Detox Pathways and Protocols (Youtube)
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So - yup, toxins are a big problem. We are exposed to tons of them, and if our bodies aren't detoxifying properly, they can accumulate or cause damage to our cells, organs, and systems and wreak havoc on our lives. So how do you make sure you aren't overflowing your bucket? Here are 10 Important Concepts:
- Bucket Theory explains everything - keep this in mind if things are NOT getting better. SOMETHING is still filling the bucket from somewhere if you are actively trying to detoxify and leading a non-toxic life and you aren't improving. You have to empty the bucket faster than you are filling - you either aren't emptying it well, or you are still exposed somewhere.
- Breathing - There are only a few "exits" for things to get out of the body, breath is one of them. Think about a roadside alcohol test - you breathe out toxins to get rid of them.
- Peeing - this one is more obvious that you are "getting rid of waste", but the kidneys filter toxins and toxic metabolites, and you pee them out, so that system has to be working well too.
- Pooping - This one is the most obvious - - waste is bad so you want to get it out of you!! Your poop is how you get rid of MANY MANY toxins, and if your gut is not moving well, everything else backs up.
- Sweating - You are slightly limited on how much you can speed up your breathing, peeing, and pooping, but you can always open the other exit - sweat. Many toxins have been found excreted in the sweat - mycotoxins, BPA, parabens, metals, etc, so sweating is crucial for detoxification.
- Liver/Bile Flow - The liver filters toxins (through many processes - phase I and II, cytochrome P450 enzymes, glutathione, conjugation, glucuronidation, methylation, etc). These toxins are then put into bile, which is stored and released by the gallbladder. You have to have good liver function to filter the toxins, and then you have to have good gallbladder function and bile flow for the toxins to get into the gut, then you have to be pooping for them to get out.
- Lymph Drainage - The lymphatic system is one way that toxins and waste products are transported around the body to be excreted, and your lymphatic system has to be moving, it can't be stagnant.
- Cell Membranes - Toxins damage your cell membranes (including mitochondrial membrane), causing lipid peroxidation, stiffening, and poor membrane fluidity. Then toxins can also STORE in the cell membranes, so you need good healthy cell membrane support - this can be really important for detoxification.
- Mitochondria - THEY DO IT ALL!!!! Toxins store in the mitochondria, they damage the mitochondria, they affect fatty acid beta oxidation, Kreb's Cycle, Oxidative Phosphorylation, all the things - and mitochondria power detoxification in the liver, organs, cells, etc. It's all mitochondrial!
- Relevant Genes - There are a lot of relevant genes in detoxification, and it's super important. Many of them relate to "methylation", like MTHFR, COMT, PEMT, HNMT, but there are many others that regulate processes like glutathione recycling, cytochrome P450 activity, and many many more.