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Additional Information
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The Benefits of Internal Cleansing
In our industrialized, modern world, we are exposed to multiple toxins that enter the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. Toxins can be found in fruits and vegetables treated with pesticides or herbicides, livestock treated with hormones, industrial pollutants released in our air, as well as chemicals and heavy metals that find their way into our water supply.
Your liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, lungs, and skin all work to clean out toxins that enter your body in a process known as detoxification. While your organs work hard to keep you detoxified, the amount of toxins found in today's environment can over-challenge their detoxification capacity.
Over the years, this can lead to an accumulation of toxins in your liver, intestines, fat, and other tissues. This storage of toxins can further impair your organs' ability to detoxify—negatively impacting your energy levels, mental clarity, digestive function, skin complexion, and much more. Toxin overload can lead to a variety of health problems such as chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel disease, muscle and joint pain, headaches, and allergy or flu-like symptoms.
Although you can't completely avoid exposure to toxins from your environment, you can enhance your body's ability to eliminate them more efficiently.
How Does the Body Remove Toxins?
By far, the majority of toxins and drugs are lipid-soluble molecules, also called fat-soluble molecules. While water-soluble molecules are excreted through the urine, lipid-soluble molecules cannot directly enter into the urine and are attracted to the lipid in cell membranes. This attraction allows them to be transported inside of cells with ease, where they can sequester and exert their toxic effects.
In order to remove the many diverse toxins, the body has a complex, integrated system designed to convert them from lipid-soluble to water-soluble molecules, after which they can be directly excreted through renal (kidney) or biliary (bile) routes. This system is called the detoxification or biotransformation system, and it includes two steps: Phase I is called Bioactivation and Phase II is called Conjugation.
Phase I and Phase II biotransformation reactions occur in concert, working together to remove toxins. In brief, the detoxification system converts the lipid-soluble molecule to a water-soluble molecule by connecting (binding) the toxin to another molecule that is water-soluble (conjugation). This sounds like an easy one-step process, but it is complicated by the fact that most of the toxicants do not have a reactive site that will easily attach to the water-soluble molecule. Therefore, a reactive site must be made on the toxin before the water-soluble piece can be attached. This “activation” is accomplished by the Phase I enzymes.
A compound that provides bi-functional support for detoxification is one that supports healthy, optimal activity of both Phase I and Phase II enzyme systems. This is one reason given for the association of diets high in fruits and vegetables with reduced susceptibilities to diseases such as cancer, since fruits and vegetables are sources for many bi-functional modulators.
Detoxification Myths & Realities
It was formerly believed that a water or juice fast was a preferred detoxification program. However, we now know that the body's detoxification systems are heavily nutrient-supported, making it clear that simple juice or water fasting is less complete and no longer the method of choice. Fasting also has many adverse health effects, including decreased energy production, catabolism of lean tissue and an increase in oxidative stress.
Your body’s detoxification system is highly dependent on nutrient support for its optimal function. Detoxification is an energy-requiring process that puts a metabolic burden on the body, so instead of decreasing nutrient support, a focused, high-impact source of nutrients is essential.
Healthy digestion can have a profound effect on detoxification. A source of fiber and healthy excretion are important to maintain removal of bio-transformed toxins. Fiber itself has been shown to bind some toxins directly, providing a route for their removal before they can enter the body. In addition, adequate intake of water is essential to maintain healthy kidney function and promote urinary excretion of toxins already in circulation.
Optimizing the body’s ability to manage and excrete toxins is essential for optimal health. To learn more about how you can start a detoxification program, come to our free seminar or call to schedule a FREE Detox Health Assessment.
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South River
Compounding Pharmacy
Southside: 2300 Robious Station Circle, Midlothian, VA 23113
West End: 3656 Mayland Court, Richmond, VA 23233
Serving the Greater Richmond, Virginia area, including
Chesterfield, VA, Hanover, Henrico, Powhatan |
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