Strengthening Your Detoxification System

Parents

Children with learning challenges and their mothers, often have impaired ability to detoxify harmful compounds from food, water, air, and byproducts of the body’s own metabolism. Toxic compounds that would normally be quickly neutralized linger, damage the immune, GI, and nervous systems, and eventially get stored in bones and fat.

What are my detoxification system?

  • Lungs detoxify by removing gases.
  • Digestive system detoxify by eliminating toxic foods, by either vomiting or diarrhea, and passing bile.
  • Kidneys detoxify by secreting toxins or filtering toxins out of the blood into urine.
  • Liver detoxifies by changing the chemical nature of many toxins, once neutralized the small ones enter the blood stream and large ones are secreted into bile.

Many toxic substances are created through normal metabolic functions. But when we put things into our body that don’t occur in nature, the body has to use more complex mechanisms to get rid of them. An overabundance of toxins can create levels so high that the system breaks down.

Many toxins need to be transformed into water-soluble compounds, while others have to be bound to other chemical in order to be neutralized. These transformations happen in the liver.

How do I strengthen my detoxification system?

Total Toxic Load = Total amount of toxin exposure – Ability of the body to detoxify

  • Best way is to avoid toxin exposure, especially during critical growth periods.
  • Making toxins water-soluble: The liver’s cytochrome P450 system involves more than 100 enzymes. P450 converts toxic chemicals into less harmful ones, but when overactive, it can produce extremely toxic free radicals. Antioxidants like glutathione neutralize the free radicals. Certain chemicals make P450 overreact,including caffeine, alcohol, dioxins, saturated fats, pesticides, barbiturates, paint fumes, sulfonamides, and exhaust fumes.
  • Binding toxins to other chemicals to neutralize: Six major mechanisms are used to bind specific types of toxins. They each require specific nutrients for their optimal functioning.
  • Exiting the body:Water-soluble neutralized toxins enter the blood and are filtered out by the kidneys. The liver ships the large bound neutralized toxins in bile, which goes to the GI tract for excretion. In the GI tract, the bile needs to bind to dietary fiber for a quick exit out the body. If there’s insufficient dietary fiber in the intestinesor the intestines are leaky, most of this bile will be reabsorbed back into the bloodstream, along with the toxins it’s trying to dispose.
  • Not surprising you strengthen your detoxification system by providing the necessary raw materials, avoid liver poisons, and maintaining a healthy gut. The best way to ensure optimal kidney function is drinking plenty of purified water.