To Detox or Not to Detox

There seems to be many definitions pertaining to "Detox" and many methods too. Detoxification is defined "to remove a harmful substance (such as a poison or toxin)" or "to render a harmful substance harmless". At any given second of the day, your liver is identifying and breaking down all substances it is exposed to. After the liver has broken the substance down, it is then sent for elimination via pooping it out, urinating, exhaling, and sweating it out. If all goes well, all systems function normally and you feel great. No need for detox.

When things go wrong:

1. Nutrient deficiencies can occur if you are not consuming a balanced diet low on chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, artificial flavoring & dyes, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives . It is important to consume healthy carbohydrates, healthy proteins, and healthy fats. Your liver requires B-vitamins, amino acids (from protein), Vitamin C, flavonoids, and minerals to function on a daily basis. Plus adequate hydration to help with liver detox and elimination.

2. Issues with digestion can caused by a variety of reasons, but they will ultimately affect absorption and utilization of nutrients required by the liver. Any digestive issues must be evaluated by a physician to determine what is the cause as different gastrointestinal diseases will contribute to a domino effect in health. There are many organs involved in digestion and when one is affected, the others will be too.

3. Issues with elimination like constipation, not sweating, breathing shallow breaths, or not urinating normally, the toxins will go back into circulation. Everything that we put into our bodies and everything our bodies make will have to pass through the liver 5 times before that substance is completely eliminated. If you are unable to eliminate properly, it can cause toxins to be stored or can contribute to toxicities.

4. Unhealthy diet and lifestyle damages liver function like smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, using drugs, eating primarily junk food/ processed foods, regularly drinking soda instead of water, sedentary with little movement or exercise, and constantly feeling stressed. All of this will deplete nutrients and/or overwhelm the liver. Did you know that the minute you feel "tipsy" from drinking alcohol, your liver is already overwhelmed where it cannot keep up with enzymes to break down alcohol? This means you're already damaging the liver.

The first place to start is to clean up your diet and lifestyle. This process may take awhile and may require additional medical support/ supervision like with addictions. It is never recommended to stop substances (alcohol, drugs, even cigarettes) cold turkey as the abrupt withdrawal can have dire health consequences. Always seek out professional help!

What we do have control over is starting to eat healthier, drinking water, and moving more. This may still require going slow and seeking out professionals to assist with this transition. Food addiction is real and that requires medical attention to get to root causes. For most, fast foods are just easy and making the commitment to eat healthier requires recipes, meal planning, and positive attitude. Exercising and just moving more during your day should be started slow. Some have limitations with their health and may require medical help, like physical therapy, to teach them what their body is capable of doing. Also, maintaining good posture supports better oxygenation and better digestion too! We're all guilty of poor posture, so work on it throughout the day!

When to use supplements to support detoxification?

There are many types of supplements out there from vitamin/ mineral/ amino acid/ enzyme replacements to homeopathics to substances that work on cellular detox for all organs. There are also crazy detox diets that may cause harm or do nothing at all. I do recommend speaking with medical professionals like Functional Medicine practitioners and Naturopathic Doctors, or Functional Nutritionists that can assess your health and recommend what needs to be "Detoxed" in your body, if at all. Some of the supplement detox programs can be useful tools to support healthy digestion, liver detox, and elimination, but you have to pair it with that healthy diet and lifestyle to obtain great health and be successful.