Essentials for Liver Detoxing

LIVER CLEANSING: a brief guideline

It is essential to support this process through including the correct nutrients and avoiding the wrong ones.  Please read this carefully.

Dr. Kerrilyn Chew

The liver does many miraculous functions, but I will be brief because this paper’s purpose is to help you cleanse your liver.

Toxins, dead cells, drugs, excess and used hormones are transported by your liver to your blood stream.  This blood is deposited in little pockets in your liver tissues were it goes through detoxification by liver enzymes and liver conjugation (binding toxins and hormones to proteins).  This process happens in 2 phases.

PHASE ONE LIVER DETOX

The first phase is like soap in a washing machine.  During phase 1 the liver uses enzymes to break down toxins into intermediate forms making them more water soluble.  Some toxins can be eliminated at this phase, but others have to go through a second phase

Phase 1 of liver cleansing, the key nutrients are :

B vitamins: best found in food sources vs lab sources: red meat, eggs, dairy

Glutathione: Master antioxidant and liver protector:  coffee enemas, nano-sprays, oral+IV forms

Antioxidantes A, C, E, and carotenoids: Blueberries, artichokes, kale, spinach, grapes

Glutamine is converted by body to glutamic acid which along with amino acids cysteine and glycine is converted into the power liver protector glutathione.

Glycine + glutamine (as glutamic acid) + cysteine = glutathione

Glutathione and anti-oxidants are particularly important to protect your liver at this stage.

Vit C is a powerful antioxidant for your liver.  It reduces toxic damage by neutralizing free radicals generated during phase 1 detoxification.  Chemicals are far less dangerous if you have plenty of Vit C.

Vit E is the antioxidant that protects fats and cell membranes surrounding your liver.  It is so necessary in the case of fatty liver were there is an accumulation of unhealthy oxidized fats in the liver cells.  Once the toxins, drugs, or hormones have been converted to more water-soluble forms, they then go through stage 2 detoxification.

PHASE TWO LIVER DETOX

Your liver binds hormones, drugs, and toxins to proteins such as cysteine, glycine or a sulfur molecule.  This process is called conjugation.  This binding action neutralizes the toxins and hormones so they can be safely excreted from your system via the GI tract.

Key nutrients for phase 2 detox are:

Glutathione: Coffee enemas, spinach, avocados, asparagus, okra, milk thistle, nano-sprays, oral+IV forms

Glutamin: Protein-rich foods like beef, chicken, fish, dairy products, eggs, vegetables like beans, beets, cabbage, spinach, carrots, parsley, vegetable juices and also in wheat, papaya, Brussels sprouts, celery, kale and fermented foods like miso.

Glycine: see list for glutamine.  Include gelatin)

Taurine: meat, fish, dairy

Cysteine: poultry, beef, eggs

Sulfurated phyto-chemmicals: found in raw garlic, cruciferous veggies like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussle sprouts onions, leeks.

These nutrients give your liver the necessary raw materials to conjugate (bind) to the water soluble toxins and hormones formed during phase 1.

Glutathione is essential for liver conjugation (the process of phase 2 adding a piece to toxins and hormones to deactivate them).

Glycine is required for the synthesis of bile salts and is also used by the liver to neutralize (conjugate) chemicals in phase 2 pathways.

Taurine is also required for phase 2 detox and for the production of bile.  It is found in animal protein, seafood, eggs, and dairy products but not in vegetable protein.

The water soluble and conjugated (deactivated) toxins and hormones are then excreted from your system by way of the bowels and kidneys.  I f they are expelled via the bowels then they are mixed with bile and transported to the bowels by way of the liver/gallbladder duct.  The bowels then expel them from your system.

PROBLEMS WITH LIVER DETOX:

Phase 1 and phase 2 bottleneck…..creating a dangerous situation

The first significant problem that occurs is a bottleneck between phase 1 and 2.  If phase 1 happens too quickly or phase 2 happens too slowly, what you get is a dangerous traffic jam.  Often toxins after going through phase 1 and becoming more water soluble are (at this stage) actually more toxic to your system if they are not quickly conjugated bound to proteins deactivating them.  So we need to be aware of how this happens and what to do about it…

Lack of nutrients required for phase 2 detox causes this to occur.  Also, you have substances that inhibit phase 1 and phase 2.  Or you have substances that accelerate phase 1 but at the same time do not accelerate phase 2 causing the same net effect.

If phase 1 is inhibited, or sluggish then toxins will accumulate in the bloodstream:

Therefore you must avoid these Phase 1 inhibitors:

Grapefruit, tumeric, capsicum (found in hot peppers), cloves, drugs containing benzodiazepine (anti depressants), antihistamines, toxic byproducts from bad bacteria in the intestines, oral contraceptives, exposure to cadmium, lead and mercury (fish), excess sugar

Hydronated and damaged fats (rancid, ect)

Phase 2 inhibitors

The biggest problem that inhibits phase 2 is when your body does not have the necessary amino acids *animal proteins and sulfur molecules to bind water-soluble toxins and substances created by phase one. If you are vegetarian or vegan, you must consider eating at the very least eggs & butter on a daily basis before and during a detox protocol. Refer to the list of key nutrients for stage 2 detox.