Before starting any form of cleanse or detox plan, please consult a qualified health practitioner who is able to assess your individual needs and body’s ability to remove toxins safely. It can be difficult to resist clever marketing and sales pitches, but please try.
Toxins can be produced by a natural, biological system or living organism (typically referred to as “toxins”) or through chemical or synthetic processes (technically termed “toxicants”). Often, these two sources are lumped together as “toxins.” When we hear the phrase, “toxin load,” it refers to the bioaccumulated load of toxins over time. A greater toxin load means more accumulation of toxins.
But, why doesn’t everyone get sick from toxins since we all live on a planet with increasing amounts of toxins?
There can be many reasons why, including the following:
Toxins
- Dose (how much was someone exposed to?)
- Duration of exposure (how long was the exposure?)
- Interactions (“cocktail effect”) (was there a combination of toxins?)
- Toxin potency (not all toxins are equally potent and detrimental; some are clearly worse than others, and some may be worse for some individuals more than other individuals based on their genetics and epigenetics)
Health & Constitution
- Dehydration (leads to less skin and urine output of toxins)
- Gene variants (particularly genes related to the metabolism of toxins, along with genes related to oxidative stress and inflammation)
- Intestinal (dys)function related to absorption, elimination, dysbiosis
- Nutritional status (if compromised, the effects of toxins can be experienced to a greater extent)
- Overall health, presence of disease, and organ reserves
- Use of medications
- Stage of life, age, gender
- Weight loss (increased, rapid weight loss can lead to liberation of toxins into the systemic circulation from adipose tissue)
Diet & Lifestyle
- Fasting regimens (reduces input and encourages cell clean-up)
- Inadequate dietary protein (protein is needed for detoxification pathways and enzymes)
- Nutrient-poor diet (nutrients of various types are required to effectively detoxify)
- Poor quality and quantity of sleep (poor sleep can change eating, appetite, and overall health the next day, in addition to shortchanging brain detoxification)
- Sedentary lifestyle (lack of sweating and release of toxins, in addition to reduced cardiopulmonary output)
- Ultraprocessed diet (lack of nutrient density and an abundance of incoming toxins)
Emotional-Mental Status
- Economic disparity (not having the means for a nutrient-dense diet)
- Psychological stress/Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs)/Trauma (stress can influence gut health, liver health)
Regardless of where you are on the scale of toxin load, it’s always a good idea to take the time to assess how open your portals of elimination are in the body. As you will see in the graphic above, there are some organ systems that are pivotal for that purpose, as well as their secretions or outputs that carry the toxins out.
Source: Dr. Deanna Minich, Author. Teacher. Artist.