January sees a spike in all kinds of dieting programs and, as much as I try to avoid that seasonal fad, detox questions keep coming at me. So I thought I’d do a quick blog about my experience with “detoxification”.
There are a million programs that promise the holy grail of weight loss, but safe “detoxification” is critical to health for reasons beyond weight loss. The weight loss will happen, but, more importantly, a decent detox will reinvigorate your body’s metabolism by flushing out the accumulated waste that slows us down and wreaks all kinds of health havoc.
Since WWII, 80,000 new synthetic chemicals have been introduced into the environment. 1500 new chemicals annually. Many of these chemicals are persistent and what we call “bio-accumulative,” which means they remain in the body long after exposure.
And guess where these bio-accumulatives are stored?
FAT CELLS.
And our fat cells are freaking out.
Some toxins are actually called “OBESOGENS” because they are found to contribute to obesity. These chemicals are endocrine disruptors, which means they disrupt the system that balances our hormones.
Look at these poor rats, one exposed to diethylstilbestrol (synthetic estrogen).
How does this happen?
- The main role of fat cells is to store energy and release it when needed.
- It also acts as an endocrine organ, releasing hormones related to appetite and metabolism.
- Obesogenic organisms affect the number of fat cells, the size of fat cells, and the hormones that affect appetite, satiety, food preferences, and energy metabolism.
- Some obesogenic effects may pass on to later generations through epigenetic changes, heritable modifications to DNA and histone proteins that affect when and how genes are expressed in cells, without altering the actual genetic code.
The body detoxifies naturally, but, with such an overload, might be sluggish in doing its job. A safe and healthy “detoxification” supports the body to do what it does naturally by providing the body with healthy nutrients to first release the toxins from storage (fat cells), and then eliminate them.
Because toxin release can be traumatic on the body, our fat cells are inclined to hold on tightly to them, making it more and more difficult break down the fat.
Also, because the toxins disrupt the endocrine system, they actually perturb the metabolism, the very thing we're trying to maximize.
Some Detox Tips:
1. Please avoid the dramatic starvation detoxes. Your body needs lots of clean & healthy food to support the process. What we don’t want is to release the toxins from the fat cells and not provide the proper nutrients to help eliminate them (think headaches and chills).
2. Don’t let the word “detox” scare you. A good one is just that – a detoxification program. You shouldn’t be in the bathroom all day! Also, your body will be a little uncomfortable as you "clean out," but again, a safe detox program should not leave you feeling like you're knocking on death's door.
3. Consult with your doctor, preferably one well-versed in functional medicine. Your body’s genotype is unique to you and one size doesn’t always fit all.
4. Embark on your detox journey as a step in a long-term commitment to your health, not just a 2-week fad.
Feel free to reach out to me with questions! I'm here to help!
