Start Anew this Spring with the These Steps to a Simple Detox

By Edward Jones, Founder Nutrition World (@theholisticnav)

Cleaning up your daily lifestyle and taking steps to flush out toxins is something that can provide countless benefits. In fact, detoxification is a natural process that occurs in all living organisms. The fact that mother nature has put efficient detox pathways within all living organisms illustrates its crucial role in preserving life. The path to detoxification can be perplexing if you don’t know where to start. This is why I have created an easy guide to helping others get stated on the road to detoxing your body of harmful toxins. 

I’ve been counseling people for more than 40 years on the subject of detoxing for the improvement of their health through my wellness clinic, The Wellness Corner.  I’ve witnessed the importance of therapies concerning detoxification, but it’s also crucial to highlight the potential caveats and concerns with its practices.

Toxins are all around us, so it can be difficult to avoid them in our daily lives. Heavy metals, mold, hormone disruptors, pesticides — you name it. Even in situations where we embrace a clean, organic lifestyle, we can continue to be exposed to toxins through the products we use. The body’s capacity to deal with these toxins is limited and it is often beyond its capacity to attempt to deal with these compounds. These systems must be reinforced and supported to achieve and regain health for many people.

One of the most poignant studies on toxins involved analyzing blood in the umbilical cord. It was not too long ago when scientists believed that the placenta shielded cord blood — and the developing baby — from most chemicals and pollutants in the environment. In the study conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), two major laboratories found an average of 200 industrial chemicals in umbilical cord blood. The blood harbored pesticides, consumer product ingredients and wastes from gasoline, skin care products and garbage. Information like this should motivate people toward the clear need for detoxification.

Daily lifestyle choices can confer several benefits to your body, but one of the first commonsense steps in detoxification is to limit your amount of toxic exposure. The regulations of other countries do not allow many of the same ingredients and products that are allowed in the United States due to potential toxic dangers to the body. It’s vital to educate yourself on these compounds, and it’s easier than ever to do. An amazing resource I recommend is EWG.org, which evaluates the safety and risk of many of the products available to us today.

To begin, it’s important to understand the process. Detoxification happens in three phases:

1. Enzymatic Transformation: This process helps to transform fat-soluble toxins, so they are more water soluble. This is usually carried out by the liver.

2. Enzymatic Conjugation: This process further increases water solubility and uses a number of molecules, including glutathione, for effectiveness.

3. Transport: This process excretes water soluble compounds from the cells and out of the body.

When you are putting together your detox plan, it’s important to not resort to means that can be addictive and dangerous. When many people hear the word detox, they automatically think of flushing out the colon. Achieving regularity is important, but it will be more beneficial for you in the long run to think of it in terms of a cellular detox. That being said, too many of so-called natural cleansers like aloe, cascara, Chinese rhubarb and senna are often addictive and are nothing more than hidden laxatives. They end up clearing out what you’ve eaten in the past few days and do not achieve a true cellular detox. You can learn more on how to achieve regularity without laxatives, checkout my podcast at theholisticnavigator.com.

When setting up your detox plan, here are some of the most effective and researched choices for assisting your body in reducing the amount of toxins:

1. SAM-e
2. Green Tea
3. Quercetin
4. Burdock
5. NAC (precursor to glutathione)
6. Indole 3 Carbinol
7. Bentonite
8. Charcoal
9. Magnesium
10. Glycine (specifically for detox of Roundup)
11. Acetic acid from apple cider vinegar
12. Silymarin
13. Bile improving herbs like artichoke, burdock, yellow dock, gentian and ginger
14. Chlorella
15. Fiber

The journey to detoxification is a highly individualized process, so it’s important to tailor a detox formula to your personal needs. Ideally you should be working with your practitioner to construct a regimen of supplements and lifestyle choices to integrate into your daily routine to reach peak effectiveness. Most importantly, you should be purchasing your supplements and herbs at reputable health food stores to ensure you are getting supplements made with the best quality ingredients. Secondly, is being aware that ordering products in the summer heat, not shipped with cold packs, may reduce quality of products. Be sure to add cold pack shipping when avaialble in the summer.  Furthermore, you should be leading a healthy lifestyle in addition to your regimen to help support the detoxification process. This includes intermittent fasting, dry skin brushing, sauna therapy and ensuring adequate fluid intake. 

Edward Jones, is a holistic health expert who has spent a lifetime dedicated to educating consumers about healthy living through his famed Nutrition World, and the preventative health practitioner venue he founded and directs, The Wellness Corner, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Since opening his doors at Nutrition World in 1979, Jones has presented at hundreds of nutrition and health events, conducted numerous media interviews, and has written and contributed to multiple publications, including the book, “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Health.” Known to many as a navigator of health, Jones is the host of “The Holistic Navigator” podcast that airs weekly to educate consumers about the latest science and trends in nutritional intervention, with the objective to help others take control of their own health. An adventurer at heart, and passionate pilot, Jones practices what he teaches through his highly successful wellness centers that are accessible virtually throughout the country. He is an avid exerciser, salsa dancer, traditional archer and devout meditator. Jones once set an “unofficial” world record in 2004 by achieving 285 pull-ups in one hour and for his 63rd birthday he recorded completing 63 continuous push-ups. Through proper exercise, good food choices and nutritional supplementation, Jones believes you can lead a fulfilled, adventurous life, no matter your age, as he has helped thousands of people on the path toward health and wellness.

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