"Spring cleaning" can be just as important an activity for our bodies as it is for our homes.

Most of us do spring cleaning for our homes, but when is the last time that you did a “spring cleaning,” or detoxification, for your body? Our world is a very toxic place. Below are some of the toxins we are all exposed to on a daily basis. They include:

  • Polybrominated diphenyl ethers - flame-retardants found in all of our furniture
  • Bisphenol A – packaging plastics, credit card receipts
  • Perfluorooctanoic acids – non-stick cookware
  • Acrylamide – coffee
  • Mercury, and other heavy metals – seafood
  • Methyl tert-butyle ether – from second-hand smoke, and gasoline additives

How do you know if you are toxic?  Well, do you have an of the following symptoms?:

  • Dark circle under eyes
  • Digestion, elimination problems
  • Fatigue, lethargy, weakness
  • Irritability
  • Brain fog
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Muscle, and joint discomfort
  • PMS
  • Premature aging

If you have any of these symptoms then you and I should take a look at phase 1, and phase 2 detoxification pathways within the body.

  • Phase 1 detoxification is the processes by which the liver’s Cytochrome P-450 enzymes take the nonpolar lipid soluble toxins, and converts them into more polar, and less lipid-soluble metabolites. The reactions that take place in this phase include: oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis, hydration, and dehalogenation.
  • Phase 2 detoxification reactions include sulfation, glucuronidation, glutathione  conjugation, acetylation, amino acid conjugation, and methylation.

From these pathways we are making the intermediary metabolites into polar water soluble items that can be eliminated via feces/stool, or urination. Many nutrients, and antioxidants are needed for both of these pathways to be run.

Since we are toxic it is important to rid the body of toxins, and this is done via mobilizing, binding, and removing toxins. The detoxification protocol is an individual program because all of us need support in different ways.  Once we have detoxed it is important to keep our toxic burden down by looking at all of the products/chemicals we are putting into our system. Let me know if you want to detox.