The Role of the Liver in Detoxification_Final
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>> Hi.
Do you know how to help your clients
safely detoxify their bodies?
In this lecture, I am excited to share all about
how you can support your clients through detoxification.
Keep in mind that the goal
is never to rid the body of all toxins.
Why not?
Toxins are present in everything that we touch,
everything that we eat, everything that we drink,
and even in the air that we breathe.
Our bodies produce them naturally.
What I'm saying is that it's impossible to live a life
completely free of toxins.
But it becomes problematic
when toxins are allowed to accumulate over time
to unhealthy levels,
in which case, they can really take a toll on our bodies.
So if we can't avoid them, what can we do?
When we talk about detox,
the common image that pops into
many people's heads is a juice cleanse.
This is only one type of detoxification.
And you don't necessarily need to cut out food
to detoxify your body.
Plus, it's not like our bodies are doing nothing
to ward off toxins
while we're not actively detoxing.
Remember, your body is designed to process toxins
and remove them.
As long as the body is working optimally,
it can cleanse itself of most of the chemicals
it comes in contact with.
As Joshua always says, "Give a half a chance,
the body can heal itself naturally."
The major way the detoxification happens
is through the liver.
It even has its own circulation system,
separate from the rest of the circulation in the body.
It's called the portal system,
and it's made up of the portal vein,
and its own system of blood vessels.
The GI tract, the spleen,
and the pancreas drain into this portal system,
which is like liver is on private transport system.
You can think of the liver as the body's filtration system.
Everything we eat and drink, as well as many of the things
that we inhale and absorb through our skin,
passes through the liver to be detoxified.
The liver filters the blood removing harmful substances
such as bacteria, drugs, toxins, and foreign proteins.
After food is broken down in the GI tract,
the small particles enter the portal blood stream
from the intestine,
and are routed directly to the liver to be filtered.
Once there, your liver separates beneficial nutrients
from any waste chemicals
that need to be removed from circulation,
and then processes out the waste chemicals and the toxins.
It does this through two phases of liver detoxification.
Phase one, the liver transforms the toxin into a chemical
that can be processed in the next phase.
And then phase two, the chemical is transformed again
into a more soluble form so that it can be processed.
Let's explore these phases in a little more detail.
Phase one liver detoxification is a metabolic pathway
where the toxin is processed by the cells of the liver
into a chemical that the liver cells can recognize.
Many of the toxins that enter the body
are fat-soluble not water-soluble.
In order to get these toxins out of the system,
they have to be made water-soluble.
In this phase,
enzymes in the liver change fat-soluble compounds
into water-soluble compounds.
But they're not ready to pass out of the body just yet.
A second phase of detoxification
is required to complete the process.
Think of it like a freight train
that needs to get through a tunnel,
but the engine is too big to let it pass through.
Phase one of the detoxification system
swaps out the engine for a smaller one
so the toxin can pass through the cell membranes
the way it's supposed to.
But to complete the process,
the train needs to add a caboose,
that's what happens in phase two.
Phase two liver detoxification occurs
when the toxin is combined with other molecules.
At this point, it's no longer harmful to the body.
The former toxins are now fully water-soluble
and are ready to pass out of the liver
and leave the body through urine or bile,
which is accomplished by taking part of an amino acid
and adding it to the molecule.
As you know, we get our amino acids
through protein in our diets.
So a diet with adequate high-quality protein
that provides an array of amino acids
is important for phase two to do its job well.
For example, say the liver is trying to break down lead.
After phase one, the metal is more water soluble
but also more reactive.
In fact, it's probably more harmful
than the original lead molecule.
Therefore, the body adds part of an amino acid
so that the enzymes that break it down
will recognize this foreign molecule.
It's like creating a special key that can fit that lock.
Without that key,
the molecule isn't going to be recognized and broken down.
In order to do this, the amino acids that the liver uses
to process these toxins have to be available.
There are several of these amino acids that are used
with different substances as they're broken down.
In order to complete the process,
the liver needs to have enough taurine, cysteine, glycine,
choline, and inositol available.
After detoxification, these compounds often leave the body
by being passed back into the intestines in bile.
The cells lining the intestine have the ability
to further process these compounds,
as do the bacteria in the colon.
They then leave the body through the colon.
They can also enter the bloodstream headed to the kidneys.
The kidneys filter toxins from circulation
and further process them
before excreting them from the body in the urine.
So as you can see, each of these phases is dependent on
what's happening in the phase before it
so it's critical for us to be vigilant
about supporting our lovely livers.
Now that we're clear on the process
of normal liver function,
let's look at the most common ways
the liver detoxification system can get off track.
Signs and symptoms that the liver
isn't working adequately include fatigue
and feeling like you need a nap in the afternoon,
disrupted sleep, especially between 2am and 4am,
asthma or allergies, skin disorders,
including acne and rosacea,
unexplained weight gain,
inability to lose weight, excessive abdominal fat,
blood sugar disorders,
since the liver plays a key role
in blood sugar regulation, nutrient malabsorption,
indigestion and acid reflux, especially with fatty foods,
chronic infections, mood swings, poor mental function,
lowered stress tolerance, and PMS symptoms,
decreased libido, and infertility.
It's not required to have all of these symptoms
so it's possible that a client could have a handful of them
and have a compromised liver.
A thorough Health History can help you identify
the possibility of sluggish liver detoxification.
There are a number of ways liver detoxification
can go off track.
These include disruptions in phase one detoxification,
disruptions in phase two detoxification,
inflammation of the GI tract, inflammation in the liver,
including fatty liver, and gallbladder dysfunction.
Let's explore each of these five causes more fully.
Because the phase one detoxification system
is responsible for breaking down medications
and other chemicals,
it can easily get overwhelmed in people
who take many prescription medications
or consume a lot of alcohol or illegal drugs.
The pathway gets overloaded,
and the liver is unable to keep up with the toxin load.
Cigarette smoking can also slow down the system.
If the toxins aren't processed on the first pass
through the liver,
they'll circulate in the blood
until the liver is able to handle them.
Clients whose phase one detoxification system is off track
may complain of intolerance to fragrances,
and other environmental chemicals,
and/or caffeine intolerance, both of,
which are signs of poor phase one detoxification.
Now let's move on to phase two of the process.
If phase one detoxification is functioning,
but phase two is sluggish or overloaded,
then the byproducts from phase one
can build up in the system.
This can happen, for example,
if there's a large toxic load on the body,
such as exposure to pesticides, dioxins,
heavy metals, caffeine, or alcohol.
This pushes the phase one system into overdrive,
overwhelming the phase two system.
Phase one produces free radicals as it breaks toxins down.
Normally, these are processed quickly
by the phase two system and neutralized.
But if allowed to build up, these free radicals
can do a lot of damage to cells in the body.
In fact, they can be even more harmful
than the original toxins.
Glutathione is one of the most important antioxidants
in the body.
It acts like a vacuum for the free radicals
that are produced in the phase one pathway.
It works hard in the liver too,
acting as both antioxidant
and also as part of one of the major phase two pathways.
If active glutathione gets depleted,
then phase two doesn't do its job very well.
As we get older, we're less and less able to produce
enough glutathione to keep up with our toxic load.
If phase two isn't working efficiently,
your clients will develop signs
of increased systemic inflammation
including weight gain, poor thyroid function, and leaky gut.
But remember, a client may experience these conditions
and have perfectly normal liver function.
So as always, avoid jumping to any conclusions.
Next, we're going to look at the GI tract.
Liver detoxification is highly dependent on good gut function.
If there's inflammation and microbial imbalance
in the GI tract, several problems can arise.
When the gut is inflamed, it can become leaky,
allowing toxins to go directly into the bloodstream
rather than going through the correct channels
that take them to the liver to be processed.
The good bacteria in the GI tract
can also play a role in breaking down toxins.
So when the bacteria is out of balance
and the less beneficial bacteria have taken over,
toxins don't get broken down as well.
Therefore, fixing a gut floor and balance
and streamlining digestion
can make a big difference in your clients' detox efforts.
Now let's move on to inflammation in the liver.
When the liver becomes inflamed,
it can't process toxins as well
because inflammation blocks the liver's filtration channels
and interferes with both phase one
and phase two detoxification.
In fact, if it reaches the end stage of liver inflammation,
cirrhosis, it stops processing toxins altogether.
Causes of liver inflammation
include over consumption of alcohol,
consumption of large quantities
of liver toxic prescription medications,
and metabolic syndrome.
This is a medical condition that must be evaluated
and treated by a doctor.
Finally, let's talk about the gallbladder
which is attached to the liver.
Bile which is stored in the gall bladder
must be able to circulate from the liver to the GI tract
and back to the liver in order for the body
to detox effectively.
While the gallbladder itself doesn't break down hormones,
it plays an important role
in helping the body break down sex hormones,
and it helps bile circulate throughout the body,
which is important for proper detoxification.
When it isn't working properly,
the gallbladder can get sluggish and be slow to empty.
It may also remove too much fluid from the bile,
causing it to get clogged with sludge,
and eventually form gallstones.
Some people seem to be particularly prone
to gallbladder problems.
Health issues that are associated with gallbladder problems
include hypothyroidism, obesity, and estrogen dominance.
Symptoms of gallbladder dysfunction include
mild to severe pain
in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen,
particularly after a fatty meal,
bitter taste in the mouth after meals,
bloating after a meal, and light-colored stool.
The good news is that it is possible to improve
the functioning of the gallbladder
so that it begins to drain better.
Say you have a 40-year-old female client
who's been having difficulty losing weight,
despite eating a relatively healthy diet and exercising.
After getting to know her situation better,
you find that she's overly exposed to toxins
in her food and home.
So you suggest several ways for her to decrease
that toxic burden and naturally detox her system.
One month later,
she tells you that she's doing everything you suggested
but things don't seem any better.
She now has pain in the upper right quadrant of her abdomen
and bloating after fatty meals.
Though a doctor would need to evaluate and confirm this,
it is very likely that your client has a sluggish gallbladder
that can't keep up with her detox efforts.
Now what?
There are several things that you can try.
The best ways to help a client
with a sluggish gallbladder through diet
include adding beets, artichokes, mustard,
turnip, and dandelion greens, and daikon radish to the diet.
These foods help stimulate bile production.
Consuming foods such as ginger, arugula, cilantro,
turmeric, dandelion, mint, leeks, and parsley,
increasing water intake,
eating plenty of chlorophyll-rich foods,
such as spirulina and chlorella,
and avoiding overeating
and eating smaller meals throughout the day.
Okay, let's pause here to recap what we've covered so far.
The liver is the body's filter,
removing toxins from the body in a two phase process.
When the liver doesn't function optimally,
detoxification can get off track,
which can cause a variety of symptoms for your clients.
The five main ways the detoxification can go awry
are disruptions in phase one or phase two detoxification,
inflammation in the GI tract or liver,
and gallbladder dysfunction.
Thankfully, the liver has a tremendous ability
to heal itself of inflammation
if the toxic load is reduced and certain measures are taken.
And that's what we're going to talk about next.
There are two key steps you can encourage your clients
to take to maximize their liver's ability to remove toxins.
These are decreasing their toxic load,
and supporting the liver
through dietary and lifestyle improvements.
Curious how to accomplish these two steps?
Great. Let's explore these in more detail.
Decreasing the toxic load.
Earlier, I mentioned how difficult it is to avoid toxins
in our everyday lives, they are everywhere.
Especially, in conventional home and skincare products
and in our food and water supply.
But there are some actions your clients
can take that will help lower the burden on their bodies
and decrease their toxin exposure.
Here are eight recommendations you can make to your clients
to reduce their toxic load.
Eat an organic whole foods diet,
eat antibiotic and hormone free meats, fish, and dairy,
use a whole-house water filtration system,
use a high quality air purifier in the home or office,
and open windows as often as possible,
avoid alcohol, caffeine, smoking, and illegal drugs,
avoid plastics, especially plastic wrap,
and plastic line cans,
swap out chemical household cleaners, soaps,
and antibacterial products for all-natural brands,
use chemical-free beauty and skincare products,
choose products without toxic preservatives and additives
such as parabens and artificial fragrances.
Now that you've given your clients some ways
to lower their exposure to toxins,
let's talk about how they can support their liver
so it can do its job quickly and efficiently.
Here are nine key ways to support the liver
through diet and lifestyle to promote optimal functioning.
Decrease intake of refined carbohydrates
to help heal fatty liver,
eat liver supporting foods such as beets, citrus, avocados,
and cruciferous vegetables,
consume high-quality protein such as eggs, fish,
organ meats, and gelatin found in bone broth.
The amino acids found in these foods
support phase two of liver detoxification.
Support the emptying of the GI tract
by eating plenty of fiber,
support and improve the health of the gut microbiome
to improve the health of the estrobolome, break a sweat!
This should be done regularly through exercise, saunas,
and steam rooms,
manage stress to decrease cortisol overproduction,
use herbs that support the liver,
these include chlorophyll, cilantro, turmeric,
dandelion root, burdock root, milk thistle,
and artichoke extract,
take supplements that support liver function
including the B complex of vitamins,
vitamins A, C, D, and E, along with N-acetylcysteine,
which is a precursor to glutathione, the master antioxidant.
By using the recommendations provided in these two steps
to support liver health,
you now have enough great suggestions
to create an entire program on liver health for your clients.
In fact, we've included a handout in this module
called The Liver Cleanse Protocol.
It lists these steps and more
so that you have an easy reference
for how to create a liver detox program for your clients.
Be sure to check that out.
We have covered so much great information in this lecture,
but before we wrap up,
let's talk about how the liver helps to break down estrogen.
Remember, there are three main types of estrogen
estrone or E1, estradiol or E2,
and estriol or E3.
As part of its job, the liver breaks down these estrogens
into estrogen metabolites.
This is an important function
because what this means is that a healthy liver
helps keep estrogen levels balanced in the body
for optimal hormonal health.
For the purposes of this lecture,
we're going to focus on two important estrogen metabolites
2-hydroxyestrone and 16α-hydroxyestrone.
2-hydroxyestrone is considered antiestrogenic
or a good estrogen
because it may help to prevent breast cancer
while 16α-hydroxyestrone has estrogen tendencies,
which is why it's considered a bad estrogen.
Studies have shown that having a higher ratio
of 2-hydroxyestrone to 16α-hydroxyestrone
is beneficial for overall health
and in particular, it may help prevent breast cancer.
Therefore, shifting estrogen metabolism to increase
2-hydroxyestrone over 16α-hydroxyestrone
is crucial for potentially preventing breast, ovarian,
and other cancers.
It may also help eliminate painful ovarian cysts
and uterine fibroids.
Plus, 2-hydroxyestrone has been shown
to be an excellent antioxidant
and it may work better in the body than vitamin E.
So how can you help your clients to shift that pathway
to the healthier estrogen byproduct?
It looks like eating cruciferous vegetables,
like broccoli and cabbage
may help to increase the levels of 2-hydroxyestrone.
In addition, fiber-rich flaxseeds contain lignans
that may influence estrogen production and metabolism.
Okay, that sums up our discussion on estrogen metabolites,
which brings us to the end of this lecture.
To recap, we talked about
the function of the liver and detoxification,
how it can go wrong,
and ways to get it back on track.
We also covered the role of the gallbladder
in helping the liver detox effectively
and how to wake up a sluggish gallbladder.
Lastly, we discussed how estrogen is broken down by the liver
and how to shift the livers production
to more favorable estrogen byproducts.
Have you ever let a client or a group through a liver detox?
Do you feel more comfortable doing so now?
Please be sure to drop by the Facebook group and discuss
how you've been working with clients on these issues
and let us know how we can support you.
Also, be sure to review The Liver Cleanse Protocol handout,
which has even more details about
how you can help support your clients
through their liver detox.
Thank you for joining us today. And we'll see you soon.