What Does It Mean to Detox
and Why Is Elimination Important?
I get a lot of questions on this subject and see a lot of people using “detox” solutions and formulas and products and most, inappropriately. At least most tend to have a lack of understanding of what detoxing does.
So what does it mean to “detox” and is elimination important? Let’s look.
Many are learning the importance of toxins and detoxing the body. While this is a good thing, I fear all too many have a focus on the detoxing part but don’t understand the extreme need for elimination. When the body builds up toxins, we become toxic and this leads to disease.
Detoxing the body is therefore important. When toxins enter the body, we may feel sick, tired, sluggish, not ourselves. When toxins are released, we may get the same effect but oftentimes, it’s worse than when they entered because there has been a “build-up” of many toxins so when they all get released in a detox effort, we get the full force of all of them in a “storm” that can overwhelm us. In fact, I’ve seen some end up in the E.R. because of it. So is it good to detox? Absolutely! But it needs to be done properly.
It’s important to be aware of when our bucket is filling up because if left unchecked, it leads to toxicity and sickness. Let’s face it, dealing with toxins is unavoidable. We breathe toxins in our air, toxins are in our water, and toxins are in our food. We live in a sea of toxins and there is little we can do about a lot of them.
We can’t do too much about our air other than living in areas that have cleaner air but some are unable to do that due to work or other circumstances. We could wear a mask and there are times when that is wise or necessary. We can filter our water which helps as most water is polluted. Some city water even contains drugs that are flushed that city water filtration systems don’t catch. Even many wells and underground aquifers have been found to be tainted. We can do our best to eat only organic food and even grow it ourselves, which is wise as most food is grown in contaminated soil that has had all the minerals and good bacteria stripped from it. We live in a world filled with plastics (Phthalates) which add toxins to our environment. In the end, too many of us are left with too many toxins to keep up with.
In addition to that, we are biological organisms that produce toxins. So detoxing becomes an important issue. But what happens when you begin to detox the body but don’t do enough with regard to the elimination of those toxins? Certainly, re-circulating the toxins doesn’t seem like a good thing, yet that’s what many end up doing. Some use cleanses that flush their various systems or organs only to put those purged toxins right back in the playing field within our bodies, only to wreak havoc elsewhere or even have them end up right back where they came from.
Does this make sense to you?
Elimination is even more important than detoxing. Got it? So let’s look at how the body eliminates toxins then. How does the body eliminate toxins?
Our lungs work to remove toxins from the air we use. When we breathe, we take in air, which is at times more polluted than others. When we exhale, we breathe out toxins as the carbon dioxide that we produce. If we don’t keep up the proper pace, we become toxic. This is what happens especially with those who smoke or receive some kind of damage to the lungs and aren’t able to get rid of the carbon dioxide fast enough and the person becomes septic from a build-up of carbon dioxide.
At the same time, as the air is breathed out, it goes through the lungs where toxins are also picked up from our blood by the lungs and then eliminated from our bodies via the liver, and through the kidneys, where toxins are eliminated through urine and our intestines, as waste (defecation), etc. We also perspire and toxins are eliminated through the pores in our skin which is noted as “body odor” if not washed off in a timely manner.
The more toxins a person has in their body, the more they need to eliminate. When we don’t keep up, we become toxic. We feel sick, we smell, we become weak, and we die if it goes too far. So what can we do about it?
Many of you may have seen things like these:
Doing the things shown above will undoubtedly do wonders for many people. Drinking enough water, oil pulling to detox and eliminate toxins in the mouth, fruit, teas, whole foods, exercise, fresh air and sunshine, and Epsom Salts baths can all be good things. Believing a particular product will do all these is what these companies count on. We’re going to look at some of these and others.
Drinking Water
While many claims are made about lemon water, especially those on it alkalinizing the body, which is mythically based (1), lemon water can have some benefits. Lemon or lemon juice does have some properties that will help with elimination but without the water, it will be less significant. Lemons contain Hesperidin and Diosmin which are Flavones or antioxidants that oxidize your cells. This is detoxing to the blood and body but does not really do much to eliminate the toxins they free up. The citric acid in lemons is said to help with eliminating kidney stones. (2) This has some truth to it. Lemon juice helps with the elimination of oxalic acid from the blood, which is where kidney stones come from when mixed with calcium and/or iron. It also aids in the elimination of uric acid that causes Gout. But this has more to do with detoxing than elimination. It is the water that does the part of eliminating and the more water you drink, the more toxins you eliminate. It is suggested that you drink one-half your body weight – in ounces of water each day. Consuming a pint or two of water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach helps flush the colon and this is good elimination. It also helps to flush the bladder. (3) Lemon will add some benefits but is not completely beneficial to all as the citric acid can pull calcium and potassium from the bones which is not good for those with Osteoporosis.
Oil Pulling
This is a practice of swishing coconut oil in the mouth. While it is a growing trend, it has been a part of Ayurveda for 3000 years. (4) But it’s also backed by science. This draws toxins out of the gums. It’s even been said to help restore tooth health. “Streptococcus mutans is one of the main bacteria in your mouth and a key player in plaque buildup and tooth decay. One study in 60 adults showed that oil pulling with coconut oil for 10 minutes every day significantly reduced the number of S. mutans in saliva in as little as two weeks, compared to distilled water (2Trusted Source). Another study in children concluded that coconut oil was as effective as standard chlorhexidine mouthwash at reducing S. mutans. (5) What is important here is that Oil Pulling with coconut oil can help detox the mouth and gums. Spitting the spent oil out is the elimination of those toxins.
Drinking Fruit Infused Water
Again, it is far more the water here that is beneficial. As Dr. Jesse Buttler N.D., says, it is better to eat your fruit (food) than to drink it. (That includes juicing). But is there some advantage in drinking fruit-infused water when it comes to detoxing and elimination? Fruit, of course, does have some benefits for the body’s health. Some fruit can be cleansing to the body. Vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals all have benefits. Pectin, found in apples, helps flush out food additives and metals in our bodies. The acids in apples (malic and tartaric) help in digestion and anything that helps in the digestive process helps to keep the immune system up and the body working. (6) And apples have antioxidants, like all fruit. Pomegranate is known to dissolve and flush plaque from the arteries. (7) Pineapple has bromelain, good for digestion and Papaya has digestive enzymes. These are all beneficial but once again, this all has more to do with detoxing but not so much with elimination. So the primary thing to focus on here is the water which eliminates the toxins the fruits help release.
Herbal Teas
The same thing applies here as with fruit. There are powerful antioxidants in herbal teas. These do help release toxins However, some herbal teas help regulate bowel movements and along with flushing toxins, they can help eliminate the toxins our bodies hold on to as they flush the colon. Some have even been known to lose a pound or two in doing so. (They should not be used on a regular basis though.) (8)
Whole Foods
What about whole foods? Obviously, this is going to do a lot to help one in comparison to eating processed foods that are filled with toxins and chemical additives. Will they help with elimination? Sure, many will! Higher fiber and antioxidants always help. Some foods will do more to flush the body of toxins than others. What may be most important here is that the foods you eat are organic. This removes the level of toxins from the start that would enter your body. Rather than putting more toxins in with food grown or raised with GMOs, chemicals, and poor soil conditions, you can definitely benefit more from eating only organic foods.
Something else about eating whole foods is with certain diets, the body burns fats as fuel which then eliminates more fat, and that eliminates toxins more than other diets where the body burns carbohydrates as its main fuel source.
Exercise and Sweating it out
This one should be apparent to everyone. Sweating is a direct form of elimination. “We think of flushes and cleanses designed to eliminate heavy metals and other damaging substances from the inside out. But, research suggests that it isn’t the only or even the best way of detoxifying the body. On the contrary, something as simple as sweating “could provide equal or even greater detoxification benefits.” (9)
As reported by GreenMedInfo.com, there are several bodies of research confirming that the body loses more than salt and water through sweat and that both conventional and alternative medicine practitioners could benefit by looking to perspiration for toxin levels rather than the typical blood and urine. One such study, published in 2011 in the Archives of Environmental and Contamination Toxicology explained there is more than one way for the body to rid itself of harmful toxins: (9)
“Toxic elements were found to differing degrees in each of blood, urine, and sweat. Serum levels for most metals and metalloids were comparable with those found in other studies in the scientific literature. Many toxic elements appeared to be preferentially excreted through sweat. Presumably stored in tissues, some toxic elements readily identified in the perspiration of some participants were not found in their serum. Induced sweating appears to be a potential method for elimination of many toxic elements from the human body.”
Archives of Environmental and Contamination Toxicology
Something else about exercise and sweating is that it burns fat. Fat holds toxins so exercising can use the fat, releasing the toxins, and sweating (and other bodily functions) can eliminate those toxins.
Breathing fresh air and being out-of-doors
This one should also be familiar to us all. Being outside in the open air is good for anyone. How does this help us detox or eliminate toxins? Well, for one, it’s better than being cooped up inside and the air is generally fresher. However, with that said, there are ways to freshen and detox the air in your home. This article – “How To Purify The Air in Your Home.” can help provide cleaner air inside. That can make a difference as you take in fewer toxins. But being outside tends to make people move more and this gets things moving, including toxins, the bowels, perspiration, and more to get elimination up. If the sun is out, this increases the production of Vitamin D which helps to improve the immune system which in turn increases the detoxing process
Epsom Salts Baths
Many of us are also aware of what Epsom Salts can do to eliminate toxins. Magnesium Sulfate is not only capable of drawing out toxins, but also eliminating them when using it in a hot bath, right? Not so fast!
“So how could a bath with some kind of salt-specifically Epsom salts, aka magnesium sulfate-help with everyday detoxification? The theory is that after the Epsom salts break down into magnesium and sulfate in the water, your body absorbs the minerals through the skin, which then “draws out” toxins from the body. But not only is there no evidence to back this up, but it’s also just not how your body works. There is no way, scientifically speaking, for any kind of particle to pass through the skin and draw toxins out in this way, says Kumar. Well, that’s settled.
Beyond “detoxing,” Epsom salt soaks have long been touted for their muscle-relaxing and sleep-inducing abilities, because of their high magnesium content. While there is a slew of scientific and FDA-approved uses for Epsom salts (for example, they’re ingestible for a laxative effect), there is almost no science that confirms Epsom salts-or specifically the magnesium found in them-aid in these kinds of home remedies. (10)
The hot bath may do more than the Epsom Salts as far as detoxing when it comes to using it externally. The hot bath will make you sweat and we covered that already. However, when used internally, “Epsom salts are also beneficial toxin flushers. Because of this, an Epsom salt detox is helpful to the major body organs. Doing a detox can help purify the blood and lymph system, improve liver functioning and bile flow and it can remove stagnant waste from the liver and gallbladder.” (11)
So let’s look at some other ways we can both detox and eliminate the toxins we free up
Probiotics
The use of Probiotics and eating fermented foods daily can help eliminate the bad bacteria that can overwhelm our microbiome and leave us vulnerable to immune deficiency as our gut makes up about 70% of our immune system. It is critical for our health to maintain a proper balance. It is said that the number of bacteria in our microbiome outnumbers the trillions of cells in our entire body. If the balance falls to the negative side, disease occurs. If we maintain balance, our immune system remains in favor of our health. Probiotic cultures, regardless of source, help to eliminate bad bacteria. If done too quickly when the microbiome is not used to it, it can cause a toxic storm that for many has led to diarrhea as bad bacteria die off and we become toxic. Probiotics are good but always take care when starting them. Once you start taking them or eating fermented foods, continue to do so to keep proper elimination of toxins in the digestive tract. You can learn more about Probiotics and fermented foods in the following articles: “Fermented and Natural Probiotics” | “Fermented Foods“
Other Methods
There are some other very significant and effective methods to both detox and eliminate toxins from the body. These are found in the Steps To Optimum Health (a set of healing and maintenance protocols) used by a handful of Naturopathic Physicians and alternative healers. The Steps To Optimum Health has been seen by over 100,000 people and has helped tens of thousands find healing as they have put the protocols into practice. When used daily, they can detox and maintain a detoxed state, eliminating toxins on an hourly basis around the clock to keep you in the most optimal health you can know. I highly encourage reading through them if you’re not familiar with them already.
Remember – it is just as, if not more important to eliminate toxins when detoxing. We need to detox because of the world we live in. Maybe more so for some because of the lifestyles, some lead. So do what you can to detox daily but eliminate effectively what you detox for optimal health.
To Your Health!
Written by Douglas K. Johnson – Life, Health and Wellness Coach, Herbalist, Nutritionist, Investigative Journalist, and Author
Citations:
(1) https://nutritionyoucanuse.com/the-ultimate-science-based-examination-of-lemon-water
(2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17382731/
(3) https://toyourhealth979994037.wordpress.com/2019/12/11/595/
(4) https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/features/oil-pulling
(5) https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/oil-pulling-coconut-oil#section2
(6) https://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/6-power-fruits-you-should-include-in-your-diet-to-detox-1677523
(7) Pomegranates Reduce Plaque in Arteries by 30% in Study
(8) https://www.answers.com/Q/Do_detox_teas_help
(9) Simply Sweating Helps to Detox the Body of Heavy Metals and More
(10) https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/beauty-style/no-you-cant-detox-epsom-salt-bath
(11) https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-drink-epsom-salts-for-a-detox/
How to Breathe deeply to Detox the Body
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To Your Health 
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