Detoxification:


A “Systems” Approach To Rid Your Body Of Toxins

Natural Support To Rid Your Body Of Toxins

By Dr. Myatt

 Conventional medicine claims there is no evidence for physical toxicity and therefore detoxification is unnecessary and unscientific. In other words, detoxification is “quackery.” But conventional medicine is DEAD WRONG on this issue, and that’s a fact provable from the conventional medical literature.

Physical toxicity is not only real, it starts in the womb. That’s not alternative medicine mumbo-jumbo, it is hard-core science, supported by hundreds of conventional medical studies. Get ready for some real medical science if you can handle the alarming truth.

Where Do Toxins Come From?

Humans are exposed to toxins on a daily basis, both from inside (natural wastes, a product of normal metabolism) and from outside (through food, air, water, cosmetics, etc). Exposure to toxicity begins in the womb. One study identified more than two hundred toxic chemicals in the blood of newborns. (Read this frightening study here)

After birth, babies are exposed to toxins in mother’s milk and formula. And that’s just the beginning. As children, adolescents, and adults we are all exposed to toxins on a daily basis. Many toxins, many times per day. Some sources of toxicity, like mercury amalgam fillings, are present 24/7. Here are just a few of the common toxins that we are exposed to on a daily basis, their sources, and their effects:

  • Parabens: A preservative used in cosmetics – linked to endocrine disruption and possibly carcinogenic.
  • Pesticides – organochlorines, organophosphates, and carbamates: From agricultural operations – endocrine disruption / hormonal disturbances, cancer including lymphoma and leukemia, fetal death and birth defects, neurological toxicity and more.
  • PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls): now banned in the U.S., were used in lubricants, coolants, adhesives, flame retardants, paints, etc. – hormone/endocrine disruption, immune suppression, neurotoxicity, mutagenic, carcinogenic.
  • Phthalates: used to soften plastic and lengthen the life of scents. Especially harmful to the endocrine systems of children.
  • VOC’s: found in paint, furniture, carpet and other household items – immune suppression is common.
  • Dioxins: result from trash incineration and from burning fuel like wood, gas and coal and from industrial processes like paper mills and cement kilns. Much of our exposure comes from breathing polluted air and from diet – especially animal fats which concentrate these compounds. Toxic effects may include liver damage, alterations in heme metabolism, serum lipid levels, and thyroid functions, and diabetes and immune suppression.
  • Heavy Metals: Including mercury, lead, aluminum, cadmium, nickel (nickel salts are toxic), arsenic, antimony, thallium, and others. Sources include water, pesticides, antiperspirants, smog and many more – most common toxic effects include neurotoxicity but there are a large and varied number of ill effects that result from heavy metal toxicity.
  • Chloroform: Found in air, water and food. Commonly formed when chlorine is added to water. Toxic effects include liver and kidney damage, birth defects, cancer.
  • Perchlorate: may be found in drinking water and can interfering with iodine uptake into the thyroid gland.
  • Atrazine: (a pesticide) may cause cardiovascular and reproductive problems, cancer – found in drinking water.
  • Perchloroethylene (perc): A VOC commonly used in dry cleaning. Accumulates in fatty tissues. Carcinogenic and may increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
  • Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE): Flame retardants – formerly added to furniture, car upholstery and mattresses, but voluntarily taken off the market by manufacturers because of concerns about toxicity. PBDE now commonly found in TVs and computer monitors in the plastic. Effects include hormone disruption, reduced fertility, hepatic damage and disruption of neurologic development.
  • Bisphenol-A (BPA): polycarbonate plastic, resin lining in cans, linked to certain cancers, fertility, and behavioral problems in children.
  • Furans: Used in plastics – toxic, carcinogenic, endocrine disrupter.

 Although the human body is well-equipped to eliminate it’s own metabolic waste products, we are NOT designed to deal with the numerous and increasing amounts of external toxins that we are exposed to on a daily basis. Toxic overload can overwhelm the body and cause widespread health problems. These “problems” are not diagnosed as “toxicity.” Instead they are labeled with a name like “cancer” or “heart disease.” But the real question is “why are these diseases on the rise?” A large body of evidence points to our increasingly toxic environment as the cause. The immune system, cardiovascular system and nervous system are targets of excess toxicity.

How To “Detox”

Detoxification means, literally, “to remove the poison (toxin), or effect of poison, from.” The human body has multiple organs and organ systems for such toxin removal. In order to “detoxify” the body, all systems of detoxification must be fully functional and supported in their efforts. It is not enough to take fiber and “bowel cleansing formulas” as you will learn, although this is a good start on a detox program.

Patients often ask me about the value of “detoxification” products, as if detoxification of the body could be accomplished by using a single therapy or supplement. But the body has multiple organs that cooperate together in detoxification. The large intestine (colon),  liver, skin, kidneys, lungs, lymphatic system and extra cellular fluids are all part of the “detoxification system” of the body. Each of these organs and systems contribute to the body’s elimination of internal waste and externally-introduced toxins. Therefore, a true detoxification program should address all of these eliminative organs.

Organs of Detoxification

  • The colon (also called the Large Intestine, or LI), is responsible for removing undigested and unabsorbed food from the body. The colon is also the primary absorptive surface for water and salts. Water soluble waste products are absorbed into hepatic/portal circulation (the liver), then into general circulation, from the colon. Biotransformation of endogenous (internally derived) and exogenous (externally derived) waste products also occurs in the gut mucosa.

    Under normal circumstances, the large intestine contains approximately three pounds of native “good” bacteria and some yeast species. The floral balance of the colonic environment can be altered by dietary imbalances, insufficient digestive function, and antibiotic or other drug use, which allows pathogenic bacteria, yeast, and parasites to overgrow. These non-native gut species often produce toxic substances which are reabsorbed into hepatic and then general circulation. Maintenance of normal diet, digestion, and gut micro flora is essential for the proper elimination of food wastes, prevention of gut-derived endotoxins, and normal biotransformation of toxins.

  • The lungs bring oxygen into the system and eliminate carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is the end-product (waste) of cellular respiration. Respiratory regulation of the acid-base balance is one to two times as great as that of the body’s chemical buffering systems, making the lungs additionally important in the acid-base balance of the body.
  • The skin contains sweat glands that excrete 5-10% of all metabolic wastes. The substances found in sweatsalts, water, and nitrogenous wasteare similar to the composition of urine only more dilute.
  • The kidneys remove the majority of cellular metabolic waste products including nitrogen-containing amino acids and carbon dioxide.
  • The liver converts endogenous and exogenous toxins into excretable metabolites. The term detoxification is often used to refer exclusively to this intracellular biotransformation process, although as you see, all eliminative organs are crucial to the process of detoxification.

Other Factors Affecting Detoxification

Acid-base balance (pH of the bloodstream). The pH of the arterial blood is 7.4, and venous blood 7.35. These limits are narrowly maintained within the body. Metabolic waste products of cellular metabolism generate 50 to 100 millimoles of acid per day. Excess acids are removed through blood-buffering systems of the lungs, kidneys, and through pH capacity of the blood itself.

Sources of Toxicity

Xenobiotics are substances that are toxic to the human system. Such substances may be either externally derived (chemicals and drugs in the environment) or internally derived (metabolic by-products). Internal sources of xenobiotics include metabolic waste products and gut-derived endotoxins.

Detoxification by System: Dr. Myatt’s Complete “Spring Housecleaning” Detox Program

GI Tract

  • Fiber: E-Z- Fiber: 1-2 heaping TBS. daily, taken in water or better yet, in a Myatt Muffin. Additional Fiber: Flax seed and/or psyllium, 20-30+ grams daily taken in muffins or a Super Shake.
  • Probiotics: Gram positive bacteria (Lactobacillus spp., Bifida bacteria spp., etc.). One Supremadophilus at bedtime is recommended.
  • For Candida, parasites or non-native GI bacterial overgrowth: I.) Capri Plus: 2 tabs, 2 times per day on an empty stomach. Don’t know if you have any of these “buggers” or dysbiosis? A comprehensive GI Health Profile can be highly revealing. Learn More Here
  • Similase and/or betaine HCL: improve digestion (which helps eliminate unwanted organisms and improve absorption of nutrients) with digestive enzymes and additional hydrochloric (stomach) acid.

Kidneys

  • Water — yup, plain ol’ clean water. Do NOT use tap water (which contains chlorine and flouride, two toxic chemicals). If you don’t already have one, a good water purification system is a smart and inexpensive investment in your good health. Aquasana Water Purifiers makes some of the highest-rated filters at the best prices.
  • Chitosan: 6 caps at bedtime. Chitosan is a fiber derived from the shell of crustaceans (sea creatures like shrimp). This fiber binds up toxins and carries them out of the body. Studies have shown that chitosan can even help the toxic build-up caused when a person has damaged kidneys and is on dialysis.

Lungs

  • Deep breathing – heavy exercise can accomplish this. So can singing and deep breathing exercises.

Liver / gallbladder

  • Silybum marianum –  milk thistle. The all-time most amazing substance for improving liver function. During a detox program, I recommend 9 caps per day of  Lipotropic Formula OR a combination of Lipotropic Formula and Milk This Plus+ to equal 9 caps per day. (3 caps at 3 meals).

Foods that improve the liver’s ability detox to include:

  • Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale). Higher doses of the “detox magic” in these vegetables can be obtained in supplemental form from diindolomethanes or DIM’s.
  • Limonene (lemon peel). Add some “lemon zest” (grated lemon rind) to Myatt muffins or other food to get your limonene.
  • Adequate dietary protein (use whey protein to boost immunity and liver detox)
  • Dietary sulfur (onions and garlic) and/or MSM (supplemental sulphur)

Skin

  • Skin brushing
  • Saunas and steam baths

Extracellular fluid

  • Urtica urens – nettle
  • Taraxacum officinale – dandelion
  • Arctium lappa – burdock

Adipose Tissue

  • Omega-3 fatty acids
  • Weight loss (if overweight): many toxins accumulate and are stored in fat cells.

Lymphatic System

  • Lymph drainage massage
  • Exercise (especially rebounding [mini trampoline])

Blood vascular system

  • Alkaline-ash diet (fruits and vegetables: starch and proteins 4:1)

General Detox

  • Allium sativum – garlic – also available in a potent supplement as Garlitrin.

A Total Approach to Detoxification:

Diet And Lifestyle

  • Weight loss diet if overweight. Fat cells store many toxins; losing excess fat releases these toxins so they can be eliminated.
  • Drink 64 ounces of pure water daily. Water is the single biggest detoxifier of the kidneys, liver, and extracellular fluid.
  • Exercise regularly. Exercise stimulates circulation and metabolism, speeding detoxification. The deep breathing encouraged by exercise is detoxifying to the lungs, and sweating is detoxifying to the skin. Rebounding (bouncing on a mini-trampoline) has the additional benefit of moving lymphatic fluid and assisting lymph drainage.
  • Skin brushing daily; sauna or steam bath at least one per week.
  • The Body/Mind Connection video: watch this at least three times. Clearing out old “emotional toxicity” is an important but often overlooked aspect of detoxification.

Primary Support

  • Maxi Multi: 3 caps, 3 times per day with meals. A deficiency of any vitamin, mineral, or trace mineral can slow or stop various detoxification pathways. Optimal (not minimal) doses B complex vitamins, beta carotene, vitamin C, E, zinc, selenium, sulfur, calcium, magnesium and molybdenum are particularly important in detoxification.
  • Flax seed (source of lignan fibers and Omega 3 fatty acids): 2 teaspoons per day of ground, whole flax seed OR E-Z Fiber OR Fiber Formula, 12 caps per day in divided doses.
  • Maxi Greens: 3 caps, 3 times per day with meals as a source of broad-spectrum “green Superfoods” and flavonoids.

Additional Support

For the GI tract

For the Liver

For General & cellular detoxification

  • Chlorella: 2-3 caps, 3 times per day with meals.
  • Green Tea: 1 cap, 2 times per day OR drink green tea as a beverage, 2-3 cups per day. Or take as a supplement – Green Tea Extract.
  • Protein: Whey protein: 2 scoops per day in water or make into a “Super Shake.” The liver requires adequate protein in order to perform it’s detoxification tasks.

Heavy Metals detoxification

  • Modifilan was reportedly developed in Russia by scientists at the State Rehabilitation Institute, where victims of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe underwent treatment. It detoxifies the body from heavy metals including strontium-90 and cadmium, radioactive elements, free radicals and toxins.