How Toxins Affect Your Health and Tips to Reduce Toxic Load

The word ‘Detox’ may become increasingly common and even trendy these days. You may have heard of people telling you that they are going through some detox or cleansing protocol.

So, what is detox, and do we need it?

In our modern living, toxins are ubiquitously present in our daily life, in our foods, environment, personal care and household products, etc. We may be exposed to as many as tens of thousands of toxins on a regular basis.

Do you have some lingering health conditions or simply not feeling your best, e.g. chronic fatigues, joint pain and other aches and pains, digestive issues, sleep issues, skin issues, lack of mental clarify and brain fog, mood swing, etc?

You may try to eat healthy, do regular exercise, try various health modalities, but still could not shake off these lingering health issues.

Have you considered toxins as one of the potential culprits to your health challenges?

Numerous scientific studies have shown that toxin exposure is associated with widespread adverse health effects that are so prevalent in our modern society, including hormonal disruption, reproductive dysfunction, digestive/gut disorders, allergies and sensitivities, metabolic disorders/diseases (incl. obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, etc.), brain, neurological and mental disorders, cancer, immune dysfunction and autoimmune disorders, chronic liver disease, chronic kidney disease, etc.

In this article, I share evidence-based information on common toxins we encounter in everyday life, how toxins affect our health and tips to reduce toxic load in your body.

For a quick summary of the tips to reduce toxic load in your body, you can go directly to the Summary section.

For a summary video presentation, please check out my YouTube video below:

 

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Topic List

Summary

Common Toxins We are Exposed to

External Sources of Toxins

Internal Sources of Toxins

The Body’s Natural Detoxification Capabilities

How Toxins Affect Our Health?

Endocrine (or Hormone) Disruption

Reproductive Dysfunction

Brain, Neurological and Mental Disorders

Cancer

Immune Dysfunction

Inflammation

Alteration of Gut Microbiota

Damage to Detox Organs (Liver, Kidneys, Gut)

Impaired Lung and Respiratory Health

Nutritional Compromise

Tips to Reduce Toxic Load in the Body

Minimize Toxin Exposure

Support Detox Organs and Drainage Channels

Employ Specific Detox Protocol

Related Articles

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Summary

Toxins can come from external sources or generated internally in our body. Common toxins we are exposed to are summarized in section Common Toxins We are Expose to.

Our body has strong natural detoxification capability, as summarized in section The Body’s Natural Detoxification Capabilities.

However, when we are bombarded with tens of thousands of toxins in modern living, the natural detox capabilities of our body can be overwhelmed, resulting in many adverse health effects, as described in section How Toxins Affect Our Health?

A summary of tips to reduce toxic load in the body is given below (for more details, see section Tips to Reduce Toxic Load in the Body).

Find out more on how Functional Health Coaching may support you in your detox journey through functional health assessment (e.g. assess toxic load, hidden food sensitivities, gut infections, etc. through functional lab testing) and holistic health rebuilding protocol.

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Common Toxins We are Exposed to

What are toxins? Toxins are unwanted substances in the body that cause adverse biological reactions.

Toxins can be from external sources that we are exposed to or generated internally in our body.

External Sources of Toxins

Figure 1. Various sources of man-made toxins

External sources of toxins are also called xenobiotics.

Over the last few decades, over 80,000 industrial chemicals have been produced. These chemicals are ubiquitously present in our daily life. They are used in food supply and consumer products, and also released into the environment, ended up in the air, water, soil, and food chain.^1,3,22

Some of these chemical pollutants called persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can persist in the environment for extremely long period of time, for decades and much longer.

The safety of many of these chemicals have not been tested and verified.^1,22

Table 1 below summarizes some common external sources of toxins we are exposed to.

Table 1. Common Sources of Man-made Toxins^{1,5–21,37,90}

The widespread exposure of certain industrial chemicals in our modern living is shown in The Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (Fourth Report) published by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).²³

Through measurements of blood and urine samples, chemicals that are widely found among US populations include PBDEs, PBBs, BPA, PFAS, acrylamide, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) (a gasoline additive) and perchlorate (used rocket propellant, fireworks, food packaging, etc.).²³

Many of the toxins have long half life and stay in the environment for decades and even longer despite some of them may have been discontinued usage due to regulatory policy.

The far reaching effects of toxin exposure in our modern living is also demonstrated by studies of blood or urine samples of pregnant women and umbilical cord blood samples of newborns, which showed the presence of many common industrial chemicals including phthalates, phenols (e.g. BPA, triclosan, parabens), PFAS, flame retardants, PCBs, and organochlorine pesticides (OCs).^2–4

Internal Sources of Toxins

Toxins can also be generated internally in our body, usually by pathogens, namely bacteria, parasites and mold.

These internal toxins are called biological toxins or biotoxins, as listed below.

• Ammonia: Ammonia is a normal byproduct of protein metabolism. Ammonia is excreted directly in the urine or converted to urea in the liver before excretion in the urine. In addition to normal protein metabolism, ammonia is also generated by some pathogenic bacteria and parasites. Excess ammonia in the body that cannot be excreted is neurotoxic (causing brain and nervous system damage) and contributes to systemic oxidative stress and inflammation.^24–27
• Bacteria toxins: Toxins generated by pathogenic bacteria include endotoxins or lipopolysaccharides (LPS), exotoxins and enterotoxins. LPS is generated by certain pathogenic bacteria in the gut as well as in water-damaged buildings. LPS promotes inflammation in the body including gut inflammation, liver inflammation when LPS is translocated from the gut to the liver, nasal inflammation when exposed to water-damaged building, and systemic uncontrolled inflammatory response or sepsis.^28–31
• Mycotoxins: Mycotoxins are toxic chemicals generated by mold. One can acquire mycotoxins externally from water-damaged buildings and foods. Mycotoxins can also be generated internally by mold that grows inside the body. Mycotoxins can be disease causing and in certain cases life threatening.^32,33

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The Body’s Natural Detoxification Capabilities

Our body has major detoxification capabilities to remove toxins out of the body as described below.

Liver and kidneys are the two major detox organs. Water-soluble toxins are detoxed by the kidneys via urine excretion. Fat-soluble toxins are metabolized in the liver into water-soluble forms and then excreted via bile as part of stool or via urine.

Our gut lining (or intestinal barrier) forms a physical barrier to prevent toxins we ingest from entering the circulatory system. However, when there is aberrancy of the gut lining called intestinal permeability (or leaky gut), toxic compounds “leaked” from the gut lumen to the blood stream and subsequently translocated to the liver.³¹

Therefore, the health of our gut is also crucial for deterring entry of toxins into our body.

In addition to liver, kidneys and gut, our drainage channels are key to facilitate excretion of toxins out of the body. These drainage channels include:

• Large intestine: Bowel movement facilitate excretion of toxins via stool.
• Bile: Bile (secreted by liver and stored in gallbladder) carries toxins that are metabolized by the liver into the small intestine for subsequent excretion through the large intestine.
• Lymphatic system: Lymphatic system is a major transport system in the body, carrying dietary fats absorbed through the small intestine, immune cells, biological messengers and compounds, metabolic waste and toxins.³⁴
• Skin: Toxins are excreted through our skin when we sweat.

Proper functioning of the above detox organs and drainage channels are key to reduce toxin load in our body.

In our modern living, when we are bombarded with tens of thousands of toxins, the natural detox capabilities of our body can be overwhelmed, resulting in faster rate of toxin acquisition into the body than rate of excretion.¹

Toxins not excreted are bio-accumulative in our body, especially in fat tissues, liver, kidneys, bone, and brain, causing chronic health conditions.¹

Many of the toxins have long half life and can stay in the body for decades or even longer.³⁸

In the next section, we discuss the adverse health effects of toxins.

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How Toxins Affect Our Health?

Figure 2. Adverse health effects of toxin exposure

In this section, we focus on the health effects of external or man-made toxins previously described.

Toxic chemicals and metals disrupt normal biochemical and physiological processes and functioning in the body, by the following mechanism:¹

• Direct cell damage, alteration of cell function and disruption of cell homeostasis.
• Damage and dysfunction of mitochondria (the energy-making machine in a cell).
• Oxidative stress.
• Alteration of gene expression or epigenetics ­−­­ induced by some pesticides, insecticides, heavy metals.
• Direct impairment of detoxification function − induced by glyphosate (a widely used herbicide), lead, PBDEs.
• Formation of diseased plagues: 1) Alpha-synucleain found in Parkinson’s disease − induced by some pesticides, metals, solvents; 2) beta-amyloid found in Alzheimer’s disease − induced by lead, mercury, aluminum, cadmium, arsenic, some pesticides; 3) atherosclerotic plaque in heart disease – induced by allylamine, benzo[a]pyrene.
• Displacement of normal binding at cell receptors: e.g. PBDEs displace thyroid hormone T4 binding, cadmium displace zinc binding.

The adverse health effects of the above disruptions are summarized below.

Endocrine (or Hormone) Disruption

Many toxic chemicals are known as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). They disrupt the endocrine (hormonal) system in two major ways:¹

• Amplification effects by mimicking endogenous hormones in the body: For examples, certain toxic chemicals, called xenoestrogens, mimic and exert estrogenic effects in the body, causing estrogen dominant health effects in the body. Examples of xenoestrogens include parabens, phthalates, nitro musk, benzophenones, PCBs, PBBs, BPA, etc.
• Inhibition effects by acting as blocking agent and interfering with hormone excretion, thus disrupting proper delivery to target tissue.

Diseases linked with EDCs are numerous as shown by scientific studies. Here is a brief account:^1,35

• Xenoestrogens described above contribute to estrogen dominance in the body. Some diseases associated with estrogen dominance include uterine fibroids, endometriosis, perimenopausal symptoms, PMS, increased risk of certain cancers (incl. breast cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer).
• Some EDCs (incl. phthalates, certain fungicides, pesticides) have anti-androgenic effects (suppress male hormones), increasing the risk of congenital abnormalities including cryptorchidism.
• Some EDCs (incl. PCBs, PBBs, PBDEs, phthalates, BPA, PFAS, fluoride) impair thyroid function.

Reproductive Dysfunction

Pre-conception and prenatal exposure to EDCs can affect reproductive health during early pregnancy as well as throughout fetal life. Some of the adverse effects may even be multigenerational.^35,36

Some of the adverse effects are listed below.^35,36

Phenols (incl. BPA, triclosan, parabens)

• Prenatal exposure to BPA can interfere with fetal neurodevelopment, resulting in increased anxiety, depressive symptoms and impaired behavioral regulation at toddler age, and aggression and hyperactivity in female children.
• BPA exposure reduces male sexual and reproductive function, and promotes recurrent miscarriage.
• Triclosan exposure is associated with reduced thyroid hormone, thyroxine, concentration.

Phthalates

• Phthalate exposure can adversely affect reproduction including poor semen quality and miscarriage.
• Prenatal phthalate exposure is associated with underdevelopment of male reproductive organs and masculine behavior in boys.
• Prenatal phthalate exposure is also associated with poorer cognitive and behavioral outcomes in children, especially boys.
• Phthalate exposure also affects maternal health by increasing the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertensive disorders and reducing gestational age.

PBDEs

• Prenatal exposure to PBDEs affects fetal neurodevelopment, resulting in impaired attention, lower IQ, poorer fine motor coordination in offspring at age 5 to 7.

PFAS

• Exposure to PFAS is associated with reduced fecundity and infertility in women.
• Prenatal PFAS exposure is associated with poorer fetal growth, reduced birthweight and increased risk of thyroid disease in children.
• PFAS exposure also affects maternal health by increasing the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertensive disorders.

PCBs

• Exposure to PCBs can decrease semen quality.
• Prenatal PCB exposure results in low birth weight, reduced IQ, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring.

Heavy metals (incl. cadmium, lead, mercury)

• Prenatal exposure results in epigenetic alteration of the placenta and newborns, and impaired neurodevelopment (incl. decreased cognitive function and IQ, increased incidence of behavioral problems, reduced psychomotor outcomes) in offspring.

Perchlorate

• Prenatal exposure alters thyroid function in newborns.

Solvents

• Maternal exposure is associated with spontaneous abortion and fetal loss, decreased fetal and birthweight and congenital malformations.

Pesticides

• Prenatal exposure impairs fetal growth, impairs neurodevelopment (incl. decreased cognitive function and IQ, increased risk of pervasive development disorder and ADHD).
• Prenatal exposure also increased susceptibility to testicular cancer and other childhood cancers (incl. leukemia, brain tumor) in offspring.
• to organophosphate pesticides is associated with poorer IQ in offspring children.

Brain, Neurological and Mental Disorders

Many toxins are neurotoxic and have neurodegenerative effects, causing dysfunction and death of neurons, which can have cognitive, mental and physical consequences.^38–43

Some common neurodegenerative diseases include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Here is a brief summary toxins implicated in the increased incidence of certain neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases:^38–43,96

• Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and cognitive decline: Exposure to PBDEs, pesticides/herbicides, heavy metals (incl. lead, mercury, aluminum, arsenic, cadmium), air pollutants (incl. ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide).
• Parkinson’s disease: Exposure to lead, pesticides/herbicides/fungicides, solvents.
• ALS: Exposure to lead, mercury, pesticides.
• MS: Exposure to solvents.
• Autism Spectrum Disorder: Exposure to mercury, lead, pesticides, air pollutants (incl. particulate matters, nitrogen dioxide, ozone).

Exposure to air pollutants, pesticides, lead is associated with poor mental health.^91,95,96

In addition, exposure that occurs early in life when brain and nervous system are still developing, can have more profound effects.⁹⁶

Cancer

Many toxins we are exposed to in modern living are carcinogens, which can cause altered gene expression, DNA damage and mutation, oxidative stress, mitochondria dysfunction, hormonal disruption; all of which are contributing factors to the disease process of cancer.¹

A comprehensive list of known and probable human carcinogens and affected organs/tissues, published by the World Health Organization can be found here.⁴⁴

Some of the common ones include PCBs, PBBs, PFAS, arsenic, lead, chromium, nickel, cadmium, tobacco smoke, smokeless tobacco, air pollutants, formaldehyde, glyphosate, acrylamide, benzo[a]pyrene, processed meat and red meat, contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy, acetaldehyde (from alcohol metabolism), and some drugs.^44,90

Immune Dysfunction

Toxins can dysregulate immune system resulting in immune suppression, autoimmune disorders and hypersensitivity.¹

Heavy metals such as mercury and pesticides, can suppress immune defense.¹

Exposure to solvents, pesticides, heavy metals can trigger autoimmune response.¹

Immune hypersensitivity can manifest into allergic reactions or environmental sensitivities (also called multiple chemical sensitivities). For example, exposure to solvents is associated with MS, while exposure to solvents, pesticides, heavy metals, air pollutants, cigarette smoke, crystalline silica is associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). ^1,38,45

Prenatal exposure to toxins can predispose offspring to pediatric allergies and hypersensitivity. Prenatal exposure to PCBs, dioxin, PFCs, lead, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is associated with respiratory symptoms and other allergies in newborn and children.¹

Inflammation

Toxins can trigger inflammation through various mechanisms including directly triggering release of pro-inflammatory signaling, or indirectly promoting oxidative stress and cellular damage resulting in inflammation.¹

On-going assault of toxins can result in chronic oxidative stress and chronic systemic inflammation, which in turn are major culprits and underlying disease process of many chronic diseases/disorders that are becoming increasingly prevalent including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, etc.^46–50,94

Alteration of Gut Microbiota

Gut microbiota is the ecology is microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, etc.) in the gut. Microorganisms can be good (symbiotic), bad (pathogenic) or commensal.

Symbiotic microbiota play important roles in the health of human host, not only digestion and gut health, but also immune health, brain health, synthesis and metabolism of certain nutrients, etc.^51–53

Exposure to toxins including heavy metals (incl. arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, nick, lead), pesticides, nanoparticles, PAHs, dioxins, furans, PCBs, air pollutants, non-caloric artificial sweeteners, chronic alcohol consumption, and antibiotics alters gut microbiota, which in turns contribute to the development of metabolic disorders/diseases (e.g. obesity, type 2 diabetes, high LDL/low HDL cholesterol, heart disease), gut dysfunction/disorders, cancer, chronic liver diseases, chronic kidney disease, immune and inflammatory diseases.^54–56

For more information on gut and gut microbiota health, please check out my previous articles: “Why Your Gut Feeling Matters”, “You Are What You Eat? Not Quite”, “Tips to Promote Gut Health for a Healthy Body & Mind”.

Damage to Detox Organs (Liver, Kidneys, Gut)

Our liver, kidneys and gut are the frontline detox organs that defend against toxins circulating in the rest of the body.

These organs are vulnerable to the direct assault of toxins that leads to tissue damage and dysfunction, which in turn degrades the overall detoxification ability of the body.

Liver

Chronic exposure to toxic chemicals throughout the lifetime increases the risk of liver injury and promotes liver disease later in life.⁵⁷

The detrimental effects can start as early as during the gestational period (i.e. in the mother’s womb) if the mother is exposed to toxic chemicals during pregnancy.⁵⁷

Liver disease caused by exposures to chemicals has been termed “toxicant-associated fatty liver disease”.^57,58

Some toxic chemicals associated with chronic liver disease include pesticides/herbicides/insecticides/fungicides, solvents, PCBs, paints/polishes/dyes, chemicals found is fragrance and cosmetics, EDCs, tobacco smoke, some drugs, and heavy metals (incl. arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury).^58–64

Kidneys

Many toxins including solvents, pesticides/herbicides, heavy metals (incl. lead, mercury, cadmium, copper, uranium), fluoride, tobacco smoke, air pollutants, certain drugs (incl. certain antibiotics, antiviral drugs, chemotherapeutic drugs, immunosuppressive drugs, NSAIDs, proton pump inhibitors, bisphosphonates, analgesic) are toxic to the kidneys, causing acute tissue injury and damage and chronic kidney disease.^65–68

Toxin exposure if also implicated in pediatric kidney disease among children.⁶⁹

Gut

Exposure to toxins including certain drugs (NSAIDs, antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors, anticancer therapy), air pollutants, PCBs, glyphosate, heavy metals (incl. aluminum, cadmium, mercury) and alcohol, can impair and degrade the gut lining, contributing to intestinal permeability (or leaky gut) and intestinal inflammation.^70–77,90

In addition, dysbiosis (imbalance of gut microbiota) also contributes to intestinal permeability.⁷⁸

When the gut lining becomes ‘leaky’, unwanted substances that we ingest into the gut or biotoxins generated by microorganisms in the gut can be translocated to other parts of the body.

Intestinal permeability is implicated in a wide range of chronic diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, food allergies and sensitivities, obesity and other metabolic disorders, autoimmune disorders, brain, neurological and mental disorders.^76–79

Because of translocation of biotoxin and xenobiotics from the gut lumen to the detox organs, i.e. liver and kidneys, intestinal permeability can also contribute to chronic liver disease and chronic kidney disease.^78,79

Impaired Lung and Respiratory Health

Our respiratory tract and lung are in direct contact with pollutants in the air we breathe in.

Exposure to air pollutants triggers oxidative stress and inflammation in the respiratory tract and lung, and is linked to exacerbation of pre-existing lung disease, development of respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, and allergic inflammation.⁸⁹

Nutritional Compromise

As discussed above, toxin exposure can compromise gut health, thus affecting digestion and absorption.

For example, tobacco smoking is associated with reduced levels of vitamins B6, C and E, folic acid, beta carotene and zinc.¹

Toxins also affect metabolism of certain nutrients in the body. Cadmium decreases intestinal absorption of calcium, impairs vitamin D activation in the kidneys and increases calcium excretion through the urine, thus affecting bone health.¹

In addition to cadmium, lead and chromium also affect bone metabolism, contributing to loss of bone mass and osteoporosis.⁸⁰

Certain drugs can contribute to nutritional deficiency. For example, antacids are linked to deficiency of folic acid, calcium, copper, phosphate, vitamins A and B12. Antibiotics are linked to deficiency of vitamin D, L-leucine and biotin. Oral contraceptives are linked to deficiency of magnesium, manganese, zinc, folic acid, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B12 and C.¹

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Tips to Reduce Toxic Load in the Body

It is always better to prevent toxins from entering our body rather than removing the toxins after they have entered the body.

Therefore, minimize toxin exposure is of utmost importance.

Even if we try our best, we still cannot avoid toxin exposure as toxins are so ubiquitous in our living environment. Therefore, we need to support our detox organs and drainage channels in excreting toxins that have entered our body.

Throughout our lifetime, there are likely numerous toxins that have bio-accumulated in our body. Toxins that are chronically bio-accumulated deep in the tissues and cells for a long period of time may require some specific detox protocol to facilitate removal.

The following sections provide some tips on different aspects of reducing toxic load in our body.

Minimize Toxin Exposure

As discussed in section External Sources of Toxins, there are many sources of toxins. Once we know these sources, we can try to avoid them. Here is a list of recommendations.

Eat Clean Foods

• Consume organic foods whenever possible, or at least choose organic for those produce that is known to be laden with pesticides/herbicides etc.
• Check out Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) shopper’s guide at: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/.
• Avoid high heat cooking which can produce toxic chemicals.

Eat Whole Foods

• Minimize consumption of processed foods which are often filled with food chemicals and additives.
• When buying processed or packaged food products, always check the label for ingredients and avoid those that have non-food ingredients.

Eat Lower in the Food Chain

• Eat a whole food plant-rich diet as toxins tend to accumulate higher in the food chain, especially fatty tissues in animals.
• A whole food plant-rich diet is high anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory compounds that help to combat oxidative stress incurred by toxins in the body.
• Avoid fish that tend to be high in mercury, including swordfish, marlin, king mackerel, orange roughy, etc. Check out EWG’s seafood guide at: https://www.ewg.org/research/ewgs-good-seafood-guide.
• Choose meats that are organic and grass-fed/pasture-raised that is free of antibiotics and lower in toxic chemical accumulation.

Drink Clean Water

• Filter your tap water – check out EWG’s water filter guide at: https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/water-filter-guide.php.
• Bottled water may not be the solution as many popular brands of bottled water may be contaminated with toxic chemicals. Chemicals may also leach from the plastic bottles.⁸¹

Choose Clean Personal Care and Household Cleaning Products

• Natural personal care and household cleaning products are usually better.
• Always check the label for ingredients and avoid products that have known toxic chemicals and metals.
• For personal care products, check out EWG’s guide at: https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/.
• For household cleaning products, check out EWG’s guide at: https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/.

Clean Your Indoor Air

• Indoor air can be 2-5 times or as high as 10 times worse in VOCs pollution than outdoor air due to VOCs leaching from furniture, building materials, household products, etc.
• Use an air purifier at home that has high-grade HEPA filter.
• You may go one step further by choosing low-toxicity furniture and building supplies.
• Check out EWG’s home guide at: https://www.ewg.org/healthyhomeguide/.

Choose Cleaner Cookware and Utensils

• Avoid aluminum cookware and utensils including aluminum foil.
• Avoid plastic containers, utensils, etc. as much as possible.
• Avoid Teflon cookware. Even ceramic-coated non-stick cookware can leach heavy metals when scratched.
• Glass, 100% ceramic and stainless steel cookware are relatively safer and better choice. Choose high-grade stainless steel appliances, e.g. 304 or higher. However, beware not to scratch the surface lining of stainless steel cookware as the internal heavy metals (incl chromium, nickel; some stainless steel cookware also contains aluminum) can leach out. Cooking acidic foods in stainless steel cookware also promote leaching of heavy metals.
• Cast iron cookware may not be bad however excess iron in the body can lead to adverse health effects. Men and postmenopausal women are at higher risk of excess iron.
• Similarly, copper cookware can increase the risk of excess copper in the body causing adverse health effects.

Support Detox Organs and Drainage Channels in the Body

By minimizing toxin exposure to the body as discussed above, we can also minimize direct assault of toxins and potential damage to our detox organs.

In addition, we should also support the health of our detox organs and drainage channels through adequate diet and lifestyle choices as follows.

Support Liver Health

• A whole food plant-rich diet that is high in anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties are beneficial for liver health.
• In addition, consume probiotic and prebiotic rich foods, avoid added sugars and sweeteners and avoid excessive alcohol consumption.
• Lifestyle strategies to promote liver health include adequately manage stress, ensure adequate sleep, maintain healthy weight, support healthy vitamin D levels, and avoid cigarette smoking.
• For more details on tips to support liver health, check out my previous article: “Take Care of Your Liver for Healthy Immunity and Overall Wellness”.

Support Gut Health

• In addition to the above strategies for liver health, it is also important to avoid foods that trigger immune reactions and inflammation, i.e., food allergies and hidden food sensitivities.
• Address deeply rooted and hidden gut dysfunctions which can often go undiagnosed or unrecognized, including gut infections, leaky gut, and gut inflammation. Some deep-dive investigation such as functional lab testing may be necessary.
• For more details on tips to support gut health, please check out my previous article: “Tips to Promote Gut Health for a Healthy Body & Mind”.
• For additional support in addressing hidden food sensitivities and deeply rooted gut issues, please check out  Functional Health Coaching.

Support Kidney Health

• Besides toxin exposure, common risk factors of chronic kidney disease include hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia (elevated triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol) and chronic liver disease.⁸²
• One common underlying culprit of these chronic diseases is oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.
• Diet and lifestyle choices play important roles. In addition to the above recommended strategies for liver and gut health, please check out my article series: “Diets and Chronic Diseases”.

Support the Health of Drainage Channels

• Support gut health as discussed above to ensure health bowel movement.
• Support regular sweating through physical exercise and sauna.
• Support healthy bile flow by supporting liver and gallbladder health using strategies as discussed above.
• Support lymphatic drainage through healthy dietary strategies discussed above, and also physical movement and exercise, dry skin brushing, lymphatic drainage massage, deep breathing, infrared sauna, and adequate sleep (which is crucial for the drainage of brain lymphatic, also called glymphatic system).^83–87
• Drink plenty of clean water to facilitate transport of toxins in lymph, sweat and urine. A simple guideline for the amount of water to consume is to make sure the urine excreted has clear, pale yellow color instead of dark yellow/brown color.

Employ Specific Detox Protocol

While adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle strategies as discussed above is important, some time we may need extra support for our detox organs and drainage channels (incl. liver and bile, kidneys, gut, lymphatic system) since there may already be some dysfunction going on in these organs due to chronic toxin accumulation, chronic infections, unhealthy diet and lifestyle in the past, etc.

In addition, when toxins are bio-accumulated deep inside tissues and cells, some specific detox protocol may be needed to pull toxins out for excretion out of the body.

Components of a detox protocol may include:

• Specific protocol (e.g. coffee enema, lemon water, cleansing diet, etc.) and supplements (e.g., nutritional, herbal) to provide extra support to detox organs and drainage channels (incl. liver and bile, kidneys, gut, lymphatic system).
• Specific protocol (e.g. infrared sauna, fasting, etc.) and supplements (e.g., nutritional, herbal) to mobilize, chelate and bind toxins for excretion out of the body.
• Addressing deeply rooted issues that promote the body holding on to toxins. For example, parasites may sequester toxins especially heavy metals in the host body.⁸⁸ Therefore, a detox protocol may also involve parasite cleansing.

Since each person’s health conditions and challenges are unique, detox protocol should be individualized.

Find out more on how Functional Health Coaching may support you in your detox journey through functional health assessment (e.g. assess toxic load, hidden food sensitivities, gut infections, etc. through functional lab testing) and holistic health rebuilding protocol.

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Related Articles

Why Your Gut Feeling Matters

You are What You Eat? Not Quite

Tips to Promote Gut Health for a Healthy Body & Mind

Take Care of Your Liver for Healthy Immunity and Overall Wellness

Diets and Chronic Diseases

 

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