Cleanses and detoxes are promoted as a way to support your body after the holidays, but do they really give us what we need to support our detox pathways?

Detox occurs in three phases:

Phase 1 is all about oxidation and getting the detox process started. It is activated by external toxins like toxins in our environment, food, beauty products, alcohol, etc. Phase 1 can also be activated in a positive way by herbs, citrus, vitamin C rich foods, cruciferous veggies, B vitamins, certain amino acids, and minerals like magnesium and iron.

This is our first line of defense against toxins, but the substances detoxified in phase 1 do require further detoxification, which is where phase 2 comes in.

Phase 2 is all about conjugation, which uses 6 different pathways to take water-soluble Phase 1 metabolites OUT of your body through your sweat, bile, urine, and stool. Phase 1 neutralizes the free radicals from phase 1.

Phase 2 requires: sulfur, amino acids (glycine, cysteine, taurine, methionine), vitamin B12 , glutathione (made from the listed amino acids)

Phase 3 is clean up and is the process of eliminating those neutralized toxins from phase 1 and 2. This includes eliminating toxins through our stool, urine, bile, and sweat. Having regular bowel movements is a huge part of the elimination process. Swipe for tips on supporting digestion.

While the liver gets all of the credit for detox, our kidneys and gallbladder also play a role. Our kidneys further filter out toxins to be eliminated in our urine and our gallbladder releases bile during digestion. This bile is crucial for breaking down fat and absorbing fat soluble vitamins, but it also contains toxins that need to be eliminated.

Want to learn more about how to naturally detox? Listen to my podcast episode here which is all about this topic!

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