Why Detox as part of a Naturopathic Lifestyle?

Welcome to a new episode of the Sharing Plant Wisdom podcast, hosted by Marie and Sophie, a duo of passionate naturopathic herbalists. Today we take on the vast topic of detoxification. Your body is beautifully designed to detoxify itself 24/7. In this episode, we walk you through the physiological processes that happen all the time to remove toxins from the body. 

To start with we mention a few signs that your detoxification systems might need a boost. We then talk about the major organs of detoxification. 

We spend some time explaining the importance of having a good balance of phase 1 and phase 2 liver detoxification pathways and which nutrients support each phase. 

PHASE 1 has 2 major roles:   

a)       make some toxins water-soluble to be excreted by the kidneys

b)      modify toxins to be metabolised in phase 2.  

Nutrients essential for phase 1 are: vitamin C (+flavonoids), vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, B9 (folic acid), and B12, beta-carotene (or vitamin A), vitamin E, magnesium, copper, molybdenum, zinc, manganese, and iron. Useful foods include citrus fruits (but avoid grapefruit if you are taking prescription medications), garlic. 

PHASE 2 is the conjugation phase, whose aim is to neutralise toxins before they exit the liver, so that they can be safely excreted. The most important agent of conjugation in the liver is glutathione.  

Nutrients essential for phase 2 are: N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC), taurine, cysteine, glycine, methyl- sulphonyl-methane (MSM), vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9 (folic acid), and B12, vitamin C, magnesium, selenium, sulphur, zinc, molybdenum, germanium, choline. Useful foods are sulphur-containing foods such as onion, garlic, broccoli, cruciferous vegetables. 

We also discuss the benefits of fasting and juices.   

Medicinal herbs that support healthy detoxification are: 

-          Milk thistle (Silybum marianum): supports all phases of liver detox, increases glutathione production 

-          Psyllium husks (Plantago ovata): provides a lot of fibers to get things moving in the gut 

-          Bentonite clay: binds toxins in the gut 

-          Dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale): helps detoxifying the liver, improves bile flow

-          Burdock root (Arctium lappa): cleanse the blood, purifies the skin, supports the adrenals

-          Cleavers (Galium aparine): detoxifies the lymph

-          Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra): supports the adrenals, heals mucous membranes 

-          Elecampane root (Inula helenium): helps break down and get rid of mucus in the lungs, also provides prebiotics to feed beneficial gut flora 

-          Butternut bark (Juglans cinerea): helps to eliminate liver and bowel congestion 

-          Turmeric (Curcuma longa): improves phase 2 detoxification by supporting glutathione production, reduces inflammation. 

Chlorella is very good at detoxifying heavy metals, don’t forget to take a zeolite supplement to bind the released heavy metals.

We end the episode with some Lifestyle approaches that support detoxification
 

Let us know if you have any question about anything mentioned in this episode or if there are topics you’d like us to cover. Connect with us on Instagram @sharingplantwisdom, or by email : sharingplantwisdom@gmail.com