How To Detox - Your Natural Body Detox System

Posted by Kym on May 8th, 2008 at 08:25am

The first step in learning how to detox your body is to understand how your body’s natural detox system works. It consists of some of your major internal organs, all of which are working in harmony to detox your body and rid itself of all the unwanted toxins it gets bombarded with every day.

Your Digestive System

When you eat or drink something, the antibacterial compounds in your mouth work on it first, and then stomach acid kills off a lot of potentially dangerous toxins before they get further down the intestine.

Once in the intestine, beneficial bacteria (known as ‘friendly’ in the TV ads) help to defend the system from poisons while microscopic villi - little fingers which are lined with capillaries - absorb nutrients into the blood stream. The small intestine, which is 6m (20ft) in length, filters out any larger molecules and undigested foods and carries them down to be excreted when you have a bowel movement. Smaller molecules that are absorbed are carried in the first instance to the liver.

Liver and gall bladder

The liver is a multi-tasking organ which produces and processes hundreds of chemicals everyday. When blood arrives from the small intestine, the liver secretes enzymes that process vital nutrients into a form in which they can be used by the cells of the body. It stores excess glucose (sugar) as glycogen and produces cholesterol, a substance that helps the blood to carry fats around the body. It also clears the blood of drugs and poisons, breaking them down to neutralize them or turning them into a form in which they can be secreted as bile fluid.

Bile is transported from the liver to the gall bladder. When you next eat something containing fat, the bile is excreted into the small intestine to help the digestive process and, if the system is functioning effectively, the bile will then pass from your body in faeces.

Kidneys

The kidneys filter about 200 litres of blood every day, sifting out waste products and excess water. A series of tiny tubes called nephrons are the filtering units. Most of us will form about 2 liters or urine a day, from substances that are no longer needed by our bodies.

Spleen

Another of the body’s filtering systems, the spleen removes worn-out red blood cells from circulation and recycles them into iron to build the blood. It also gets rid of any unhealthy bacteria, so it can stop you going down with colds or flu when it is functioning efficiently.

The Lymphatic system

White blood cells (the ones that fight disease) are stored in lymph nodes situated under your arms, in your neck, around your spine and in your groin. You may be able to feel that your lymph nodes are swollen when you are fighting off an infection. A watery fluid called lymph is circulated round the body, mainly by the action of your muscles. The lymphatic system does not have a pump - in the way that the blood circulates due to the action of the heart - so it can be sluggish if you don’t get much exercise.

In the cells, lymph is responsible for filtering out the waste products of cellular reactions and other toxins that have got into the tissues. It also carries white blood cells to sites of infection, where they adhere to and break down micro-organisms and debris that they recognize as foreign.

Skin

The average adult has 1.6 square meters (3 square yards) of skin forming a barrier between the body’s internal organs and the outside world. Bacteria and micro-organisms cannot pass through unbroken skin, and they are prevented from multiplying by the action of oily sebum secreted by the sebaceous glands at the root of hair follicles. Sweat also contains antibacterial lactoferrin. However, if the skin is broken, by a cut or graze, bacteria and micro-organisms can get into the body and the immune system has to send white blood cells to kill them. Chemicals are released that cause the area to become red, hot and inflamed as blood vessels widen to speed white blood cells to the site.

Some chemicals can pass through unbroken skin, but only very slowly. Thus the nicotine in nicotine patches makes its way into the bloodstream, and so do certain toxic chemicals, such as insecticides and solvents, which can cause problems.

The skin is also an organ for the secretion of waste products. As you heat up and perspire, you release a mixture of urea along with other toxins from the fatty tissues. The more you sweat, the more you release, which is why saunas can be an effective part of a natural detox program.

Tags: body detox, how to detox, liver detox, natural detox