Let’s talk about detoxification! You might already know that heavy metals in excess are not only bad for you, but they can also be dangerous. But there are MANY things we are exposed to that need detoxing. Detoxification is the way the body heals and repairs itself. The body always has an internal cleansing process that takes place continuously and naturally.
Things we are exposed to that require our body to detox:
Air and water pollution, bacterial/parasitic/fungal overgrowth, cellular/metabolic wastes, chemicals, heavy metal exposure, poorly digested foods, radiation, stress and more…
Daily our bodies are being stressed, our systems of the body that handle detoxification get clogged up and simply cannot do the jobs they are supposed to do.
The systems of your body that handle detoxification are:
The Cardiovascular System
The Lymph System
The Digestive System
The Urinary System
Your Skin
The Respiratory System
It is absolutely vital that one addresses proper digestion and elimination BEFORE beginning a detoxification protocol.
The basic idea of detox is to remove toxins from your body. The digestive system is responsible for more than just the physical and chemical breakdown of foods. If you are not digesting well, even an absolutely perfect diet can clog the bodies detoxification pathways.
Elimination pathways (handling of detoxification) and what they do:
The digestive system, also scans food for invaders, detoxifies poorly digested fermented toxins, filters foods for intestinal bacteria and then eliminates toxins and other unusable substances from the body. If anything is off here, these jobs are not being done adequately and are actually creating more toxic issues.
The cardiovascular system, think blood, shuttling around toxins or delivering oxygen and critical nutrients.
The lymph system, think interstitial fluids that flow through lymph nodes where bacteria, viruses and organic materials are filtered out. The lymph act as pre-filter for the liver, to prevent overload and clogging
The intestines, liver, and gallbladder, think blocking foreign molecules and chemicals from entering the body as far as intestines. Any imbalance in intestinal flora can cause injury to the intestinal walls and allow undigested food and other toxins to leak into the bloodstream. This is where the birth of autoimmune disease begins.
The liver is responsible for cleaning and purifying the blood that nourishes our bodies. This includes the breakdown/neutralization and disposal of pharmaceutical drugs, as well as other toxins.
The gallbladder then receives these neutralized toxins in bile, and they are eventually excreted from the body in feces.
The urinary system, our kidneys are responsible for filtering blood to remove cellular wastes, like water and bile pigments. The toxins that have been properly bound and are ready for elimination will exit the body through either feces or urine.
The respiratory system, our lungs eliminate a variety of waste products, including carbon monoxide.
The skin, our sweat glands act as a sort of “second kidney” and are one of the bodies many routes of removing toxins. Ever have mystery breakouts? When the liver and kidneys are blocked and clogged up, we will detox through our skin. This may be why you break out!
But if the body has blockages in any of these elimination pathways, you cannot properly eliminate those toxins! When you try to force detox with clogged detox pathways, you have horrible symptoms, severe headaches, nausea, diarrhea, rashes, cystic acne, irritability, depression and more.
Amino acids play a huge roll in detoxification pathways in the liver. For example, Methionine is necessary to run the sulfation pathway.
Poor fat digestion can clog up the lymph, which then clogs up the liver. Bile is built of healthy fats, it is the bile that transports toxins out of the body, and we want that free flowing and in adequate amounts!
Toxins can deplete minerals like magnesium, and those minerals are needed to make enzymes. Some important detox enzymes are cytochrome P450 and NADPH, they assist in Phase I detoxification. Minerals also keep heavy metals from collecting in the tissues. Molybdenum and Manganese are two minerals that activate metabolic and detox enzymes.
Hydration is extremely important! Being well hydrated allows you to keep flushing toxins out of your body through your bowels or your urine. Being hydrated also allows you to perspire, keep your lung tissues moist and keep your blood fluid so that toxins can be delivered to the lymph and liver to handle.
By addressing digestion (and all that encompasses) and the elimination pathways for about 3 months, you allow your body to be physically ABLE to cope with getting rid of toxins. If digestion and elimination are not working properly, there is no way for the toxins to be properly eliminated.
Remember, your body is designed to detox naturally, working on the Foundations (Digestion, Blood Sugar, Fatty Acids, Minerals, Hydration and a Nutrient Dense, Properly Prepared Diet) will allow your body to do what is was designed to do!
This month I thought I would share a variety of salad dressing recipes, perfect for hot days, and not to be limited to just a salad of greens!
Blue Cheese Dressing
½ cup full fat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon crumbled blue cheese
1 Tablespoon snipped fresh chives
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove peeled and minced
Combine yogurt and blue cheese in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat for 1-2 minutes while whisking constantly, just until the blue cheese is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the lemon juice, chives, and garlic. Serve immediately (great over fresh steamed veggies too, asparagus, zucchini, cauliflower etc.)
Basic Vinaigrette
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar (or try apple cider, or for a sweeter dressing, Balsamic)
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1 tsp. raw honey (or maple syrup)
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp chopped fresh herbs (like basil, oregano, parsley etc.)
Place all ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Can be stored in an airtight container for later use.
Creamy Avocado Citrus Dressing
1 ripe avocado
¼ cup apple Cider Vinegar (I use Bragg’s brand with the Mother in it)
¼ cup honey
3 Tbsp. lime juice
1 clove garlic
¼ cup cilantro
½ small jalapeno (or your preference)
¼ cup water (or more to thin to preference)
Salt and pepper to taste
Add all ingredients to food processor or blender and blend for about a minute or until smooth and creamy.
Ranch Dressing
To make the seasoning mix
2 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 dried basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp chives
To make the dressing:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt, plain
1 tsp vinegar
1 Tbsp seasoning mix
Water or milk to desired consistency
Salt to taste, optional.
Mix in a mason jar until even consistency. Store in refrigerator until use by date on milk/yogurt.
I used a little Himalayan salt.
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