Why Everyone Should Detox
By:
Risa Groux, CN
| Published:
December 22, 2020
You’ve probably heard the term “detoxification” many times over the past few years. In conventional medicine, many do not think about detoxification the way most of us in functional medicine do. In conventional terms, it is typically associated with drug and alcohol detoxification. If you Google detoxification, you will probably get information on drug and alcohol detoxification and treatment facilities.
In the world of integrative medicine, detoxification is really just our individual ability to detoxify our bodies by eliminating toxic substances. This is critical to our overall health. All of us live in an ever-increasingly toxic environment. Over 80,000 chemicals are introduced into the world each year and in all honesty, our indoor environment is likely more toxic than our outdoor environment. We are exposed to herbicides, pesticides, xenobiotics, chemical solvents, and industrial chemicals of all kinds that we encounter through the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. These toxins accumulate in our body and contribute to the total toxic load that can cause many health problems.
Some symptoms of toxicity include:
From juice cleansing to fasting, there are many detox programs available today. Some people look at these programs as a way to eliminate toxins while others aim for weight loss. Many programs are calorie-restrictive and deprive the body of valuable protein and nutrients, which can lead to the negative consequences of fatigue, dehydration, and headaches. In addition, in as little as 36 hours of fasting, detoxification pathways significantly decrease. Fasting also depletes glycogen which prevents glucuronidation.
Nutritional Support for Detoxification
There is significant research that demonstrates the importance of diet and nutritional supplementation in maintaining detoxification pathways. Some of these essential nutrients include:
Milk Thistle is one of the most effective herbs for protecting the liver. Hundreds of studies have confirmed these protective properties.
N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) is a modified version of the amino acid cysteine that is a precursor to glutathione, which supports phase II detoxification. For decades, it has been used for acute poisoning from pain-relieving medications.
Calcium D-Glucarate helps with liver detoxification and supports healthy hormone metabolism by clearing excess hormones through the glucuronidation pathway. Calcium d-glucarate is an essential part of the detoxification process by preventing the recycling of potentially harmful environmental toxins and excess estrogenic hormones.
EGCg is one of the most widely researched green tea polyphenols. Green tea supports detoxification by enhancing the glucuronidation pathway. In addition, it offers many other benefits such as helping to modulate blood glucose control, and providing antioxidant cancer-protective and neuroprotective properties.
Health care practitioners all know that everyone can benefit from detoxification, yet many patients shy away from it. This is likely because many programs are difficult to maintain and truthfully, they just don't taste good. My RGN Detox contains all of the above detoxifying ingredients, is both manageable and palatable, and can help reap abundant health benefits, such as increased energy, improved focus and memory, reduced joint pain, enhanced weight loss, deeper sleep, increased sex drive, and improved digestion.
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