Health Tips

Detoxification – It’s Deeper Than You Think

by Dr. James L. Wilson

From the late 1800's until recently, the value and use of detoxification has been championed, primarily by the naturopathic profession and those interested in natural health. However, with the emergence of increasingly sophisticated laboratory tests and the growing influence of natural medicine on the treatment of various health problems, detoxification is taking a more prominent role as a valid method of removing obstacles to healing and to promoting greater levels of health.*

Detoxification, of course, is the removal of toxins. The word toxin comes from the Greek tocikon, meaning a type of poison, and poison is defined as any substance that may cause damage to structure or disturbance of function producing symptomatology, illness or death.1 There is a tendency by health care practitioners to think of detoxification as limited to procedures such as colon cleansing or chelation of heavy metals. But toxicity can occur at every level of function and structure in the body from the psychological to the molecular.* It may even be present at the energetic (structural vibration) level as evidenced by the value of homeopathic remedies such as lycopodium, nux vomica and sulphur in detoxification.2 *

Toxicity can arise from a variety of internal and external sources, including physical obstruction and an excess or deficiency of endogenous or exogenous substances.* Some of the most obvious sources are chemical, petrochemical, biochemical, thermal, and irradiation contamination. Physical obstructions include partial or complete mechanical blockages of function such as impacted fecal matter in the colon, thick mucus restricting absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, a gallstone preventing bile flow in the bile duct, or tumors or cysts blocking lymph or blood vessels. Detoxification in such instances involves physical removal of the obstruction by whatever means is most parsimonious.

Toxicity also occurs at the tissue or organ level, with each organ or tissue expressing toxicity in its own particular ways.* For example, toxic manifestations of the liver are expressed in the extreme as the various cirrhoses, blocked detoxification pathways and cell biopsies that show cheesy necrotic degeneration.* The heart may show its toxicity by manifesting non-specific reactions such as irregular beats, and decreased ejection fractions.* The brain may show its toxicity clinically by "foggy" headedness, difficulty concentrating, lack of memory, poor coordination and other non-specific modes of expression.* Brain toxins produce a variety of changes from interruptions of normal synapse transmissions to altered brain biochemistry, and even to malignancy.*

The problems created by toxicity manifest at the cellular level in many ways.* Both active and passive transport can be interrupted or altered across the outer cell wall. Sodium/potassium pump activity can be altered leading to electrolyte and water imbalances within the cell. Toxicity can also produce aberrant changes in receptor site numbers, configuration and sensitivity to a variety of essential biochemical substances such as hormones. Fatty acid metabolism and protein metabolism are also adversely influenced by toxicity that may result in leaky, inflexible, or non-adaptive cell walls.*

Intracellularly, toxicity can alter second messenger transmissions and responses, modify cellular pH and interrupt the normal physiology in the cytosol.* In the mitochondria, toxicity can interfere with cellular respiration.* Metabolically, toxicity can impair energy production (ATP, NAD, FAD) by altering the citric acid cycle, pentose phosphate pathways, oxidative phosphorylation, and electron transport chain reactions.* Toxicity of the endoplasmic reticulum affects messenger and transfer RNA synthesis, protein translation and transcription as well as other aspects of cellular expression and metabolism.* Interference with these biochemical substrate reactions can often occur by competitive and by non-competitive inhibition.

Because toxicity can occur at any level, and sometimes at several simultaneously, detoxification must also take place at the appropriate levels to be fully effective.* Multilevel detoxification is complicated by the fact that toxin elimination from the body has a limited number of exit pathways - the anus, urinary tract, mouth/nose (lungs), and skin. Therefore any detoxification must first include the preparation of the organs of elimination by making certain they are functioning at full capacity, or at least able to handle the toxic load.*

Water-soluble toxins exit through the skin, lungs or urinary tract. Some oil soluble toxins can also exit through the skin, but more commonly enter the liver where they are either degraded into water-soluble substances and eliminated through the kidney/urinary pathway or remain fat soluble and are carried in the bile through the small intestines where they are eliminated through the bowel via ingested fiber. A lack of fiber in the diet often leads to re-absorption of these toxins back into the body via the entero-hepatic pathway.* Substances that are neither oil nor water-soluble or that bind strongly or non-competitively to tissues or biochemical substrates are more difficult to rid from the body. Mercury, being one such difficult toxin, is given special consideration later in this article.

There are many ways to detoxify. Some methods are simple and broad spectrum, while others are very precise and exact. Fasting, breathing techniques, aerobic exercise, and exposing the skin to clean fresh air and sun are just some of the more common general detoxification methods.* Because water is the great catalyst, it has been used in many forms for detoxification.* Steam baths, hot and cold baths, mineral baths (hot and cold), epsom salt baths, herbal baths, oxygen saturated baths, and oatmeal baths have all been used with success.* In addition, sweat tents, wet and dry saunas, sweat baths and scrub baths - by themselves and in combination with other remedies and detoxification regimens - have contributed to the health and healing ability of many.*

Detoxification through the skin is facilitated by promoting sweating.* This can be accomplished by ingesting sudorific (diaphoretic – sweat producing) herbs like ginger, mustard and cayenne, either by themselves or in conjunction with fasting, saunas, baths and sweats. Packs of clay, mud, salt, charcoal, seaweed, volcanic ash and castor oil have also proven useful in increasing the elimination of toxins through the skin.*

Detoxification through the intestinal tract may be enhanced by fasting, mono diets, mucusless diets, ingestion of substances such as dietary charcoal, certain types of clay and dietary fiber, and in some cases by the use of cathartics that lubricate, increase fluidity, add bulk or stimulate peristaltic motion.*

This introduction on detoxification has touched on the importance and the depth of this crucial topic. Detoxification is in its infancy in this new wave of health care, although it is stems from ancient understanding. It is important to understand its value and many uses, but avoid its misuses, to reap the wonderful benefits.* In my experience, detoxification is often the missing key to promoting optimal health.* What is needed are more accurate laboratory and clinical methods for identifying the specific toxic substances, their prevalence and the body burden created by them.* Although we may never be completely free of toxins, our goal should be to reduce them to a level at which the body can cope and still function optimally.*