06 Oct How to Detox Your Body Naturally with Nutrition
Detox pills + supplements are just fillling the shelves all over the country in many stores and I know you’re here to learn about how to detox your body naturally. The new trendy word “detox” is so big because we all want to be free of toxins, right? Unfortunately, we’ll never be “toxin free” because of the world we live in AND our body naturally produces toxins throughout our metabolic processes in our body. When I say the world we live in, I mean, we live in a super toxic world from polluted air, food, and lifestyles.
We’re a society that is overtoxicated and undernourished leaving our main detoxification pathways in our body sluggish.
-Lahana Vigliano, CCN
It’s all about how to support our “magic organ” in our body {aka the liver} that does so much detoxification from endotoxins {end products of metabolism} and exotoxins {outside toxins from drugs, pesticides, chemicals, etc}. One of the liver’s biggest roles is to take these fat-soluble toxins and break it down into a water-soluble toxin, where our body can excrete it efficiently through urine, poop, and sweat.
I’m going to break up the liver detoxification education in a couple of ways: Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the liver and I will break up Phase 2, even further since there are various forms of phase 2 liver detoxification. There are different nutrients that play a role in each phase!
Phase 1 Liver Detoxification {How To Detox Your Body Naturally}
Cytochrome P450 enzymes are the main attraction during this phase. There are so many different P450 enzymes that they are super specific in which toxin they take care of. There are various jobs during this phase: taking out electrons, adding electrons, adding water to the substance, etc. Remember, we are working towards making toxins more water soluble to excrete from our body. In order to make enough of these enzymes and have them work well, we need to make sure that we are providing the nutrients for them. These include:
- Selenium
- B Vitamins
- Zinc
- Vitamin C
- Magnesium
- Antioxidants (like polyphenols, CoQ10, flavonoids)
Phase 1 is VERY stimulating to produce more free radicals. This is why we need many antioxidants and nutrients in our diet/supplements, like the ones I stated above, for our body to inhibit those free radicals. Free radicals that aren’t taken care of can cause further damage in our cells + DNA, increasing risk of chronic diseases. Glutathione is one of our body’s biggest antioxidants that protect us from free radical damage. We NEED to make sure our body makes enough glutathione because if it doesn’t, phase 2 can become sluggish, since glutathione plays a big role in phase 2.
Phase 2 Liver Detoxification {How To Detox Your Body Naturally}
Phase 2 focuses in on taking the toxin from phase 1 and breaking it down and neutralizing even further. Phase 2 is made of various detoxication pathways, which I wanted to break it down. B vitamins are involved in the majority of these pathways!
- Methylation – We’ve all heard of this one lately, but methylation is where SAMe (S-adenosylmethionine) donates methyl groups (3 hydrogen atoms and a carbon) to toxins, which neutralizes them. In order to have SAMe to donate these methyl group, you need methionine (found in proteins) because this is what converts to SAMe and also folate + B12 + choline. You can find a lot of these nutrients in good quality beef, chicken, salmon, tuna, eggs, spinach, brussel sprouts, asparagus, avocado, broccoli, and nuts and seeds.
- Sulfation – Toxins are neutralized by sulfation, so we need to make sure we’re eating plenty of foods that has sulfur {like crucferious vegetables, onion, garlic, eggs} and glutathione. Amino acids cystine, methionine, and taurine are needed.
- Glutathione Conjugation – Speaking of glutathione, we talked about glutathione being one of our body’s biggest antioxidants that is made RIGHT here in our body, but we can also support production by foods + supplements {Grass-fed whey, sulfur veggies, vitamin C, selenium, avocados, asparagus, milk thistle, brazil nuts, NAC}. It’s made up of amino acids glycine, cysteine, and glutamate. Glutathione is a big player in trying to excrete heavy metals and toxins out of the body.
- Acetylation – Using acetyl-coA that we get from metabolizing our food, which binds to certain drugs. Vitamin C is needed for this detoxification pathway.
- Glucuronidation – A toxin combines with glucuronic acid during this process. This a major process during phase 2 for many toxins, like chemicals and drugs.
- Amino Acid Conjugation – Amino acids that bind and neutralize the toxins are arginine, glycine, taurine, glutamine, ornithine. We need to make sure we’re getting high sources of amino acids from good quality grass-fed, organic animals!
Fiber It Up!
After the liver processes through and detoxifies these toxins, it ultimately ends up going into urine or poop. Bile helps take the toxins from the liver into the intestines. If you need some bile stimulation, dandelion root {caution use if you have gallbladder issues} + yellow dock {caution use if you have kidney issues} can help encourage this flow. I want to encourage that foods higher in fiber are SO needed to help bind up the toxins to excrete them. If you aren’t getting enough fiber, you risk reabsorbing them.
All in all, eat a real wholesome foods diet. If you need help personalizing it to your health goals + health issues you’re struggling with, don’t hesitate to book a free 15 minute phone call with me to figure out how I can help you start feeling better with a healthy nutrient-dense lifestyle! Our dieticians and nutritionists can help!
P.S. We sat down with Nicole Fennel, RD to talk more about liver health + how to detox your body naturally.
