Detox Science - A Guest Post by Georgie McNiff

Detoxification is a science. A science centered around evidence-based practices which reduce biochemical stress to the body and result in symptom reduction and resolution.

Certain dietary, stress and lifestyle factors can either improve or inhibit your bodies ability to detox. You see, cells are like cars and trains and planes (my husband first made this analogy and loves to repeat it). They take in fuel which gives them energy for tasks, they complete these tasks and they output waste. After years and years of waste output and no extra help, the bodily systems can suffer from the cumulative effects of our own bio-atmospheric pollution. One of the most wide-spread aging theories, Wear and Tear Theory, operates under the assumption that our main reason for aging is due to toxic substances, poor food quality, and radiation all causing disease and bodily breakdown.

Your body has natural detoxification pathways, and garbage truck like molecules shuttle waste products down these detox highways, toward the liver, kidneys and lymphatic vessels for filtration and elimination. Over time, traffic on these highways can become congested and sluggish. Lack of ability to process them out fast enough results in some toxic molecules staying in circulation, and some to be stored in fat cells, as many toxins are fat soluble. (Congestion can be caused by environmental toxic overload, chronic stress, autoimmunity, trans fats, processed foods, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and atmospheric pollutants. Many of these are not our fault, the air we breath, the pesticides on foods, these things are often unavoidable and completely not our faults.)

When detox systems and pathways are overwhelmed, there is an overflow of traffic and nothing flows properly, in fact something worse happens, your detox pathways get backed up and eventually traffic gets so heavy, they shut down. Circulating toxins get stored in tissues and places you don't want them to. And much like a child running around in a control room pushing buttons, the wrong buttons might not get pushed at first but eventually they will and the system ceases to function at optimal capacity. You may wake up feeling fatigued, bloated, foggy, acquire immune-deficiencies or increased food and environmental allergies/sensitivities. You may develop adrenal issues, fluid retention issues, hypertension issues and cholesterol imbalances. You may get fat. You may have uneven fat distribution. You may have hormonal symptoms such as inability to have an erection, low libido, low DHEA and testosterone, tender breasts, extreme bloating, painful periods, acne, backne etc. You may suffer from gas, indigestion, constipation and diarrhea. You may develop prostate issues or suffer from insomnia due to frequent nighttime urination. You may get debilitating hot flashes. You may suffer from idiopathic migraines or cluster headaches. You may become anxious and or depressed as many chemicals in our environment are actually neurotoxins.

Internal bio-atmosphere is a reflection of our external environment and also what we introduce to our internal environment. Just as our houses, cars and water systems have filtration measures set in place, so must your bio-atmosphere. Detox is wringing out of your bodies filters, a washing, a temporary pause and cleansing so that they can continue doing what they do at peak capacity afterwards.

Detox is the way we flush systems with nutrition, lifting biochemical stress off bodies. I'm sure you have all read about astronaut Scott Kelly, he came back from space with genetic evidence of extreme stress and shorter life expectancy when compared to his twin brother. After being back on earth for the year and participating in nutritional protocols to combat the extreme stress he experienced from nutrient deficiency he has literally extended his life expectancy (genetically)! THAT is powerful stuff! THAT is the power of detox and THAT is the power of biochemical stress relief/relaxation.