Add to that the five pounds of food additives we eat every year, the pesticides and weed killers in our food, the mercury in our fish, and the arsenic and other toxins in our water—our bodies can’t keep up. Sprinkle in a little alcohol, Tylenol, and other medications, and we end up in toxic overload.
Eat to Boost Your Detox Pathways
The good news is that food contains nearly all the ingredients our bodies need to eliminate waste. Plenty of water helps remove waste through the kidneys and gut. Fiber moves waste through our colon quickly. Our liver, however, is a bit more intricate.
The liver has many pathways to remove toxins from the body with fancy names such as methylation, glucuronidation, acetylation, and glutathione conjugation, but each of these pathways needs support, largely provided by phytonutrients and nutrients in our diet.
The food group that best boosts these pathways is the cruciferous vegetable family (broccoli, collards, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts). This family of vegetables, as well as garlic and onions, contain sulfur compounds that enhance the production of glutathione (the body’s master antioxidant), glucosinolates, sulforaphane, and carbinol—all used during detoxification.
The liver also needs adequate levels of B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, folate, manganese, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and amino acids to facilitate all the chemical reactions needed for detoxification. Where can you find these liver-supporting superstars? In grass fed animal protein; seafood, nuts, seeds, and green veggies.
A rich array of phytochemicals, including flavonoids and other compounds found in herbs and spices, help support the liver as well. Curcumin, found in the Indian spice turmeric, is a superfood that not only reduces inflammation and oxidative stress but is powerful in aiding detoxification.
Rosemary, ginger, cilantro, dandelion greens, parsley, lemon peel, watercress, burdock root, and artichokes are all also powerful detoxifying foods to add to your diet on a regular basis.
Food is both the cause of overloaded detoxification systems and the solution.
Adding high-quality protein, phytonutrients, vitamin and mineral-rich foods, along with lots of fiber and fresh clean water keeps our detox system humming and our toxic load low.