals relates to inadequate enzyme function. The cells of the body contain thousands of busy enzymes. They all require minerals to work. Magnesium and zinc catalyze more enzymes than all of the other minerals combined. Most Americans are zinc and magnesium deficient. This is because of the poor state of average foods grown in sub par soils which are then processed by the reckless standard food industry into nutrient oblivion.
4. Using a mineral supplement. Designs for Health has a nice array. Remember, we are providing minerals to assist Phase I and Phase II enzyme function, as well as all cellular enzyme activity throughout the body. Minerals also enable electricity in the body, the production of which is also enzyme dependent. By the way, all enzymes are protein units with highly specialized functions. Enzymes are functional proteins, not structural proteins. One of the reasons we eat protein, therefore, is to supply the amino acid subunits to make protein enzyme units.
5. Using a multivitamin supplement. Both Phase I and Phase II enzyme pathways are vitamin dependent for optimal function.
6. Using  foods and supplements rich in phytochemicals (plant chemicals) and other various liver detoxification nutrients. Both Phase I and Phase II enzymes are plant chemical dependent, in addition to all of the aforementioned requirements. A simple way to approach this consideration is to employ a rainbow diet daily. The rainbow diet consists of fruits and vegetables which are colored with plant pigments that imbue the food with its distinctive color from the rainbow; red, orange, yellow, green, blue. You may know these pigments as the carotenoid family of pigments, chlorophyll pigment, and anthocyanin pigments, for example. Each food plant pigment also has a certain antioxidant capacity, known as its ORAC value. ORAC is an acronym for “oxygen radical absorbance capacity,” and is a measure of how effective the food is in neutralizing oxygen free radicals (antioxidation), yet another chemical process which is important to consider as part of the overall detoxification process. The detoxification process produces a lot of oxidation byproducts which must be neutralized.

A Simple Fasting Approach

I often recommend a protocol for fasting which is pretty simple to follow, and allows for incremental adjustments by the body, thus easing the physical and mental mindset adaptation process. This helps reduce perceived physiological and psychological stress on the system. The protocol goes like this:

• Day 1- eliminate meat
• Day 2- eliminate dairy
• Day 3- eliminate grains
• Day 4- eliminate legumes, nuts, and seeds
• Day 5- eliminate vegetables
• Day 6- eliminate fruit

Day 7- one can now employ a variety of broths, juices, teas, and water for a variety of days. Usual fasts of this sort may last 3, 5, 7, or 9 days as toxins stored throughout the body are mobilized and processed through the Phase I and II enzyme systems of the liver.

There is no special magic to the number of days one uses the fast.

To break the fast, and reintroduce foods, all one has to do is to reintroduce food groups in the reverse order of the above on a 6 day schedule.

I generally recommend that people do a detox cleansing 2 times per year; say in spring and fall, and maybe consider starting the process on a new moon.

A Nice Documentary Produced in 2015 about Fasting

Since this I posted this Detoxification writing in 2010 there has been a lot of research into the health benefits of  calorie restriction by way of various types of fasting protocols. Here is a one hour BBC documentary production of excellent quality entitled Eat, Fast, & Live Longer. The narrator visits well known researchers in America who have him try 3 different types of fast styles: a 4 day fast, an alternating day fast regime, and a 5-2 regime wherein he eats normally for 5 days of the week and calorie restricts for 2 days.

Our narrator lost weight and improved all metabolic blood chemistry parameters.

In addition, here is a nice Intermittent Fasting Quickstart Guide which you can refer to if you want to try daily, weekly, or alternate day fasting. The times of calorie abstinence or restriction are explained.

As you will see, there are many different ways to fast, all of which bestow desirable health and longevity benefits. All of these styles of fasting can be incorporated into ketotic dieting which is the generation of ketone bodies from body fat burning which occurs with carbohydrate and protein calorie restriction. In this style of dieting fat is used as the primary food the enhance the production of ketones which are a cleaner and more efficient type of fuel for brain, heart, and mitochondria of all cells. See some of the references in the reading section below.

Everyday Detoxification

Another viable and simple way to consider the detoxification process is to just employ elements of it on an ongoing everyday basis, which is what I do. This is pretty simple, and it employs all of the points noted above in the writing about how to assist Phase I and II enzyme pathways.

It just becomes part of what you do inside of a day of living. It is akin to your gardening efforts. You are cultivating and sowing in your own human body garden. At least you can do that much gardening.

In summary, what one does in a daily detox program is to clean up one’s diet to consist of rich, organically clean, nutrient dense foods appropriate for one’s physiological make-up, activity level, and belief systems. One drinks adequate water to hydrate the system and assist Phase I and II enzyme pathways in the production of adequate bile and urine.

Just consider the frequency and volume of urine production as a guide to hydration adequacy, as well as the color of the urine. If the urine is darker and more cloudy, then you need more water. If you are taking B vitamins, and adequate hydration, the urine should be of adequate volume and should display a healthy, yet dilute pale yellow color; not a dense cloudy color. B vitamins normally turn the color of urine more yellow. It is good to become familiar with one’s normal baseline functions and physiology characteristics.

In addition to good foods and water hydration, I utilize a variety of supplements from Designs for Health to assist  not just the liver, but every organ system.

Designs for Health has an excellent array of nutrients to assist the overall detoxification processes, as depicted in the image above. Without an extended explanation of each product, I will simply list some of them with a comment or two. I consider these products to be the highest quality available.

Post date note: All of the supplements listed below may be accessed via the new Designs for Health e-HealthPro store which was instituted in May, 2019. I apologize for any inconvenience as you search the supplements in the new store. Thank you.

1. Pure PaleoCleanse Plus–an advanced powdered supplement introduced by DFH in November, 2019. This writing offers a nice explanation of this new product.
2. Detox Antiox—a capsule containing Phase I and Phase II upregulating chemistry as well as a synergistic blend of antioxidants to help neutralize the oxidation by-products of detox pathways.
3. Amino-D-Tox—a capsule containing a variety of amino acids which upregulate Phase II enzymes, ideal for people who are chronically ill due to chemical sensitivities and who are pathological or are imbalanced detoxifiers.
4. LV-GB Complex—a capsule containing a variety of nutrients for assisting bile flow and thus the proper elimination of toxins. Contains hepatocellular protective silymarin, standardized to 80% silybins. Aids in the elimination of fat soluble toxins from the liver as well as the improved absorption of fats and fat soluble vitamins.
5. Detoxification Support Packets—a packet containing the 3 excellent products listed above: 3 Amino-D-Tox capsules, 1 LV-GB capsule, and 1 Detox Antiox capsule. Usually 1 packet is used twice daily as a good starting point for detox programs. This is an excellent combo product.
6. VegeCleanse Plus 14 Day Detox Program–a 14 day program featuring the elements needed to support Phase I and Phase II pathways.
7. Original 14 Day Detox Kit–this comprehensive kit is a good combination of some of the products mentioned in this list. This is a nice kit to consider.
8. Milk Thistle—a capsule standardized to contain 80% silymarin. This phytochemical protects liver cells from direct toxicities due to alcohol, pharmaceuticals, and other exogenous toxins. Promotes the flow of bile.
9. N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC)—a capsule containing the amino acid NAC which is the precursor to glutathione, the body’s most powerful and abundant antioxidant. NAC is well researched for its use in bronchial, lung, and liver disorders, and heavy metal detoxification. NAC is present in good amounts in both the Detox Antiox and the Amino-D-Tox products.
10. Glutathione Powder—powdered reduced glutathione which has excellent absorbability. Ideal for patients with heavy metal toxicity or high oxidative stress. In capsule form the S-Acetyl Glutathione Synergy is superior. The very best way to take glutathione is in a liposomal form for oral transmucosal absorption called Liposomal Glutathione.
11. VegeCleanse—a premier powder containing hypoallergenic (non lectin) pea protein as the base carrier for all of the nutrients needed to support and balance Phase I and Phase II metabolic pathways. It also contains high levels of antioxidants to support safe detoxification. This single product can be used to assist the detox program fasting days, along with the broths and teas, etc.
12. PaleoFiber—an ultimate fiber product which comes as a powder or as capsules. This fiber supplement is a rather comprehensive product containing 12 different types of fiber, is hypoallergenic, and even contains good amounts of probiotics (essential friendly bacteria). Contains 8.4 grams of soluble and insoluble fiber per serving.
13. PaleoGreens—a greens food powder containing vegetable, fruit, and berry ingredients made in a paleo profile: containing no grains, legumes, alfalfa, corn, gluten, fructose,  artificial sweeteners, bulk or filling agents.  ORAC and high enzyme value are assured via careful preservation and processing.
14. EssentiaGreens— a greens food product densely packed with high ORAC value vegetables, cleansing alkalizing grass juices, and a proprietary blend of fruits and berries. This powder product has a cranberry-orange flavor imparted to it by the addition of inulin, a prebiotic, which does not alter insulin levels.
15. PaleoReds—a high ORAC rich powder combining over a dozen phytonutrient rich red and purple groups of fruits and vegetables. Contains natural bioflavanoid vitamin C from acerola cherry.
16. Complete Mineral Complex–the minerals you need to run all of the electrochemical reactions in the body, including catalyzing Phase I and Phase II liver detox enzymes.
17. Metal-X-Synergy–a natural formula designed to help safely shed the body burden of toxic metals such as aluminum, arse­nic, cadmium, lead, and mercury without many of the common side effects found with the use of harsh synthetic chelating agents.

The nutrient products listed above can be used in an everyday detox support regimen, and can be used to assist any fasting protocol.

Other Considerations

As you journey deeper into detoxification, one of the first things you will learn to do is to detoxify your kitchen. Since the food industry holds the usual kitchen hostage, it is important to detoxify your pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator. Remove all processed foods, all sugars, all artificial sweeteners, all trans fats and processed man made oils, all vegetable oils (except for olive oil and coconut butter), all food with added flavors and other additives (like MSG), and anything containing the name of something on the label that you cannot pronounce or do not know what it is. Learn to read food labels. Most so-called foods made by the food industry are really anti-foods.

If you are fasting you should be taking it easy, and not be creating additional stress for your body by vigorous exercising and other such intense engagements. I know a lot of folks are exercise addicts, but to be exercising like a fanatic everyday is just not natural for a mammalian physiology. Exercising everyday is OK as long as you are not over-doing it and creating a catabolic chemistry in your body. Take a fast from your exercising once in a while.

On the other hand, a good burst-interval training cardio aerobic program is good for your health and endorphin levels, and your fat burning. It also makes you sweat. Sweat helps remove toxins.

While you are at it, take a fast from your worry oriented brain mind thoughts, and get a psychic detox going as well. Take a worry fast. Take a fast from automatic negative thoughts, or, ANTS. Begin to culture automatic positive thoughts, or APTS.

Part of a psychic detox would have to entail detoxing and fasting from all forms of ignorance, misinformation, and propaganda which is being espoused by those princialities who benefit and profit from our mass consciousness state of unknowing and addictive stupidity. Please see references #14 through #20 below.

Most people in western cultures have been indoctrinated along lines of very superficial considerations regarding health. If you do not have health in your psychoemotional and psychospiritual life, you do not have true health in your body. The diseases that I am familiar in my time of service with over the past 4 decades are all too often regarded and treated at a physical level only.

Without attempts to move into the deeper healing of their body, mind, emotions, and spirit, true healing will be incomplete and piecemeal. Furthermore, the most important consideration to being a fully integrated human being lies in healing the trauma we took on in our early days of life.

The heart is the principal organ in the physical and energetic body through which all healing flows. The discovery of our deepest self and the discovery of the Divine should be the same discovery. This discovery occurs in a clarified heart. Please refer to Reference #7 and #8 below.

Mark (Samuel Clemens) Twain once opined a paradox, “The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.”

Even so, it is not even that complicated to have good health…unless…you have lost it. Then it becomes slightly more complicated and you have to do what Mark Twain says.

Wishing you health…Please explore the reading references below.

Signing off from Crestone and Beyond

Additional Reading: 

1. The Ways of Detox…a nice summary by health consultant Sally Mathrick.
2. Environmental Toxins: The Elephant in the Room?
3. New study demonstrates B vitamins may reduce the negative effects from air pollution
4. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) Tap Water Analysis…enter your zip code at this EWG link to learn about the contaminants in your local water and how you might consider filtering these toxins out of your life.
5. Your Personal Genetic Analysis…a writing on this website about genetics and how you can perform a simple and cost effective genetic analysis to determine important mutations you may have in key biochemical categories. Phase I and Phase II liver enzyme mutations are very important to consider and assist into better function as part of one’s health maintenance.
6. Adverse Childhood Events…a later writing on this website about the influence of trauma on our health. The traumatic imprinting we carry is the most important thing to keep detoxing and healing. The writings on heart electromagnetics in the next cited reference bear upon ACEs directly.
7. There are 4 writings on this website from 2017 about how the heart functions outside of its role of pumping blood. These considerations are the most important considerations for living a happy and healthy life that I know of. There are many many people who live happy and healthy lives in our world who would never need to read such writings. They are the living examples of a glowing heart…1) The Pulse of Life, 2) The Spiral of Life, 3) The Prayer of Life, and 4) The Beginning of Life.
8. Adverse Events Dramatically Up for Cosmetics & Personal Care Products
9. Ketones–Understanding These Precious Molecules…an excellent brief summation of ketones which includes a very good exogenous ketone supplement…Keto-Nootropic, from Designs for Health.
10. Minding your Mitochondria…a writing on this website about the biochemistry of mitochondria which features some good information on ketogenic dieting and ketosis.
11. 21st Century Sperm Drought…environmental chemicals are to blame, corroborating reference #8 above.
12. Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Intelligence, Fertility, and Survival?–A Scientific Detective Story, by Theo Colburn…a 1997 classic, now 20 years old, tells the story of the rise of petrochemical toxicities and their biochemical effects on all living things.
13. Living Downstream…the website for the book and the film by the same name, by Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., an ecologist and bladder cancer survivor. This book, also a 1997 classic, helped inform many people, along with Theo Colburn’s book, referenced in #14.
14. Silent Spring…the website and book by Rachel Carson, the gifted person who is thought by many of us to be the originator of the environmental movement. Her 3rd book Silent Spring started the environmental awareness movement rolling back in 1962. Her brief life was all too valuable, and her warnings about governments, corporations, and chemical toxicities have gone unheeded by the governments and corporations who continue to profit from the chemicals which will bring Earth to a real silent spring.
15. The Greatest Danger…a Buddhist thinker offers some advice about how to manage the despair we try to push away when we think about the plight of the Earth which we humans have caused.
16. Fasting’s Antihistamnie Properties…a nice and relatively short writing about the benefits of fasting.
17. Dr. David Perlmutter, M.D., talks with Deanna Minich, Ph.D., about many broad considerations about detoxification in this Empowering Neurologist interview.
18. Dr. David Perlmutter, M.D., talks with Cate Shanahan, M.D., about traditional diets which are the best kinds of diets of true foods that help with ongoing daily detox. Here is this interview. Dr. Shanahan’s new book is entitled Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food. Posted here on 1-12-2018.
19. At Hamburger Central, Antibiotics for Cattle That Aren’t Sick…industrial CAFO feedlots for cattle are a main source of antibiotic usage, antibiotic resistance, and generalized environmental toxicity. The meat you may consume should not come from these operations…from a NYT article, posted here on March 24, 2018.
20. ‘The Harms of Fracking’: New Report Details Increased Risks of Asthma, Birth Defects and Cancer…Rolling Stone Magazine publishes a damning report on the toxicities wrought by the fracking industry.
21. Which Bottled Waters Contain the Most Plastic?…in the water, not in the plastic. The problem of ingested microplastics is a new health threat.
22. Not Everyone Who Wants to Reproduce Will Be Able…common chemicals cause sperm deformity and decreased counts.
23. Pesticides–Part I–Exploring Their Impact…studies to date have confirmed that pesticides contribute to some of the most devastating and epidemic health conditions witnessed globally.
24. Multiple Chemical Sensitivity–Part I…a very helpful article for those who suffer with this rather new condition which is a result of having to live in and being exposed to a toxic environment. Biochemical pathways are discussed.
25. Microplastics Find Their Way Into Your Gut, a Pilot Study Finds…volunteers from 8 different countries submitted stool for analysis and all specimens contained microplastics. Up to nine different kinds of plastics were detected, ranging in size from .002 to .02 inches. The most common plastics detected were polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate — both major components of plastic bottles and caps. This is one way humans and other life forms are exposed to xenobiotic (xenoestrogen) toxins. Large scale studies will help clarify this problem.