Why detoxification is important

By newseditors // 2025-11-01

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Occasionally a doctor or a nutritionist will write an article and express the opinion that people do not need to use special diets or nutritional supplements to encourage the removal of toxins from the body. Their view is that the body has a perfectly designed detoxification system using the liver and our skin to remove any toxins. In theory that may be correct, but in practice it is "dead" wrong, with pun intended. Here are some questions for the misinformed: (Article republished from GreenMedInfo.com)

Has the volume of toxins increased in the past several decades: plastic containers, pesticides, industrial pollution, pharmaceutical waste, radiation exposure, food processing and cooking, vehicle emissions and much more?
Has the diet of the average person improved or declined over the past seventy years? The CDC says over 95% of the population has serious nutritional deficiencies, and the National Cancer Institute puts that number at 100%. Without the proper nutrients in the body can the detoxification system work properly?
Does the average person get more physical activity now than in the past? Every study says that a vast majority of people do not get enough physical activity, and we know that exercise is crucial for the removal of toxins from the body. Movement is required for the lymph glands to release stored toxins for processing. Sweating is necessary to move toxins out of the body.
People do not eat enough detoxifying foods, which are mostly vegetables. Every study of human behavior in North America confirms that a vast majority of people do not eat enough vegetables.
And,finally, why do hundreds of peer reviewed studies clearly show that detoxification programs actually work very well to remove specific toxins, reduce toxins in the blood and urine markers, reduce symptoms and improve overall health?

The science is in. The misinformed need to read more, and the average person needs to take a careful look at their lifestyle and behavior in order to improve their deteriorating health. Over 70% of adults now have a chronic illness and in 1960 that figure was only 10%. Why you ask? Respected scientists and doctors like Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Jeffrey Bland all agree that toxins are one of the main reasons for our deteriorating health, along with poor nutrition and inadequate exercise.

Detox Box by Dr. Mark Hyman- March 20016
The Disease Delusion by Dr. Jeffery Bland- May 2014
The Toxin Solution by Dr. Joseph Pizzorno- February 2017

For some naysayers and reluctant layman this overview may not be sufficient to sway their thinking, or encourage them to consider making serious changes to improve their health. Therefore, it may be helpful to provide an explanation of how our detoxification system works. The Liver as Master Detoxifier It is true that the liver plays the dominate role in our detoxification system, but there are other supporting players including the kidneys, the lymph glands, the blood brain barrier, the lungs, the skin, the gall bladder, the fat cells and the intestines. Their roles are as follows:

The liver- All toxins are sent to the liver eventually where there are two stages of detoxification to break down the toxins and remove them as part of the feces removal process. The liver also performs many other functions.
The kidneys- The kidneys process 200 quarts of blood and filter out 2 quarts of water and waste. The kidneys also perform many other functions.
The lungs- The lungs filter the air we breathe and removes toxins from the blood per circulation to the kidneys and the liver. The lungs also remove the carbon dioxide produced as part of the energy production process when oxygen and glucose produce energy in the mitochondria of our cells.
The lymph glands- There are over 1000 lymph glands in the body that gather toxins for storage until they can be sent via gravity to the liver for processing.
The blood brain barrier- Because the brain is so vital to our health, it has a special filtering system of its own to keep out potentially dangerous chemicals. This is a rejection type system that forces toxins to return to the kidneys via our blood.
The gall bladder- The gall bladder makes bile that is used as an additive to the waste coming out to the liver to help carry it to the intestines.
The fat cells- Fat cells often are used to encapsulate toxins in order to protect them from doing damage to our bodies. When someone is losing weight, these fat cells shrink causing the release of these toxins in the blood stream.
The intestines- The intestines are responsible for waste removal, for the most part. The bacteria and enzymes present also play a role in the digestion of foods and removal of toxins into the blood for processing.

How does this "perfect" detoxification process fail? As was mentioned earlier the system can begin to fail when there are simply too many toxins and not enough nutrients to help the system to work the way that it should. Here are some of the toxins that can begin to overwhelm this system:

Air pollution from cars, factories, airplanes, building materials, household chemicals, earth processes (radon, mold, bacteria, viruses, etc.), tobacco smoke, burning fossil fuels and animal feces.
Water pollution from factories, human waste, animal waste, pesticides, prescription medication in sewage systems, chlorine in water and pools, fluoride in water systems, mining waste, marine dumping, radiation waste, landfill leakage and oil leaks.
Many of these pollutants also end up in the soil where they are passed on in our food.

Most of these toxins become free radicals in our body

Each cell in our body gets 10,000 free radical hits per day.
The body has 50-100 trillion cells.
The body gets 7 trillion free radical hits per second.
In order to neutralize this free radical damage the body needs 10,000-12,000 mg of antioxidants per day and only gets 5000-6000 mg. from a really good diet.
Measured as ORAC units (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity), the body needs 3,000-5,000 units, but only gets about 1200-1500 units.

As was explained earlier, cells go through 5 stages of deterioration; (stressed, weakened, dysfunctional, mutated, diseased). Therefore, this deterioration happens over many years due to high levels of free radicals and low levels of nutrients. How these toxins are processed In some cases, these toxins are very quickly neutralized in our bodies when toxins become free radicals that are lacking a paired electron. Those becoming a free radical, in search of an electron in our body, can cause damage when they steal an electron from one of our healthy cells. This can be avoided if we have some vitamin C circulating in our body, which has an extra electron that it can give to the free radical, thus avoiding the previously mentioned cellular damage. This is how we can help to avoid damage to our arteries, and even cancer. When there are too many toxins in the body they are sent to the liver to begin a two-stage detoxification process. Stage 1 liver detoxification

The overload of toxins may contain some more complex molecules that need to be broken down using the bodies cytochrome P450 and CYP system. These are special enzymes involved in the synthesis and metabolism of drugs and other toxins with complex molecular structures.
Every toxin is reduced to one reactive oxygen species (ROS), which must be neutralized by an antioxidant.
This ROS molecule then receives some bile from the gall bladder and some fiber from the liver before being sent to the intestines for removal from the body as feces.
In an ideal situation these toxins are successfully eliminated by the body in regular bowel movements.
In some cases this processing is flawed and can cause toxins to stay in the body.

Quality proteins (amino acids) are needed in order to make P450 and CYP enzymes to break down the complex toxins. If they are lacking this processing fails.
If the body's metabolism is too fast this process is incomplete and fails.
If the body's metabolism is too slow (constipation) the toxins can be reabsorbed.
If the intestines are not working properly there can be gaps that allow toxins to escape into the blood stream and be returned to our organs and other tissues.
The recirculated toxins can begin to cause damage to the liver, the brain and other parts of the body. This is especially true if the toxins accumulate in the liver and become a burden due to the liver's inability to process them in stage 2 of the detoxification process.
Stage 1 detoxification may also be flawed if it is over stimulated or inhibited in some way. Two substances that can cause this over activation are caffeine and alcohol. Inhibitors can include low protein diets (vegans and vegetarians), high carbohydrate diets, antihistamines, food dyes, aspirin, paint fumes, cigarette smoke, enzyme deficiencies and nutrient deficiencies.
By the same token, there are several substances that can enhance stage 1 detoxification, and they include milk thistle, beet greens, chlorella, chlorophyll, garlic, artichokes and vitamin C.

Stage 2 liver detoxification This stage of liver detoxification has six distinct pathways, all of which are determined and guided by genetics and nutritional behavior. There are three primary factors to consider in the utilization of this stage for the elimination of toxins in the body:

The primary pathway of the six pathways available is the glutathione pathway, which handles about 60% of the toxins that are excreted using bile and fiber as part of the process. This includes the toxins known as carcinogens, which are the molecules posing the greatest risk for cancer.
Methylation plays a key role in all six pathways because it is necessary to convert amino acids into enzymes and nutrients in all six of the pathways. Methylation is accomplished when amino acids are broken down by adding vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folate.
There are two antioxidants made naturally in the body from specific nutrients, and they are glutathione and superoxide dismutase. Glutathione is made in the liver by combining nutrients such as N-acetylecysteine (NAC), alpha lipoic acid and glycine. Glutathione is the body's most powerful antioxidant. However, as the body ages it is programmed to make less enzymes, probiotics and antioxidants. This means that supplementing with certain key nutrients becomes necessary as we age. Here are a few of the most scientifically proven nutrients that can help with this detoxification process:

NAC, alpha lipoic acid and glycine to make glutathione
Vitamin C to neutralize circulating free radicals
Vitamin D3 to control genetic predispositions to disease
Fish oils to control inflammation, reduce pain and keep cells healthy
Modified citrus pectin to remove heavy metals and stop cancer cell growth
Co Enzyme Q10 to protect the cell nucleus from damage and keep cellular energy levels high for the functioning of all cells in the liver, and elsewhere

The role of detoxification in disease development Dr. Bruce Ames is one of the pre-eminent nutritional biochemists in the world, and he provides an excellent explanation about how poor nutrient leads to ineffective detoxification and the development of chronic illness, including cancer. It is called The Ames Theory and is based on the priorities by which nutrients are used in the body after they are consumed.

Immediate needs- When nutrients are consumed, the first priority for use is for reproductive purposes and controlling invaders such as viruses and bacteria.
Intermediate needs- The next priority for our cells is the production of energy, cell maintenance, and the production of biochemicals such as hormones and neurotransmitters.
Long-term needs- The remaining nutrients are used for protection against chronic illness, the protection of the DNA in the nucleus of our cells, and the aging process.

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