Heather Bedard, C.H.E.
Detoxing is all the rage, and has been for awhile, especially around the new year, It’s almost moved from a trend to a healthcare mainstay. If you go online to search, you’ll find detox programs marketed for everything from summer detox protocols to get that summer body, to gut detoxes to liver detoxes and the list goes on for nearly every organ in your body.
Detox is short for detoxification, which is the idea that your body is full of toxins that need to be expelled; typically through a specific diet, pill, juice, or protocol. The idea for this is based on the fact that our environment is far from the natural, organic, symbiotic relationship we had with the earth hundreds of years ago and is now filled with plastics, chemicals, EMR, radiation, GMO’s, changes in farming practices, forever chemicals (which do not ever go away) and other air, water, and soil pollutants. There’s no getting away from it. Our air is filthy, our water is full of pesticides, chlorine, pharmaceuticals, etc, and the soil has been abused and stripped of natural minerals and replaced with man-made vitamins and pest controls. It’s a wonder you’re even alive right now.
The miracle is that you are alive, and that you are functioning. Many of your health issues can be traced back to these toxins (that you cannot get away from without a lot of effort) and poor eating habits. Your body can be so inundated with toxins that it cannot handle it all, creating chronic illness and autoimmune diseases. So, what is one to do? The answer may not be as complicated as you think.
It can be tempting to want to jump on a 5-day liver detox diet to make yourself feel better or to lose a couple of pounds quickly, but we have to remember that our health is our responsibility for the long-term. Quick diets, detoxes, and 21-day protocols may do something quickly, but aren’t going to set you up for success in the future.
A lot of us have grown up in diet culture which tends to promote the mindset that I can eat whatever I want, or do whatever I want, and then I’ll do a 30-day weight-loss program and lose 10 pounds fast or I’ll take my liver detox pill and everything will be fine. It’s that kind of thinking that has America close to last on the list of healthiest countries. We don’t feel terrible because we have a detox deficiency. We feel terrible because we eat terribly, we have depressing lifestyles, and we’ve been fed a load of garbage on what true health looks like or requires from us.
Your incredible body is a pro at detoxification. The organs that are most responsible for this are your liver, kidneys, lungs, lymph, colon and skin. For most people, your detoxification organs are working fine, they are just fed a constant diet of toxins. This can keep them from working with the best efficiency. In other words, the best detox is to stop feeding yourself toxins. Let’s go through each one and how we can best support our body in this process.
First let’s look at the liver. The liver does over 500 different functions, but the main ones are, breaking down poisonous substances, think alcohol and pharmaceutical drugs, and allows your body to process them. It also helps your blood to clot and stores vitamins and glycogen. It produces bile to help excrete waste and filters your blood. You cannot detox the liver. You can, however, support it by ingesting unprocessed foods, foods low in fat, and low in pesticides and additives.
What does your liver need? It needs fresh fruits and vegetables. I’m going to avoid giving a list because this only emphasizes the reductionist idea that you can eat magical foods to get magical results. Eat the rainbow and eat fresh!
Next is the kidney. Your kidneys filter waste and extra fluid from the blood and keep your electrolytes balanced. They also help to control your blood pressure and make red blood cells. Your kidneys do an incredible job at this. Give your kidneys the best shot at success by lowering your animal food intake and processed sugars. Eat fresh foods that won’t overload your blood with toxins and allow the extraction of optimal nutrition. Again, this isn’t a special diet. This is learning to support your body by eating an optimal diet so your body can do what it does best without unneeded strain or injury. Eat what’s best and your body does the rest.
Following that, take a look at the lungs. Your lungs take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide which is toxic to your body. They also help to trap dust, pollen and other pollutants and expel them. You can’t detox the lungs, either, but you can support their function by avoiding polluted air, using an air purifier, stop smoking if you do that, and eat fresh foods that prevent infection, and lower inflammation.
Now let’s check out the lymph. The lymphatic system is a part of the immune system and helps to keep waste moving out of the body. It consists of organs, and lymph nodes, ducts and vessels that move lymph throughout the body. Lymph is a liquid that comes from cells, and tissues and is comprised of that liquid as well other waste products. If there is an abundance of foreign invaders, dead cells and other waste in tissues, the lymph system can become clogged resulting in you feeling inflamed, swollen, or sick. To avoid this, keep yourself well hydrated and active. Other modalities such as massage and dry brushing can help to keep the system flowing as well.
Your lymphatic system works with your liver and kidneys and other organs in your body so a healthy diet that supports these organs are going to only support your lymphatic system as well. Avoid processed foods and foods that are high in sugar and additives to reduce the amount of outside toxins that can be released from tissues and clog the system. In other words, keep moving and eat healthy, and your lymphatic system will thank you.
Moving on, let’s check out the colon. The colon is a part of the digestive system. It absorbs water and electrolytes as well as digested food, to form a stool that is then excreted from the body. Need I say more? Most of the time when people think of detoxing the colon, they think about enemas and colon cleanses.
I would like to put up a warning flag on these, however. Doing colon cleanses are not going to prevent the ramifications of poor eating habits in general. These enemas and cleanses can affect the bacterial balance in your colon and create further digestive issues. Other risks include dehydration, abdominal pain, vomiting, electrolyte imbalances, and kidney failure. Coffee enemas have additional risks like rectal burn[1], colitis[2], and death[3]. Not to mention, there are no rigorous control trials that have been conducted on these methods that show health improvement. Rather than risk bowl perforation, a better approach may be to stay hydrated and eat a high fiber diet which will help to keep waste moving.
Lastly, let’s look at our skin. Your skin is the largest organ of your body and has multiple uses including protector, temperature regulator, and the sensor. Keeping your skin in optimal working condition has many layers to it that would take me a whole session just to dive into that, but I’ll just quickly touch on a few. You want the pores in your skin to not be clogged with bacteria or dead skin cells. This can contribute to acne or cysts and other inflammations of the skin.
One way to do this is sweat. Dermicidin is produced by your sweat glands and acts as an antibiotic that fights bacteria as well as fungi and yeast.[4] Your gut health also affects your skin health. A diet high in animal products lowers FOX01 levels and raises IGF-1 levels. This discrepancy increases the risk of many diseases from cancer to type 2 diabetes and autoimmune diseases. This same discrepancy results in increased sebum and keratin production increasing the risk of acne. Not to mention the increase of inflammation. Taking probiotics can help with this as well as changing your diet to a more optimal eating pattern.[5] I trust you’re seeing the pattern here.
Your diet is a major factor in eliminating the things that cause your detoxification systems to slow down – but there’s hardly a need for a magic bullet…a special pill…or an intense program. The majority of this is marketing hype in my opinion, playing to our need for a quick-fix and desire to do what feels good rather than make lasting change.
There are many other organs in the body which help to keep toxins from building up, but this general list should be good to get you started. Let’s remember that we are changing our mindset from quick fixes to long-term health. The ultimate detox is to eat clean and exercise. Your body’s ability to remove toxins is impacted most by the way you choose to live your life. This encompasses your diet, exercise habits, and other health promoting choices.
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[1] Sashiyama H, Hamahata Y, Matsuo K, et al. “Rectal burn caused by hot-water coffee enema.” Gastrointest Endosc. 2008 Nov;68(5):1008–1009 [2] Keum B, Jeen YT, Park SC, et al. “Proctocolitis caused by coffee enemas.” Am J Gastroenterol. 2010;105(1):229 [3] Eisele JW, Reay DT. “Deaths related to coffee enemas.” JAMA 1980;244(14):1608–1609 [4] Why Sweat Has an Antimicrobial Effect. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). http://www.kit.edu/kit/english/pi_2012_9041.php [5] Fabbrocini G, Bertona M, Picazo O et al. “Supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus sP1 normalises skin expression of genes implicated in insulin signaling and improves adult acne.” Beneficial Microbes 2016 Sept 6;7(5):625-630