The Final Step in Detoxification: Where it all Begins

by Shannon Dahlum, FDN-R

Over the past three months, we’ve been discussing how to support your body’s detoxification process.  This discussion began in September with tips for supporting healthy bowel function; October was about fluid elimination through the kidneys, skin and lungs; lymphatic movement was covered in November. When working on supporting the detoxification system, it’s important to start at the end, because we need to clean downstream before we can clean upstream!  Now that we’ve covered the end of the process, let’s start back at the beginning. 

Your liver plays a very large, essential role in detoxification.  It’s working overtime to continually process all substances from your digestive tract and the rest of your body throughout the day.  One of the most important things you can do to encourage healthy detoxification by the liver is to lighten its work load. 

Constant exposure to household cleaning chemicals, synthetic fragrances (including those holiday candles), skincare and beauty products that contain synthetic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, alcohol, excess sugar, and highly processed foods, etc, all contribute to the liver’s heavy work load. Removing exposure to as many of these as possible is important. Trying to “detox” without working on removing toxin exposure is like trying to save a sinking boat by scooping water without plugging the leak.  Opt for “cleaner” cleaning products, like vinegar and baking soda.  Check the health of your body care and store bought cleaning products before purchasing, using apps like the Environmental Working Group’s Healthy Living, or Detox Me. 

Removing harmful substances is a must, but going as far as also removing nutrients helpful for the detoxification process isn’t a good idea.  This is why, personally, I’m not a fan of water or juice fasts for the purpose of cleansing. It’s a great way to eliminate the toxic burden on your liver that can come from unhealthy or highly processed foods, but it also robs your body of important nutrients needed for the detoxification process. 

Phase I Detoxification 

The liver’s detoxification process happens in two phases.  In phase one, fat soluble toxins are broken down into raw materials that are more easily eliminated.  However, these raw materials are even more toxic and damaging to the body than they were in their original form, so they need to be neutralized as quickly as possible to reduce their damaging effects.  Antioxidants are very important for this.  This is where a juice cleanse can have its benefits; because it does provide antioxidants needed to neutralize those damaging raw toxins.  It doesn’t, however, provide everything needed for the detoxification process. 

Important nutrients required for phase one of the detoxification process include vitamins B2, B3, B6 and B12, folate (B9), glutathione and flavonoids.  The B vitamins are found in red meat, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs, legumes, whole grains, seeds and nuts, and dark leafy greens. 

Glutathione is one of your body’s most potent and important antioxidants, but you can’t easily get it from your diet.  Spinach, avocado, asparagus and okra are food sources of this antioxidant, but it’s poorly absorbed by the human body. Your body actually makes its own glutathione, but you do need to ensure you’re eating the nutrients required for creating it.  These include sulfur rich foods, which are primarily from proteins such as beef, fish and poultry, as well as cruciferous vegetables, like Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and mustard greens. Allium containing vegetables also contain sulfur, and these include onions, garlic, and shallots. 

Other important nutrients needed for creating glutathione are selenium (found in beef, chicken fish, organ meats, cottage cheese, brown rice and Brazil nuts) and vitamin C (bell peppers, strawberries, citrus fruits, papaya and kiwi), and the amino acid cysteine (pork, beef, chicken, lentils, oats, eggs and dairy). 

Although the highly toxic materials have been neutralized by antioxidants in phase one, they aren’t completely harmless.  They may be less toxic but they’re still damaging and need to be eliminated as quickly as possible, so they move on to phase two of the detoxification process. 

Phase II Detoxification 

In phase two, a new substance is made from the neutralized raw materials by attaching them to other molecules.  This allows them to be transported out of the body in phase three. If the nutrients required for this process aren’t present, and the molecules that need to be attached to the toxins aren’t available, a back-up in the system can happen.  Even though there’s a back-up in the second phase, the first phase doesn’t slow down.  This is like having a clog in the plumbing while the water is still running. 

The nutrients required to keep phase two running smoothly must be provided by the diet, and they mainly consist of amino acids from protein rich foods.  Ensuring that you’re eating adequate protein is a vital part of this process, which is why the water and juice fasts are not a good idea, in my opinion. Phase one may be humming right along, but a back up can happen when those toxins reach phase two without adequate protein consumption.   

While protein is provided by certain plant foods and plant based meat substitutes, the human body isn’t good at assimilating it.  We just aren’t efficient at digesting, breaking down, and absorbing plant protein.  A recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry compared the protein absorption from a plant-based chicken substitute with real chicken. Only 50% of the protein from the plant based substitute was absorbed, while 85% of protein from the chicken was absorbed. 

Animal sources of protein are much more readily available to the human body, and the best sources come from animals raised in open, green pastures.  All forms of meat, dairy and eggs are good sources of bioavailable protein.  If you’re choosing to get your protein from plant sources, just keep in mind that you need to consume about double the amount of protein you’re trying to assimilate.  For example, if your goal is to get 90 grams of protein daily, you’ll need to consume approximately 180 grams of plant protein to achieve that.      

Keep in mind that “cleansing” or “detox” programs have the potential to do more harm than good.  Often, they can encourage the release of toxic material from the cells but don’t adequately support the entire process of eliminating them. Instead of ridding your body of accumulated toxins, you’re simply releasing them into circulation where they’re able to do more damage. 

A healthy body will take care of detoxifying itself, but there are things you can do to support it. First, avoid exposure to environmental and dietary toxins as much as possible. Next, make sure you’re supporting healthy elimination (refer back to the first three articles for this part). Lastly, support the detoxification process by nourishing your body with nutrient dense plant and animal foods that were grown and raised in sunny, healthy, conditions.