December 17, 2024

All About Detox Part 1

All About Detox Part 1

Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND

Liver health is important for our overall health for so many reasons. One of the most well-known functions of the liver is to detox our bodies. Doing a detox, or cleanse is one of the topics that people tend to feel very enthusiastic about. Some people will insist a detox is necessary every few months. In contrast other people will insist that a detox is not at all necessary and that the liver can do all the detox you need on its own. With these 2 polarizing opinions it is easy to see why this topic can be difficult to understand. So, let us get into it, shall we?

What do we mean when we say do a liver cleanse or detox? Well, a detox helps the liver process toxins through both phase 1 and phase 2. (2) It is important to understand that not all products that say they promote detox are healthy and safe for our liver. In fact, some supplements can cause more harm than good and end up actually damaging our body! While a juice cleanse is often promoted as the best way to do a detox it can affect your blood sugar in a negative way if you are a diabetic or have prediabetes. (2) I know you’re thinking if that is all true it’s best to avoid the whole detox thing! And while yes, it is important to understand that not all detox supplements are the same it is also important to remember that all Invite Health products are made based on studies and undergo testing to ensure that they are both effective and safe.

The one question that I get asked all the time is how often should I do a detox? I tend to promote a happy medium between “every month and never.” Based on my clinical experience I find doing a detox is like doing the spring and fall cleaning. Just like you clean the house to keep everything neat, organized and working well it is a good idea to “clean” or detox the body. That’s why I recommend doing a detox in the spring and fall. Now a detox can be a part of a protocol to address different health goals. In those cases it’s always important to speak to an Invite nutritionist.

I do want to take a moment to talk about who should and should not do a detox. For example many herbs are not safe to use during pregnancy. (3) Additionally doing a detox during pregnancy would expose the growing baby to toxins which most people would agree is not a clever idea! In addition to pregnancy, it’s also not recommended to do a detox if you are on certain medications. For example, NAC has been found to help the liver process medications and get them out of the body. An example of this is Acetaminophen. (4) This means if you are on a medication that requires a certain blood concentration to work if you do a detox, it may detox these meds out of your body faster than expected and thus it will not be as effective. For example, seizure medications. One of the first things we are taught in Naturopathic school is never detox anyone on seizure medications because it can increase the risk of them having a seizure.

Based on my clinical experience I have found that doing a detox can help the liver and kidneys do their jobs better. As I said it’s like spring/fall cleaning. NAC is a great overall supplement. Among its many benefits it works to support detox and even helps promote liver and kidney health. (4) Milk thistle has also been found to help protect the liver and kidneys from toxins. (5) Alpha lipoic acid has also been found to help promote detox. It is interesting because it is extremely helpful at detoxing heavy metals. (6) Dandelion is interesting because it has been found to help get rid of bacteria that are associated with heavy metals. (7) Glutathione has often been called the master antioxidant. Studies have found that it is important for detox and “protecting against toxicity” and even certain diseases. (8)

As you can see the studies clearly show that certain nutrients do promote liver and kidney health and even detox! Thus, it is not all a bunch of rubbish as some might say. Now I’m sure your thinking but Dr. Claire what Invite supplements even have these nutrients? Invite has many supplements that contain these nutrients. Please look for the following products: Daily Detox powder, Detox Hx, Hepatox, NAC and Milk Thistle!

Our next blog will have more details on just what goes into doing a healthy detox.

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