The 101 of Detox

Detox seems to be the trend in the market today. Everyone wants to detox.
What you need to know all about detox will be written in this article.

No.1 Know your toxins.
There are 2 forms of toxins eliminated from our body, one water-soluble, the other fat-soluble.

• Water-soluble toxins: Eliminated via sweat/urine. For ladies, via menstruation as well.
• Fat-soluble toxins: This goes through a a process in our liver,  via two phases, Phase 1 and Phase 2.

Problem arises when there is an imbalance between Phase 1 and Phase 2 detox process. 

"Research studies have found links between imbalances of Phase 1 and Phase 2 detoxification processes to incidences of lupus, cancer and Parkinson's disease"

You see, there are many different nutrients that are required for each phase of detoxification. So, when you are lacking of any of such nutrients (due to diet/disease/detox packages), then that's when the problem starts.

No. 2 Know what you are eating.

1. Slimming diets - These diets are designed to reduce body fats. And they may be doing more harm than good, if they contain inadequate nutrients to meet Phase 2 detox process in the liver. There may be a x100 more chemical toxins in our fat cells than in our blood or other tissues. If these toxins are not properly cleared, they can travel to your heart, brain, endocrine systems as well as to your joints and tissues; causing pain, discomfort and bodily dysfunction.

2. Excessive refined starch/sugar - These causes increased blood triglyceride levels, leading to slower bile flow. Bile acid hardens, and become gallstones! DO NOT undergo liver detox programme if there is evidence of bile flow obstruction. Do a proper liver function test/GGT test/stool test that can detect this condition.

Alcoholic beverages and refined carbohydrates (bread, noodles, buns, pastries, biscuits, white rice) interferes with detox process. DO NOT add fruit sugar (that means NO fruit juices for breakfast, NO soft drinks for lunch/dinner) when you plan to detox because fructose is a big cause of fatty liver, after alcohol!

3. Dietary Fibres - You have to increase intake of this. Why? Because bile acid is full of toxins, and this is eliminated via our stools. If there is not enough dietary fibres ingested, than chances are a large portion if the toxins will not be trapped, but be absorbed back into our bloodstream.

No.3 How to Detox

Eating organic non-processed and non-GMO foods. Drinking filtered water.

Showering in non-chlorinated water. Having regular exercises, Healthy lifestyles.

AND, if you do want to try out a detox regimen at any one time, please consult the pharmacist at your nearest pharmacy store for better advice and understanding before indulging into one.

*This article was extracted from NewStraitTimes