The Low Down on Liver Detoxification
http://www.healityourself.com/articlelive/articles/32/1/The-Low-Down-on-Liver-Detoxification/Page1.html
By Steven H Horne
Published on July 14, 2008
The liver is the primary organ responsible for breaking down toxins that get into our body and turning them into water soluble compounds that can be eliminated from the body. Problems with liver detoxification can cause environmental illness and the "healing crisis" talked about in natural medicine. In this article, I explain the basic process of liver detoxification and how supplements can improve liver detoxification.
The Remarkable Liver
Some time ago, I got a spasm in my hip. It wasn’t the first time this had happened to me. I have experienced the same problem several times during the past couple of years. At first, I thought I had just strained a muscle working in the garden, but on further reflection, it seemed like this was more than just muscle strain. I mentioned the problem to my naturopathic partner Kimberly Balas, who called me back the next day and told me she had a feeling it might be some kind of toxicity—a heavy metal, perhaps. Because I have found Kim’s impressions to be accurate most of the time, I started taking Heavy Metal Detox and N-Acetyl-Cysteine.
The next day, I had my regularly scheduled appointment with my chiropractor (I see him twice a month for health maintenance). The clinic I go to doesn’t do just chiropractic. They do muscle testing, color therapy, sound therapy, laser therapy, nutritional counseling, homeopathics and mental/emotional healing work. They also have rife machines for energy balancing and foot spas for detoxing. I mentioned Kim’s hunch to my holistic chiropractor, Dr. Lyman, who muscle tested me. To his surprise, the cause didn’t come up as structural, just as Kim had suggested. With further muscle testing, he determined I had a heavy metal (thallium) in my prostate which was being released and causing muscle spasms in my pelvis. Since my prostate had bothered me every time I’d had the pelvic spasms, the connection made sense to me.
He gave me a dose of homeopathic thallium, had his assistant use the laser on me to “program” my body to release the thallium. The assistant told me that she hated doing thallium detox because she always got “cotton-mouth” when she was doing it. That was interesting, because I’d been waking up with “cotton-mouth” for over a week (and had experienced the same “cotton-mouth” when I’d had this problem before).
After the laser, I did a foot bath detox where I passed lots of black flecks (which are a sign of heavy metals). At home, I continued the homeopathic thallium, Heavy Metal Detox, Milk Thistle Combination and N-Acetyl-Cysteine. My pelvis was better in record time.
I have long felt that the biggest health problem we face in the 21st century is environmental toxicity. I don’t know where or how I got thallium in my system, but everyday, we are all exposed to chemicals (including heavy metals) that our body must find a way to get rid of. The primary organ responsible for this is the liver and for some time I’ve been interested in learning more about how the liver detoxifies these chemicals. So, this month’s topic was an excuse to spend some time doing the research. As a result, I have a much better understanding of how the body detoxifies and a new-found appreciation for some of our “non-herbal” supplements such as the N-Acetyl-Cysteine, Indole-3-Carbinol, SAM-e and Alpha Lipoic Acid. And, of course, I’d like to share my discoveries with you.
Just one word of caution before we begin, don’t let any of the chemical terms in this article scare you away from the topic. Just pay attention to the key ideas, which are:
1. The body has to enzymatically process toxins in order to eliminate them.
2. These enzymatic conversions take place primarily in the liver, but also take place in other tissues.
3. There are two phases to this process, phase one and phase two. In phase one, toxins are electrically charged and in phase two, the electrically-charged toxins are attached to a nutrient so they can be flushed from the body.
4. There are six methods the body has for neutralizing toxins in phase two. Each of these systems process different kinds of toxins.
5. Various nutrients are required as co-factors to make this detoxification process work. Specific nutrients enhance phase one detoxification, and there are also specific nutrients that enhance each of the six detoxification pathways in phase two.
6. Free radicals are generated in the process of detoxification, which have to be neutralized, so antioxidants are critical to the process. These free radicals generated by the detoxification process are probably responsible for the “cleansing reactions” or “healing crisis” some people experience when seeking to improve their health.
That’s the whole process in a nutshell. The details are provided to give you clues as to how you might be able to help people who have been exposed to specific kinds of toxins. This can help guide your muscle testing, intuition or experimentation when trying to help someone get any kind of chemical out of the body.
While every cell in the body has some detoxification capability, the primary place where detoxification occurs is in the liver. Liver enzymes process irritating substances that get into the system so they can be eliminated. The liver not only handles environmental pollutants, it also breaks down metabolic by-products, waste from infectious organisms and any drugs we might take. Certain fat-soluble toxins also get stored in body fat, so when we lose weight, fast or exercise, these toxins can be released for processing, giving the liver more work to do. In addition, the liver also breaks down the “active constituents” like alkaloids that are present in our herbal remedies.
The process the liver uses to eliminate these toxins is illustrated below. The toxins are taken through a two-step detoxification process. In Phase 1 Detoxification, the body uses 50 different enzymes that are capable of creating an electrical charge on various kinds of toxins. This is done by adding or removing electrons from the toxin, giving it an electrical charge. This prepares the toxin so it can be attached to various nutritional substances in Phase 2. Phase 2 Detoxification makes the toxin water soluble and capable of being flushed from the body. Most toxins are taken to the kidneys and eliminated in the urine. Some toxins with larger molecules are dumped into the bile where they enter the colon, get bound to fiber and then carried out of the body.
The next day, I had my regularly scheduled appointment with my chiropractor (I see him twice a month for health maintenance). The clinic I go to doesn’t do just chiropractic. They do muscle testing, color therapy, sound therapy, laser therapy, nutritional counseling, homeopathics and mental/emotional healing work. They also have rife machines for energy balancing and foot spas for detoxing. I mentioned Kim’s hunch to my holistic chiropractor, Dr. Lyman, who muscle tested me. To his surprise, the cause didn’t come up as structural, just as Kim had suggested. With further muscle testing, he determined I had a heavy metal (thallium) in my prostate which was being released and causing muscle spasms in my pelvis. Since my prostate had bothered me every time I’d had the pelvic spasms, the connection made sense to me.
He gave me a dose of homeopathic thallium, had his assistant use the laser on me to “program” my body to release the thallium. The assistant told me that she hated doing thallium detox because she always got “cotton-mouth” when she was doing it. That was interesting, because I’d been waking up with “cotton-mouth” for over a week (and had experienced the same “cotton-mouth” when I’d had this problem before).
After the laser, I did a foot bath detox where I passed lots of black flecks (which are a sign of heavy metals). At home, I continued the homeopathic thallium, Heavy Metal Detox, Milk Thistle Combination and N-Acetyl-Cysteine. My pelvis was better in record time.
I have long felt that the biggest health problem we face in the 21st century is environmental toxicity. I don’t know where or how I got thallium in my system, but everyday, we are all exposed to chemicals (including heavy metals) that our body must find a way to get rid of. The primary organ responsible for this is the liver and for some time I’ve been interested in learning more about how the liver detoxifies these chemicals. So, this month’s topic was an excuse to spend some time doing the research. As a result, I have a much better understanding of how the body detoxifies and a new-found appreciation for some of our “non-herbal” supplements such as the N-Acetyl-Cysteine, Indole-3-Carbinol, SAM-e and Alpha Lipoic Acid. And, of course, I’d like to share my discoveries with you.
Just one word of caution before we begin, don’t let any of the chemical terms in this article scare you away from the topic. Just pay attention to the key ideas, which are:
1. The body has to enzymatically process toxins in order to eliminate them.
2. These enzymatic conversions take place primarily in the liver, but also take place in other tissues.
3. There are two phases to this process, phase one and phase two. In phase one, toxins are electrically charged and in phase two, the electrically-charged toxins are attached to a nutrient so they can be flushed from the body.
4. There are six methods the body has for neutralizing toxins in phase two. Each of these systems process different kinds of toxins.
5. Various nutrients are required as co-factors to make this detoxification process work. Specific nutrients enhance phase one detoxification, and there are also specific nutrients that enhance each of the six detoxification pathways in phase two.
6. Free radicals are generated in the process of detoxification, which have to be neutralized, so antioxidants are critical to the process. These free radicals generated by the detoxification process are probably responsible for the “cleansing reactions” or “healing crisis” some people experience when seeking to improve their health.
That’s the whole process in a nutshell. The details are provided to give you clues as to how you might be able to help people who have been exposed to specific kinds of toxins. This can help guide your muscle testing, intuition or experimentation when trying to help someone get any kind of chemical out of the body.
While every cell in the body has some detoxification capability, the primary place where detoxification occurs is in the liver. Liver enzymes process irritating substances that get into the system so they can be eliminated. The liver not only handles environmental pollutants, it also breaks down metabolic by-products, waste from infectious organisms and any drugs we might take. Certain fat-soluble toxins also get stored in body fat, so when we lose weight, fast or exercise, these toxins can be released for processing, giving the liver more work to do. In addition, the liver also breaks down the “active constituents” like alkaloids that are present in our herbal remedies.
The process the liver uses to eliminate these toxins is illustrated below. The toxins are taken through a two-step detoxification process. In Phase 1 Detoxification, the body uses 50 different enzymes that are capable of creating an electrical charge on various kinds of toxins. This is done by adding or removing electrons from the toxin, giving it an electrical charge. This prepares the toxin so it can be attached to various nutritional substances in Phase 2. Phase 2 Detoxification makes the toxin water soluble and capable of being flushed from the body. Most toxins are taken to the kidneys and eliminated in the urine. Some toxins with larger molecules are dumped into the bile where they enter the colon, get bound to fiber and then carried out of the body.
Symptoms of Sluggish Liver Detoxification
So, how do you tell if your detoxification systems need help? Well, like anything else that isn’t working properly, the body has subtle clues that tell you your liver may need help detoxifying.
First of all, if it takes a long time for the effects of pain medication (like getting shots at the dentist) to wear off, that’s a sign you have sluggish detoxification. The same thing holds true for alcohol, caffeine or any other chemical (natural or otherwise) you might take into the body. When your detoxification is sluggish, the effect of these substances is long-lasting. Someone with great liver detoxification systems gets over this stuff quite quickly.
After studying this, it is clear to me that my liver detoxification isn’t that great. When I go to the dentist, I can have a “yucky” feeling for several days from the pain shot. Alcohol and caffeine can also leave me with bad feelings that don’t go away easily.
Fortunately, I’ve learned that if I take Milk Thistle Combo and SAM-e before I go to the dentist and for a day or two afterwards, I no longer have that “yucky” feeling. These supplements speed up the liver detoxification process so that my body more rapidly degrades the foreign substances in the shot.
The symptoms I’ve previously associated with a congested liver are probably also signs of sluggish liver detoxification. These include: difficulty going to sleep at night, then waking up with a sort of groggy, “drugged” feeling. One may also experience a bloated and stuffy feeling under the right rib cage or readily experience light-headedness, dizziness or headaches when you smell chemicals. Low thyroid and insulin resistance will also inhibit detoxification in the liver.
Symptoms of Sluggish Phase 2 Detoxification
All of the above symptoms tend to show problems with detoxification in general, but more specifically with Phase 1 Detoxification. However, sometimes Phase 1 works great, but Phase 2 does not. This can cause a different set of problems. Here’s why.
As the diagram shows, the Phase 1 process produces superoxide radicals that can cause secondary tissue damage if there aren’t enough free radical scavengers (antioxidants) present to protect the tissues. Also, between Phase 1 and Phase 2, the toxins have been processed into intermediate metabolites. These may also be radical oxygen intermediates (another form of free radicals) that can cause secondary tissue damage if they aren’t neutralized by antioxidants.
From this, we can not only see the importance of antioxidants like Thai-Go, Alpha Lipoic Acid and N-Acetyl-Cysteine to the detoxification process, we can also begin to understand the phenomenon called the “healing crisis.” In fact, after studying this material, I’ve come to believe that a healing crisis occurs when the body starts processing too many toxins and the Phase 2 enzyme systems can’t keep up. This causes a build-up of reactive toxins which generate inflammation in the body, causing various disease-like symptoms. Symptoms of this problem include headaches, stomach pain, nausea, fatigue, dizziness and “brain fog” during detoxification, fasting or weight loss. Toxemia during pregnancy is also a sign of sluggish phase two detoxification.
People who are environmentally ill, typically have problems with Phase 2. So, when they are exposed to chemicals, the body processes them through Phase 1, creating intermediate compounds that produce even more inflammation than the original chemical. Problems with various aspects of Phase 2 have been noted in a variety of chronic and degenerative diseases as well, including: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, hepatitis, arthritis, low thyroid and environmental illness.
There are also other factors which are known to inhibit detoxification. For example, drugs like antihistamines, benzodiazepines, vimetidine, ketoconazole and sulfaphenazole inhibit Phase One Detoxification. Harmful intestinal bacteria can also secrete toxins that inhibit Phase 1. Aging also slows it down. Compounds from foods and herbs can even inhibit Phase 1. These include: naringenin from grapefruit juice, quercetin from onions and compounds in herbs such as curcumin in turmeric, capsaicin in capsicum and eugenol in clove. Of course, this makes these useful remedies for a healing crisis because they would slow down Phase 1, allowing Phase 2 to catch-up.
Of course, even if you don’t have any of the symptoms above, but are exposed to any kind of chemicals on a regular basis in your job, it would be wise to support your liver’s ability to detoxify. Examples of people who may wish to consider regular liver support include dry cleaners, painters, construction workers, lab technicians, beauticians, people who handle agricultural chemicals (like farmers and landscapers) and carpet cleaners.
First of all, if it takes a long time for the effects of pain medication (like getting shots at the dentist) to wear off, that’s a sign you have sluggish detoxification. The same thing holds true for alcohol, caffeine or any other chemical (natural or otherwise) you might take into the body. When your detoxification is sluggish, the effect of these substances is long-lasting. Someone with great liver detoxification systems gets over this stuff quite quickly.
After studying this, it is clear to me that my liver detoxification isn’t that great. When I go to the dentist, I can have a “yucky” feeling for several days from the pain shot. Alcohol and caffeine can also leave me with bad feelings that don’t go away easily.
Fortunately, I’ve learned that if I take Milk Thistle Combo and SAM-e before I go to the dentist and for a day or two afterwards, I no longer have that “yucky” feeling. These supplements speed up the liver detoxification process so that my body more rapidly degrades the foreign substances in the shot.
The symptoms I’ve previously associated with a congested liver are probably also signs of sluggish liver detoxification. These include: difficulty going to sleep at night, then waking up with a sort of groggy, “drugged” feeling. One may also experience a bloated and stuffy feeling under the right rib cage or readily experience light-headedness, dizziness or headaches when you smell chemicals. Low thyroid and insulin resistance will also inhibit detoxification in the liver.
Symptoms of Sluggish Phase 2 Detoxification
All of the above symptoms tend to show problems with detoxification in general, but more specifically with Phase 1 Detoxification. However, sometimes Phase 1 works great, but Phase 2 does not. This can cause a different set of problems. Here’s why.
As the diagram shows, the Phase 1 process produces superoxide radicals that can cause secondary tissue damage if there aren’t enough free radical scavengers (antioxidants) present to protect the tissues. Also, between Phase 1 and Phase 2, the toxins have been processed into intermediate metabolites. These may also be radical oxygen intermediates (another form of free radicals) that can cause secondary tissue damage if they aren’t neutralized by antioxidants.
From this, we can not only see the importance of antioxidants like Thai-Go, Alpha Lipoic Acid and N-Acetyl-Cysteine to the detoxification process, we can also begin to understand the phenomenon called the “healing crisis.” In fact, after studying this material, I’ve come to believe that a healing crisis occurs when the body starts processing too many toxins and the Phase 2 enzyme systems can’t keep up. This causes a build-up of reactive toxins which generate inflammation in the body, causing various disease-like symptoms. Symptoms of this problem include headaches, stomach pain, nausea, fatigue, dizziness and “brain fog” during detoxification, fasting or weight loss. Toxemia during pregnancy is also a sign of sluggish phase two detoxification.
People who are environmentally ill, typically have problems with Phase 2. So, when they are exposed to chemicals, the body processes them through Phase 1, creating intermediate compounds that produce even more inflammation than the original chemical. Problems with various aspects of Phase 2 have been noted in a variety of chronic and degenerative diseases as well, including: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, hepatitis, arthritis, low thyroid and environmental illness.
There are also other factors which are known to inhibit detoxification. For example, drugs like antihistamines, benzodiazepines, vimetidine, ketoconazole and sulfaphenazole inhibit Phase One Detoxification. Harmful intestinal bacteria can also secrete toxins that inhibit Phase 1. Aging also slows it down. Compounds from foods and herbs can even inhibit Phase 1. These include: naringenin from grapefruit juice, quercetin from onions and compounds in herbs such as curcumin in turmeric, capsaicin in capsicum and eugenol in clove. Of course, this makes these useful remedies for a healing crisis because they would slow down Phase 1, allowing Phase 2 to catch-up.
Of course, even if you don’t have any of the symptoms above, but are exposed to any kind of chemicals on a regular basis in your job, it would be wise to support your liver’s ability to detoxify. Examples of people who may wish to consider regular liver support include dry cleaners, painters, construction workers, lab technicians, beauticians, people who handle agricultural chemicals (like farmers and landscapers) and carpet cleaners.
Enhancing Liver Detoxification
There are numerous supplements we can use to enhance Phase 1 detoxification systems. Milk Thistle Combination is one of these. B-Complex vitamins and Citrus Bioflavinoids with Vitamin C will also enhance Phase 1. Other good Phase 1 enhancers include Enviro-Detox, the Tiao He Cleanse and Free Amino Acids.
In Phase 2, the body attaches the toxin to another substance to process it for elimination. This process is called conjugation. There are six phases to the conjugation processes. When the body uses amino acids as conjugates, the process is called acylation. Attaching toxins to sugars is called glucuronidation. When glutathione is used as the conjugating substance, the process is called glutathione conjugation. Methylation attaches toxins to methionine, sulfation attaches them to sulfur and acetylation attaches them to the compound acetyl Co-A.
Here’s a description of each of these processes and suggestions on how to enhance them.
Acylation
In acylation, toxins are attached to amino acids, especially glycine. A low protein diet can inhibit acylation. When acylation is disturbed, it decreases bile production, which results in the poor assimilation of fats and fat soluble vitamins. Acylation detoxifies compounds like benzoate, aspirin and toluene (a widely used industrial solvent). People with hepatitis, chronic arthritis, low thyroid, excessive chemical exposure or toxemia in pregnancy often have problems with acylation. Acylation can be enhanced by alkalizing the pH and taking the amino acid glycine, which is found in Free Amino Acids and Super Algae.
Glucuronidation
Glucuronic acid is a metabolite of glucose that can be attached to toxins. This pathway is used as a back-up for sulfation or glycination. It is used to eliminate chemical and bacterial toxins, excess steroidal hormones (like estrogen), toxins from fungal infections and a variety of chemical toxins such as nitrosamines, aromatic amines, alcohols and phenols. Supplements that can assist glucuronidation include L-glutamine, Magnesium Complex, Super Omega-3 EPA and B-Complex vitamins. Foods containing limonene (citrus peel, dill weed and caraway) can also enhance glucuronidation. Aspirin and probenecid will inhibit glucuronidation.
Glutathione Conjugation
Attaching toxins to glutathione, one of the most important antioxidants in the body, helps to detoxify and eliminate poisons in the liver, lungs, intestines and kidneys. Glutathione helps the body get rid of a wide variety of chemical compounds including aromatic disulphides, paththalene and anthracene. Heavy metals inhibit the replenishment of glutathione.
Nutrients that help to raise glutathione levels include vitamin C, alpha-lipoic acid, raw whey protein, and the amino acids glutamine and methionine found in Free Amino Acids. Cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc.) are very helpful in enhancing glutathione. The same limonene containing foods that enhance glucuronidation will also enhance glutathione conjugation. This pathway can be inhibited by deficiencies of selenium, vitamin B2 and zinc.
Indole-3-Carbinol, a compound found in cruciferous vegetables, will also enhance glutathione conjugation. It helps break down estrogens, including the xenoestrogens (environmental estrogens) that contribute to breast, prostate and cervical cancer.
N-Aceytl-Cysteine is a precursor to glutathione, which enhances cellular detoxification and helps protect the liver and other tissues from damage by free radicals. N-Aceytl-Cysteine can be particularly helpful for chemical or heavy metal poisoning.
Methylation
Methylation attaches toxins to the amino acid methionine. This process occurs in every cell of the body and helps the body get rid of excess hormones and neurotransmitters, including steroidal hormones like estrogen, adrenaline, dopamine, melatonin, histamine and serotonin. It also helps eliminate homecysteine, a compound associated with increased risk of heart disease. A variety of chemicals (amines, phenols, etc.) are also eliminated through methylation.
Besides the amino acid methionine, methylation can be enhanced with B-vitamins (B6, B12, folic acid and choline), betaine (a compound from beets, which is also found in Protein Digestive Aid as betaine hydrochloric acid), magnesium and SAM-e. Magnesium is essential for the methylation enzyme. A folic acid or B12 deficiency will inhibit methylation.
SAM-e is a valuable supplement for liver detoxification as it also helps the body produce many methyl-based substances, including: carnitine. creatine phosphate (used in ATP energy production), epinephrine (adrenaline), posphatidyl choline (a nutrient that protects the nerves). Because of this SAM-e may help a variety of liver diseases, inflammatory disorders, depression and elevated levels of homocysteine. It may also reduce intestinal inflammation and protect the brain against free radical damage.
Sulfation
Sulfation eliminates toxins by attaching them to sulphate. This is the principle pathway for eliminating excess neurotransmitters, several drugs (including acetaminophen, some food additives and toxins from intestinal bacteria. It also removes many forms of environmental toxins. Reduced sulfation may be involved in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other nervous system disorders and in environmental illness.
Sulfation can be enhanced by amino acids like methionine and cysteine, taurine, glutathione (Free Amino Acids), MSM, garlic, onions and cruciferous vegetables. Red Yeast Rice aids sulfation. Vitamin B1 and B2, magnesium and molybdenum also aid sulfation, although excess molybdenum and excess B6 inhibit the sulfation process. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs inhibit sulfation. N-acetyl-cysteine (mentioned earlier) can also enhance sulfation.
Acetylation
Acetylation involves attaching acetyl co-A to toxins for elimination. People who are chemically sensitive are usually slow acetylators. Slow acetylation enhances the toxicity of drugs because it prolongs their life span in the body. Acetylation is used to eliminate excess histamine, serotonin, sulfa drugs, PABA and chemicals like sulphur amides and hydranzines. Nutrients that enhance acetylation include: pantothenic acid, Vitamin C and the amino acid thiamine. Deficiencies of B2, B5 or C inhibit acetylation.
By enhancing liver detoxification, we can protect the body against many of the toxic compounds found in modern society. Obviously, the best defense is avoiding chemicals and eating a healthy diet, but supplementation can be used to enhance the body’s capacity to eliminate specific toxins.
In Phase 2, the body attaches the toxin to another substance to process it for elimination. This process is called conjugation. There are six phases to the conjugation processes. When the body uses amino acids as conjugates, the process is called acylation. Attaching toxins to sugars is called glucuronidation. When glutathione is used as the conjugating substance, the process is called glutathione conjugation. Methylation attaches toxins to methionine, sulfation attaches them to sulfur and acetylation attaches them to the compound acetyl Co-A.
Here’s a description of each of these processes and suggestions on how to enhance them.
Acylation
In acylation, toxins are attached to amino acids, especially glycine. A low protein diet can inhibit acylation. When acylation is disturbed, it decreases bile production, which results in the poor assimilation of fats and fat soluble vitamins. Acylation detoxifies compounds like benzoate, aspirin and toluene (a widely used industrial solvent). People with hepatitis, chronic arthritis, low thyroid, excessive chemical exposure or toxemia in pregnancy often have problems with acylation. Acylation can be enhanced by alkalizing the pH and taking the amino acid glycine, which is found in Free Amino Acids and Super Algae.
Glucuronidation
Glucuronic acid is a metabolite of glucose that can be attached to toxins. This pathway is used as a back-up for sulfation or glycination. It is used to eliminate chemical and bacterial toxins, excess steroidal hormones (like estrogen), toxins from fungal infections and a variety of chemical toxins such as nitrosamines, aromatic amines, alcohols and phenols. Supplements that can assist glucuronidation include L-glutamine, Magnesium Complex, Super Omega-3 EPA and B-Complex vitamins. Foods containing limonene (citrus peel, dill weed and caraway) can also enhance glucuronidation. Aspirin and probenecid will inhibit glucuronidation.
Glutathione Conjugation
Attaching toxins to glutathione, one of the most important antioxidants in the body, helps to detoxify and eliminate poisons in the liver, lungs, intestines and kidneys. Glutathione helps the body get rid of a wide variety of chemical compounds including aromatic disulphides, paththalene and anthracene. Heavy metals inhibit the replenishment of glutathione.
Nutrients that help to raise glutathione levels include vitamin C, alpha-lipoic acid, raw whey protein, and the amino acids glutamine and methionine found in Free Amino Acids. Cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc.) are very helpful in enhancing glutathione. The same limonene containing foods that enhance glucuronidation will also enhance glutathione conjugation. This pathway can be inhibited by deficiencies of selenium, vitamin B2 and zinc.
Indole-3-Carbinol, a compound found in cruciferous vegetables, will also enhance glutathione conjugation. It helps break down estrogens, including the xenoestrogens (environmental estrogens) that contribute to breast, prostate and cervical cancer.
N-Aceytl-Cysteine is a precursor to glutathione, which enhances cellular detoxification and helps protect the liver and other tissues from damage by free radicals. N-Aceytl-Cysteine can be particularly helpful for chemical or heavy metal poisoning.
Methylation
Methylation attaches toxins to the amino acid methionine. This process occurs in every cell of the body and helps the body get rid of excess hormones and neurotransmitters, including steroidal hormones like estrogen, adrenaline, dopamine, melatonin, histamine and serotonin. It also helps eliminate homecysteine, a compound associated with increased risk of heart disease. A variety of chemicals (amines, phenols, etc.) are also eliminated through methylation.
Besides the amino acid methionine, methylation can be enhanced with B-vitamins (B6, B12, folic acid and choline), betaine (a compound from beets, which is also found in Protein Digestive Aid as betaine hydrochloric acid), magnesium and SAM-e. Magnesium is essential for the methylation enzyme. A folic acid or B12 deficiency will inhibit methylation.
SAM-e is a valuable supplement for liver detoxification as it also helps the body produce many methyl-based substances, including: carnitine. creatine phosphate (used in ATP energy production), epinephrine (adrenaline), posphatidyl choline (a nutrient that protects the nerves). Because of this SAM-e may help a variety of liver diseases, inflammatory disorders, depression and elevated levels of homocysteine. It may also reduce intestinal inflammation and protect the brain against free radical damage.
Sulfation
Sulfation eliminates toxins by attaching them to sulphate. This is the principle pathway for eliminating excess neurotransmitters, several drugs (including acetaminophen, some food additives and toxins from intestinal bacteria. It also removes many forms of environmental toxins. Reduced sulfation may be involved in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other nervous system disorders and in environmental illness.
Sulfation can be enhanced by amino acids like methionine and cysteine, taurine, glutathione (Free Amino Acids), MSM, garlic, onions and cruciferous vegetables. Red Yeast Rice aids sulfation. Vitamin B1 and B2, magnesium and molybdenum also aid sulfation, although excess molybdenum and excess B6 inhibit the sulfation process. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs inhibit sulfation. N-acetyl-cysteine (mentioned earlier) can also enhance sulfation.
Acetylation
Acetylation involves attaching acetyl co-A to toxins for elimination. People who are chemically sensitive are usually slow acetylators. Slow acetylation enhances the toxicity of drugs because it prolongs their life span in the body. Acetylation is used to eliminate excess histamine, serotonin, sulfa drugs, PABA and chemicals like sulphur amides and hydranzines. Nutrients that enhance acetylation include: pantothenic acid, Vitamin C and the amino acid thiamine. Deficiencies of B2, B5 or C inhibit acetylation.
By enhancing liver detoxification, we can protect the body against many of the toxic compounds found in modern society. Obviously, the best defense is avoiding chemicals and eating a healthy diet, but supplementation can be used to enhance the body’s capacity to eliminate specific toxins.