Detox Secrets: Understand Your Body’s Six Natural Detoxification Systems

About Detoxification

Detoxification is the sophisticated way your body heals and repairs itself. Your body’s detoxification systems are built-in filters and flushers.

Today, the question is not if you are toxic and need detoxification. The question is actually, how toxic are you?

Your body is superbly equipped to eliminate a myriad of toxins. The process is efficient and quite natural when your overall body-burden is minimal. It completes this task through various systems of your body.

A Toxic World

Our world has been overloaded with toxins. Nasty poisonous substances are found in the water we drink, in the air we breathe, and in the food we eat. These clog our natural detoxification systems, compelling our body toward chronic disease.

Consider your home vacuum cleaner. Of course, you understand the need to purge its filter in order for it to run top-notch. This task is done routinely. Likewise, you change the oil filter in your car to keep your vehicle running optimally.

Your body’s filter systems work similarly. Chemicals build-up burdening your body, making it necessary to clean your filter systems. Alarmingly, there have been found about 500 chemicals stored in the average individual, along with at least seven pesticides in common urine samples.

The truth is, you cannot achieve great health unless you purge these toxins out of your body. And because the world is so toxic, this will require a lifelong detoxification lifestyle. No, if’s, and’s, or but’s!

Signs that your body might need its filter systems changed include:

• Inflammation
• Headaches
• Moodiness
• Autoimmune conditions
• Chronic fatigue
• Diabetes
• Sleep deprivation
• Chronic pain
• Hormone imbalances
• Skin conditions
• Heart disease
• Anorexia
• Persistent weight gain
• Memory issues
• Cancer

This article will familiarize you with your body’s six natural detoxification systems. You will learn how to prime these important detox pathways to become effective and efficient.

Let us explore your bodies six detoxification systems.

These include:

1. Digestive System
2. Cardiovascular System
3. Lymphatic System
4. Urinary System
5. Respiratory System
6. Skin

Digestive System

Your digestive system removes toxins through your intestinal tract within your feces. Primary to digestion are your liver, gallbladder, and stomach. This system is a very important component of your immune system since about eighty percent is found here. Take note that when your gut is not healthy, your body is not healthy.

Your livers natural detoxification process has a Phase 1 and Phase 2. Both of these need to be working flawlessly to benefit the detoxification process of your body.

Phase 1 is the first line of defense against toxins. Here enzymes assist in neutralizing dangerous substances. Enzymatic protein molecules offer protection by converting these toxins into less harmful ones. The metabolites of Phase 1 are dangerous, if not moved out of your body.

Phase 2 has the role of making sure that those toxins from Phase 1 do not build-up, clogging your liver. This phase provides the final neutralization of the toxins, making them less active, water-soluble, easily removed from your body through your bile, urine, and stool. It’s all about conjugation.

The main reason these detox processes stall, especially in Phase 2, is that you are not consuming enough required nutrients to support that detox pathway. Consuming a diverse organic nutrient-dense diet including Omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin C, eating organic cruciferous veggies, along with sufficient magnesium is supportive.

You might also need to supplement:

• Sulfur
• Glutathione
• Amino Acids
• Vitamin B12
• Molybdenum

Phytonutrients that naturally assist Phase 2 include:

• Quercitin
• Curcumin
• Resveratrol
• Milk thistle
• Grape seed extract
• Hawthorn
• Berberine

If you’re eating right now, you might want to set your food aside for a bit, as I address your bowels. Most people should be having at least one to two bowel movements a day. Yes, a day!

Your feces should not float, or look like small round marbles. It should not be too loose or resemble the width of thick yarn. A nearly perfect movement should resemble a big brown banana! I will encourage you to google “The Bristol Stool Chart” for a clear illustration.

Other more obvious natural support for your digestive system include:

• An acidic stomach acid environment (no antacids allowed).
• 1.5 – 3.0 pH, possibly supplementing with HCl and pepsin.
• Take probiotics.
• Eat an organic, nutrient-dense diet.
• No processed foods.
• No grains.
• No sugar (processed carbohydrates like crackers and cereal turn into sugar).
• Drink your weight divided by 2 in ounces of clean filtered water daily.

Cardiovascular System

Your abundant health depends on the blood in your body to perform all of its functions. Your Cardiovascular System acts as a shuttle, moving molecules of blood around while cleansing your liver. The blood travels on a sort of highway supporting your immune function.

When toxins are inside of your body, your blood is affected. Once toxins are riding inside of this liquid highway, it shuttles these poisonous substances to your entire body at will.

One of the reasons that I emphasize eating an organic, nutrient-dense diet is that your red blood cells purge about every120 days. Consuming a clean organic diet including garlic, cilantro, dandelion root, and burdock, will encourage sparkling-clean new blood in about four months.

Aerobic exercise is one of the best gifts you can give to your heart. It’s a vital component to keeping your blood oxygen-rich. Your movement can be anything from weightlifting to Zumba. Walking, yoga, resistance training, hiking, dancing, gardening, and biking all fit the bill.

Lymph System

Your lymph system is commonly ignored. It is an amazing fluid system housing interstitial fluid in tiny nodes that reside inside of your body from head to toe. Interestingly, bacteria, viruses, and organic material are filtered out of the body from your lymph system^[1].

These nodules act as a pre-filter for your liver. They prevent your liver from overloading and completely clogging up. Once your lymph system has been filtered, it returns to the bloodstream via the thoracic duct in your chest.

One of the best ways to naturally stimulate your lymph system is to dry-brush your body using a natural fiber bristle brush or a copper bristle brush. Begin down near your feet in gentle, sweeping strokes, heading up toward your heart center. Make sure you work both the front and back of the body on your dry skin. I guarantee, that once you start you’ll be hooked!

Jump roping or bouncing on a mini-rebounder are two other ways to naturally stimulate your lymph system. Begin slowly, at about five minutes a day, three or four days a week. Move up to at least twenty minutes of bouncing daily for prime benefit.

Urinary System

Kidneys are your body’s fabulous twin filters. Your kidney’s primary role is to filter blood removing cellular wastes like water and bile pigments. Good hydration is essential.

As stated above, your water intake should equal your body weight, divided by two, in ounces daily. This doesn’t include other beverages that you might be consuming throughout the day.

Clean filtered water is vital to keep your kidneys flushing properly, moving toxins out through your urine. Water is your best natural defense. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that common tap water should be strictly avoided, as it is a toxic soup of man-made chemicals including PFAS.

A balanced nutrient-dense diet will aid in keeping your kidneys working smoothly, perfecting that your urine stays a perfect pale yellow color. Although, make sure that the blood minerals sodium, phosphorus, and potassium are balanced. These assist in vibrant kidney function along with Vitamin D3.

Respiratory System

The main role of your lungs is to bring in air and infuse oxygen into your bloodstream. From here, it circulates to the rest of your body. Your diaphragm is the muscle that powers most of the work involved in your breathing.

Your body takes oxygen out of the bloodstream passing it onto body tissues, as it travels around your circulatory system. Your blood miraculously gives up its oxygen in exchange for carbon dioxide.

Put simply, as oxygen goes in, the carbon dioxide goes out. This is gas exchange. It’s a perfect built-in air detox system.

Breathing in clean air is a must. Get out of the city and head on out to the country or sea-side and breathe the clean air deeply. There are numerous studies in PubMed^[2], describing people who spend quality time outside measured lower in blood pressure, cortisol (the stress hormone), and improved sleep.

Skin

Most of you already know that your skin is your largest organ. The average male has a body surface of 22.45 ft and the average female 17.5 ft.

Your skin acts primarily as your body’s built-in air conditioner. Sweating encourages detoxification naturally, right through your millions of eccrine sweat glands. Perspiring is a very effective way to remove toxins from your body. This means a sweaty work-out or sauna experience can de-bloat you, assist in cleaning your clogged arteries, and detoxify your liver from last nights wine.

Epidermis is a fancy way to say skin. Be very careful about what you slather onto your body’s surface, being sure to note the ingredient list. Using detox pills, creams, and lotions that have toxic ingredients not only act as an unfortunate barrier to your sweat glands, but these toxins can regrettably be absorbed right back into your body.

TRY ALSO – Nuubu Detox Patches

Final Thoughts

A general detoxification lifestyle is vital to ebb the ugly rising tide of chronic disease. Although, often a more rigorous detox protocol is needed to remove stubborn toxins like heavy metals, parasites, Lyme, or mold.

Seeking out a naturopathic doctor or a professional who practices a functional medicine ideology, will be able to direct you in using effective detox medicine and protocols to remove these stubborn toxins. These practitioners aim to prevent the disease from happening in the first place and reverse disease by tackling the underlying causes.

Supporting your six detoxification systems benefit longevity. That’s right! You will be your best self by keeping your built-in filters and flushers working optimally.

Laurie Chocholous, NTP

Laurie Chocholous, NTP is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. Laurie is a graduate of the Nutritional Therapy Association. She is a con... [Read Full Bio]