Do You Need To Detox?
Chances are you’ve heard the word detox buzzing around social media the last few years. Detoxification has become a hot topic, but it’s unfortunately an often misunderstood and misused term.
Diet culture specifically has led people to associate the word “detox” with restrictive diets, juice cleanses, and skinny teas.
On the other end of the spectrum, you’ll see counterarguments with messaging like “ if you have kidneys and a liver…you’re detoxifying” that dismisses the concept of supporting detoxification as a whole.
This is why it’s so important to gain a better understanding of what detoxification actually is, why it’s important, and how you can support natural detoxification using nutrition and lifestyle strategies (hint: it most definitely does not involve a juice cleanse).
What Is Detoxification?
Detoxification or “biotransformation” is the biochemical process for removing toxins from the body through the conversion of fat soluble compounds into water soluble compounds that are eliminated via stool, urine, sweat, etc.
Toxins are compounds that are harmful to humans that come from things like air pollution, pesticides, chemicals in personal care products, artificial fragrances, plastics, and alcohol. The body also has to break down and safely eliminate things like medications and hormone waste products that we produce internally.
Detoxification is essentially the way that your body cleans itself, by packaging up waste materials and eliminating them from your body.
Nearly all of your body’s cells are involved with detoxification, but your liver and kidneys are the primary organs that handle this crucial process.
There are 3 phases of detoxification that occur predominantly in the liver, and all 3 phases need to be working properly in order for successful detoxification to occur. If there is a problem in one of these phases, toxins can build up and cause harm in the body.
Phase 1 (Functionalization): Enzymes break down internal and external toxins. This creates highly reactive free radicals that can damage your body’s cells if not controlled.
Phase 2 (Conjugation): Large molecules join together with the free radicals to produce water-soluble substances that can be packaged up and safely removed from your body.
Phase 3 (Elimination): Water-soluble substances are eliminated from your body via urine, sweat, and stool.
The process of detoxification as a whole is a very energy and nutrient intensive process that requires adequate amounts B vitamins, amino acids, minerals, antioxidants, and more to operate properly!
Ironically, many of the trendy diet culture “detoxes” that people think about when they hear the word detox actually deprive the body of the very things that it needs to be able to do its job well.
Why Is Detoxification Important For Hormone Health?
Detoxification is an essential process needed for just about everything in your body to work properly, including your hormones, digestion, and metabolism. Research suggests that toxins have the ability to interfere with hormones in a big way. Toxins as a whole can interfere with hormone production and detoxification, while specific toxins known as endocrine disrupting toxins can even “mimic” certain hormones in the body like estrogen. This is especially problematic for women. Many types of environmental toxins have been linked to fertility issues, PCOS or polycystic ovarian syndrome, PMS, and endometriosis. If your body can’t break down and eliminate these toxins properly, it has a ripple effect on the balance of hormones in your body. A high toxic body burden or the accumulation of toxins in the body can lead to significant issues with hormones and beyond.
Why is detoxification more challenging in our modern world?
Unfortunately, our modern world is FULL of toxins. Whether you realize it or not, we are surrounded by toxins inside and outside of our homes. Detoxification is also impaired by things like stress, lack of sleep, and poor diet.
Examples of common toxins include:
Air pollution
Chemicals used in cleaning products
Personal care products (such as lotions, makeup, and soaps) that often contain potentially harmful hormone-disrupting chemicals
Synthetic air fresheners
Plastics
Contaminated water
Cigarette smoke
Alcohol
Medications
Mold
Heavy metals such as lead and mercury
Pesticides used on food
And more…
Our modern diets have also evolved and don’t contain as many of the key nutrients that are required for detoxification. Soil quality is depleted which yields less nutrient dense foods, and our food system processes food in a way that depletes nutrients. Increased toxin exposure combined with diet and lifestyle factors that impair detoxification creates the perfect storm that can lead to significant dysfunction in the body. Genetics also plays a role in your body’s ability to detoxify, and some individuals are more genetically susceptibility to issues with detoxification and require more support. This is why supporting natural detoxification is so important.
How Can Your Support Detoxification?
Your body is incredibly intelligent and was built to break down and eliminate toxins safely. But just because your body is naturally designed to support detoxification, does not mean that it always does so effectively or that you don’t need to do anything to support it. As mentioned above, it’s easy, and likely very common, to experience issues related to the accumulation of toxins in the body.
One specific example of where poor detoxification can create issues is with “oxidative stress”. This is when more free radicals build up in the body than what the body is capable of handling. Oxidative stress can lead to chronic inflammation, which is linked with virtually every chronic disease state.
Another common example we see in practice is with estrogen. Estrogen is an important hormone that the body needs in adequate amounts. But if we’re not breaking down estrogens efficiently and eliminating them from the body safely, this can lead to symptoms of estrogen excess or “estrogen dominance” including heavy painful periods, mood related issues, shifts with weight, fatigue, and low libido.
Thankfully, there is so much you can do to support healthy detoxification in your body, including diet and lifestyle strategies. Below is a breakdown of some key strategies for supporting detoxification.
Nutrition strategies for detoxification:
Eat a wide variety of whole foods. Detoxification requires a large amount of nutrients in order to be effective. Unfortunately the emphasis on detoxification is often the avoidance of many foods or drinks, which can end up leading to inadequate nutrient intake and impaired detoxification. In reality, the emphasis should be on what ADD to our diets rather than what we exclude. Start by emphasizing a combination of protein, fiber rich starchy carbohydrates, healthy fats, and non-starchy veggoes at meals consistently.
Focus on cruciferous vegetables. Research has shown that cruciferous vegetables support the body’s natural ability to detoxify itself. While they are rich in many important nutrients, cruciferous veggies specifically contain a unique and important compound called sulforaphane. Sulforaphane activates an important stress response pathway (known as nrf2) which upregulates phase 2 detoxification enzymes in the liver, boosts our antioxidant defenses, and increases our detox capacity. Some examples of cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, broccoli sprouts, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cabbage.
Don’t skimp on protein. Protein is made up of amino acids, which help to create all of the enzymes required for detoxification. Many protein foods are also rich in B vitamins, which are also essential for detoxification. Good protein sources include quality animal products like beef, poultry, whole eggs, fish, shellfish, plain greek yogurt, beans, and tempeh. Aim to incorporate a quality protein source at every meal.
Incorporate bitter foods. Bitter foods help to stimulate digestive secretions like saliva, bile, stomach acid, and digestive enzymes. Healthy digestion supports optimal detoxification by helping with the elimination of waste products from the body. Examples of bitter foods include arugula, citrus peel, radicchio, dandelion greens, and cranberries.
Amp up your antioxidants. Antioxidants are needed to protect your cells and to help neutralize the free radicals that are produced in phase 1 of detoxification. Without ample antioxidants, oxidative stress from impaired detox can occur. Brightly colored vegetables and fruits as well as coffee, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices are all great sources of antioxidants.
Lifestyle strategies:
Choose organic foods when possible. By law, organic foods cannot be exposed to toxins like pesticides and herbicides, and cannot be genetically modified in any way. This can help to reduce the amount of toxins you are directly taking into your body. Not everything needs to be organic, but prioritizing organic produce can make a difference with lowering your exposure. Using resources like the dirty dozen and clean 15 produced by the environmental working group (EWG) can help guide you in making choices about what produce items to buy organically.
Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins. While we cannot control or eliminate all of the toxic exposures in our environment, there is a lot we can do to minimize our exposure.
Start by evaluating your exposure to plastics. Plastics are made with hormone disrupting chemicals that wreak havoc in the body and create hormonal chaos. Consider swapping out plastic water bottles, glasses, and Tupperware for glass or stainless steel.
Another great place to start is by assessing the cleaning and personal care products you use in your home (aka what you put ON your body and what you’re surrounded by daily in your home). The EWG offers a resource called “skin deep” that ranks thousands of products for toxicity levels based on the chemicals used in the formulas. They also have a “healthy living app” you can download to your phone which can help you evaluate products you might already be using, and inform you of new products that might be better and safer options. A good rule of thumb is to focus on choosing cleaner alternatives made from plant-derived ingredients. A few key ingredients to specifically try to avoid exposure to include parabens, phthalates, and artificial fragrances.
Consider getting an air purifier for your bedroom and a water filter for drinking water.
The ultimate goal is to be better informed about toxic ingredients and to make informed decisions that feel best for you.
Get your sweat on. Sweating is a major elimination pathway and a primary way that our bodies remove toxins. One study found that the body lost more toxic heavy metals in sweat than it did via urine. Methods for sweating can include using a sauna, exercising, dancing, or simply being outdoors when it’s hot outside. Any form of sweating can help reduce the body’s toxic burden.
Consider using a castor oil packs. Castor oil packs involve soaking a fabric or flannel cloth in castor oil and placing it over the abdomen above the liver, directly on your skin. Castor oil is made from castor beans, which contain potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, including being a good source of omega-9 fats, quercetin, other phenolic compounds, and amino acids. Castor oil packs support gut motility and regular bowel movements, they encourage bile flow, and stimulate the lymphatic system, all of which are key detoxification. Castor oil packs can be placed over the low belly on the right side of your body under your rib cage. They can be left on your skin for about 30-60 minutes, or while sleeping overnight. They’re most effective when used consistently (at least 3 days per week).
So, Do You Need To Detox?
Given how important detoxification is for our overall health and hormones, most of us will benefit from supporting natural detoxification and creating more awareness around our habits and exposures. Start by making changes slowly and focusing on 1-2 things at a time.