Cellular Detoxification

Detoxification is arguably the most important area of health to focus on today. Some make the case that detoxification is more important than nutrition, or other lifestyle factors.

When our cells are brimming with toxins, symptoms begin to appear, and eventually disease develops. Conversely, when we support cellular detoxification, we bring robustness to our cells and all they do for us. And this is true at any age. 

Understanding the role that toxins play in health is critical to achieving – and maintaining – your health goals.

An area often overlooked by conventional medicine, supporting cellular detoxification often addresses the non-specific symptoms or root causes of disease that so many of us are experiencing. 

Keep reading to learn more about:

  • The body burden of toxins and where they come from
  • How toxicity creates symptoms and disease 
  • Why we need to focus on detoxification
  • A roadmap to detoxification with a focus on the cellular level

The Body Burden 

Detoxification is a buzzword, but truly an essential part of living in today’s world that cannot be overlooked. Although your body detoxifies for you every moment of every day, never before have we been exposed to so many toxins at the same time. 

The average newborn begins life with as many as 287 man-made, toxic chemicals in their blood. And it doesn’t stop there.

Commercial baby food may contain heavy metals, infant sleepwear contains flame retardants and microplastics contaminate the water supply and seafood.

Over a lifetime a single human comes in contact with tens of thousands of chemicals, many of which can accumulate in cells and organs. 

Common toxin exposures include:

  • Glyphosate – found in GMO crops, wheat, processed foods, lawn care
  • Mercury – from dental fillings, seafood, and some vaccines
  • PFAS – found in waterproof fabrics, non-stick cookware
  • VOCs – found in paint, insulation, flooring and other home materials
  • EMFs – electromagnetic fields
  • Toxic Mold – homes, dormitories, workplaces and vehicles

Drinking water may also be contaminated with pharmaceutical metabolites or algal blooms. The air we breathe may contain air pollution, particulate matter or high levels of ozone.

While knowledge empowers us to avoid many of these toxins, it’s impossible to avoid them all, making cellular detoxification all the more important when it comes to health. 

Who needs cellular detoxification? Everyone. 

Health Impacts Of Toxins

When toxins build up beyond the capacity of the cell to handle them, the function of the cell suffers and that’s when we may start experiencing symptoms. High levels of toxins in the body may cause a variety of symptoms including:

  • Anxiety and depression
  • Unexplained infertility
  • High or low blood pressure
  • Digestive symptoms
  • Weight gain or weight loss resistance
  • Loss of immune resilience
  • Loss of stress resilience
  • Less mental acumen
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle and joint pain
  • Insomnia
  • Headaches
  • PMS
  • Hair loss

Toxins can cause inflammation systemically, so it’s no wonder that related symptoms are so widespread.

Since detoxification isn’t typically a part of conventional medicine, many people seek help for these seeming random symptoms and are given an antidepressant or pain medication, but no root cause is sought.

Buildup of toxins and waste within the cell and cell membranes leads to larger health issues. Here’s what happens:

  • Toxins affect mitochondria and the ability for the cell to turn macronutrients into fuel (ATP). 
  • Toxins affect genes. Toxins actually bind to DNA causing changes in gene expression, epigenetics. 
  • Toxins blunt hormone receptors on cells, so these chemical messages aren’t transmitted properly. This includes thyroid hormone, sex hormones, satiety hormones, adrenal hormones, etc. 
  • Toxins alter the microbiome leading to systemic issues and disease development. Toxins both kill the beneficial bacteria that talk to our genes in a favorable way as well as increase susceptibility to pathogenic infections such as candida.
  • Toxins suppress the immune system and also contribute to the environmental factors that drive autoimmunity.  

All of this can lead to obesity, chronic disease (such as diabetes and dementia), cancer and accelerated aging. Humans might have longer lifespans, but health spans have decreased as many spend the last decade or more of their life in poor health. 

This may feel like doom and gloom for the health of the population, but when we understand toxins as a major root cause to the epidemics we are facing, we put our health into our own hands.

In addition, we are able to draw connections with the bigger social, environmental and political issues that require our support. 

The Importance Of Detoxification 

With toxins contributing to so many symptoms and disease, when we effectively support detoxification, we ultimately restore balance. 

When we think about detoxification, we need to think about it at the level of each and every cell. Just like every cell needs the blood supply that delivers nutrients, every cell needs to be able to effectively eliminate waste. 

Benefits of cellular detoxification are far reaching and support:

  • Longevity
  • Hormonal balance
  • Microbiome balance
  • Favorable epigenetic expression
  • Energy production and mitochondrial health
  • Possible prevention or reversal of chronic diseases

Here’s the bottom line: Supporting cellular detoxification is foundational for overall health. 

How To Support Cellular Detoxification 

Before we get into some of the interesting, Functional Medicine details of supporting detoxification at the cellular level, let’s talk about reducing toxin exposures in the first place. 

Detoxification Step 1: Reducing Toxin Exposures

The body has the natural ability to detoxify, but hasn’t evolved to withstand the level of chemical input found in our modern environment.

By understanding where you are being exposed to toxins, you quite easily eliminate the toxins you can control from entering your body in the first place.

Here are some ways to do that: 

  • Filter your water. Many high quality water filters, including AquaTru, are available to easily filter drinking water from chlorine, metals, pesticides and more. When it comes to water filtering for toxins, reverse osmosis systems are preferred.  
  • Filter your air. Surprisingly, indoor air is often of poorer quality than outdoor air. The first step is to open your windows, as possible, to dilute indoor air pollution. When the house is closed up tight, use an indoor air filter, such as IQAir or Austin Air, in order to greatly reduce exposure to indoor contaminants.
  • Choose natural cleaning products. Many chemical based cleaners contribute to the toxin burden in our bodies. You might not be able to control what you are exposed to in public places, but at home choose natural options such as Force of Nature or Mrs. Myers.
  • Upgrade personal care products. The average woman is exposed to over a hundred chemicals from creams, lotions, makeup, shampoo and other products used on a daily basis. Many of these contain parabens, phthalates, synthetic fragrances and other compounds that disrupt hormones and build up in the cells. The Environmental Working Group is a wonderful resource for finding non-toxic alternatives to your favorite products. Some of Dr. Shippy’s favorites include: Nadia, Sumbody Stem Cell Moisturizer and Sumbody Deodorant.   
  • Choose organic. Pesticides and herbicides, including glyphosate, make their way into the body with each meal. Choose organic, pasture raised, grass-fed or regenerative agriculture foods as much as possible. 

Detoxification Step 2: Support Organs of Elimination 

In a previous article, The Importance of Detoxification – And How to Detoxify, we covered the routes that toxins take to leave the body and how to support these organs of elimination – the liver, kidneys, lungs, colon and skin. 

It’s important to not push cellular detoxification until the toxins have an easy way out of the body.

This means making sure to stay hydrated, have daily bowel movements, sweat often (through exercise or infrared sauna) and don’t forget to breathe deeply. 

This step may seem simple, but it’s crucial to not overlook it.

If the toxins leave the cell, but can’t get out of the body, they may simply recirculate causing further damage and symptoms. 

Detoxification Step 3: Cellular Detoxification 

With the first two steps in place, now we can focus on the deeper detoxification at the cellular level.

This often involves Functional Medicine testing in order to identify the specific toxins that have accumulated within cells.

When we know what we are dealing with, we can be more specific and effective with treatment. 

In addition to testing, here are some areas to consider: 

  • Regenerate membranes. Toxins damage the cell membrane of cells and the cell membranes that make up the mitochondria inside cells. With these membranes impaired, cells lose their integrity. The result is that cellular communication and energy production suffers. Support cell membranes with healthy dietary fats and choline (including  phosphatidylcholine), antioxidant compounds (including vitamin C, CoQ10 and curcumin) as well as an overall nutrient-dense diet

 

  • Boost autophagy. Autophagy is the cell’s inherent cleanup crew that helps to remove waste and damaged parts of the cell, either for removal from the body or recycling into new parts of cells. Autophagy peaks during the sleeping hours, making sleep a critical time for detoxification. In addition, intermittent fasting, the Fasting Mimicking Diet or a ketogenic diet, where appropriate, have been shown to improve autophagy and cellular healing. 

 

  • Support methylation. Methylation is the way to support the upregulation of detoxification pathways from the epigenetic level. Supplementing with active B vitamins and trimethylglycine is one option. However, the approach can be tailored to your specific genetic needs by making specific changes to diet, exercise and stress management, along with supplementation. 

 

While many detoxification programs are trendy, the truth is they may be ineffective and unsafe. Use this roadmap instead to decrease the toxic burden, open up the pathways of elimination and support detoxification on the cellular level.

By providing this landscape, your body will do the rest so that you live a long and healthy life. 

 

References

  1. https://www.ewg.org/research/body-burden-pollution-newborns
  2. https://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2019-10/BabyFoodReport_FULLREPORT_ENGLISH_R5b.pdf 
  3. http://www.annclinlabsci.org/content/50/3/408.long 
  4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5515271/ 
  5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2672474/ 
  6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5988979/ 
  7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6780315/ 
  8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28866100/