Toxic Environment and Detoxification

There is so much bad news coming out recently about massive toxic exposures, chemical spills and pollution touching so many aspects of our lives, that I wanted to revisit the topic of detoxification. I covered this in some scientific detail here and here and now I will break it down into simple strategies for making sure your body’s natural detoxification systems are running efficiently to help you ward off the inevitable and unfortunate assaults from our environment. 

First, a recap of Total Body Burden.

Your body’s detoxification systems are always running and the extent to which they are effective depends on what is called total body burden, which, as its name implies, signifies the burden of toxins in the body. Total body burden is a loose calculation that equates to total toxin exposures minus the body’s ability to detoxify, or remove, the toxic quality of the substance.  How toxins affect you is relative to the chemical, biological and physical characteristics and the effect on the body can depend on your biochemical individuality - meaning, it’s personal.  

Here are some of the most toxic compounds. 

Ideally, we would avoid toxic exposures, but as you can see from the below list, we just cannot.  It is not realistic.  But, what is realistic is that we can improve how our body detoxifies from these insults and mitigate the impact.

1. Medications - unfortunately, medications, including oral contraceptives, can be a burden on your body while also necessary to treat health conditions.  Knowing this, you can help your body process them better by getting your detox systems running more efficiently.
2. Heavy metals - yes, this is in many fish, including my beloved sushi. 
3. Pesticides, PCBs and plastics - there is no avoiding it, these are everywhere. On and in our food and packaging, cosmetics and many other places
4. Exhaust (i.e., leading to air pollution)
5. Solvents - like chemicals, cleaning agents and can even include products commonly used at nail salons.  
6. Smoking and alcohol consumption - also, unfortunately, the body recognizes smoke and alcohol as toxins.

Factors that can impact Total Body Burden.

These factors will affect the ability of the body to effectively metabolize and eliminate toxic substances.  

1. Age at exposure - the lower the age, the greater impact
2. Overall age - at higher ages, the body may not be as efficient at detoxification
3. Low lean body mass/increased body fat - higher fat mass can increase total body burden
4. Nutritional status - unsurprisingly, poor nutritional status can increase total body burden because the process relies on nutrients, vitamins and minerals to function.
5. Genetics - some people have genetic factors that can lead to limitations in the detoxification process. 
6. Stress level - of course, stress negatively impacts this as well, along with many other physiological processes

How to gently enhance the body’s natural detoxification processes.  There are many nutritional and lifestyle approaches that can help this process.

1. Overall dietary pattern should include sufficient protein and lower sugar consumption, also high fat consumption can impede the detoxification process
2. Anti-inflammatory diet containing plenty of antioxidants, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids 
3. Include cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussel sprouts) also leafy greens, blueberries, onions and garlic
4. Anti-inflammatory spices that aid in detoxification processes like rosemary, green tea, ginger and turmeric
5. Physical activity and activities that induce sweating, like sauna, and improving hydration can also improve excretion of xenobiotics.  
6. Further, coffee, alcohol, smoking, oral contraceptive and UV radiation may deplete nutrients in the body so refraining from those things may improve detoxification processes
7. Targeted supplementation if needed:  magnesium, vitamin C, B vitamins, selenium, quercetin and N-acetyl cysteine can be effective  
8. Reducing excess body fat

As you can see, there are many toxic exposures that are unavoidable, but we can prime our detoxification systems to work more effectively to reduce our total body burden. If I can help you with your efforts to reduce your total body burden, reach out anytime!