Detox understanding

[momslove]

I thought when people talked about detox, they were talking about helping the body to flush out dead bacteria or viruses. Now I'm not sure what all is intended in detox. Is the intent and reality that it is to flush out "die off" (dead bacteria and viruses) and/or medications taken?

 

What are the primary methods? Clay? Epsom salt baths? ????

 

Thanks.

[chubbermommy]

That is what I believed also about detox: the primary issue is the toxins from bacteria/viruses need to be flushed off. But also, to support the liver, which is the main organ for breaking down the medications. The liver can become quite taxed (especially in our little ones) when taking so much.

 

I'll tell you what we do to detox:

1) epsom salt or clay baths, almost every night

2) lemon water

3) chlorella tablets to bind toxins

4) burbur, pinella and parsley drops from Nutramedix

5) NAC (once a week at the moment) for liver support

6) boswellia complex (boswellia, ginger, turmeric) mainly for inflammation, but that can be the results of die-off

 

It seems a lot! But I have learned the hard way that if I slack off on detox, then we pay for it.

[rowingmom]

Methylation is an important part of detoxing. Please go back through the archives and read LLM's posts regarding MTHFR and methylation. Many children who are ill have difficulties converting B vitamins into the methylated versions required for chemical reactions in the body. This is why so many of us use the methylated versions of B6 (P-5-P), B12 (sublingual methylB12) and folic acid (L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate).

 

Magnesium (orally or as Epsom salt baths if your child can tolerate sulfates), is important as well. Google magnesium/detox.

 

Fresh squeezed lemon juice with stevia is often used.

 

BM's need to be occurring 1 or 2 times daily to help move toxins out. We use organic psyllium husks (all non-organic grains and legumes are dessicated with glyphosate or other pesticides to speed harvest).

 

Proper gut microbiota are required for detoxing in the gut. That means a good combination probiotic and fermented vegetables.

 

Liver support is important - we use milk thistle and curcumin, both of which support liver function.

Edited October 15, 2014 by rowingmom

[momslove]

Is detox also supported by charcoal or activated charcoal? Apple cidar vinegar? Glutathione?

 

Or are those for some other purpose?

[LNN]

Yes, glutathione is a really important part of detox. Here's an article you might find helpful: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/glutathione-the-mother-of_b_530494.html

 

I think of detox as any past of the body's garbage/sanitation system. For starters, you have the two main waste treatment plants - the liver, which is like the garbage dump and the kidneys, which are like wastewater treatment plants. When you take lots of meds, your body has to work a little harder processing these and eliminating the waste left when the active ingredients of the meds are absorbed. But they also have to work harder when your body needs to eliminate dead cells (from the self and from invaders), toxins in our foods and environments (chemicals, metals, molds, allergens). So anything you can do to support these organs can be beneficial - e.g. drinking lots of water - is generally a good thing.

 

However, as Rowingmom points out, some supplements that are generally "good" for the body - SAMe or milkthistle for the liver, NAC, alpha lipoic acid, B6 - for increased glutathione - can't be handled by individuals with certain methylation defects. If you're an "overmethylator" than SAMe won't agree with you. If you have a CBS gene mutation that's active/expressing, then you need to avoid NAC, alpha lipoic acid, Epsom salts and milkthistle because of their sulfur content. If you have a CBS mutation, you need to take the P-5-P "version" of B6 and not regular B6. Having an active CBS mutation makes detox much harder. So while detox is good for everyone, how you get there is a unique path.

 

Many people also support detox by taking binders - things that bind to bad stuff as it's making the journey thru the bowels, to make sure it gets eliminated and not reabsorbed thru a leaky gut. Charcoal, bentonite clay, chlorella - are all talked about as aids. My personal experience is that charcoal did very little, tho it's a go-to in ERs for poisonings, so obviously it does have some effect. But a nurse once told me to be careful with prolonged use b/c it can mess with your electrolyte balance. Same with clays. I didn't like chlorella for 2 reasons - DS had to take 45 pills/day - 15 three times per day - which was a huge reinforcement to him that he was "sick" and I think it did little for detox. My second concern with it is that the majority of it comes from the China Sea, which was impacted by the nuclear accident at Fukushima 3 yrs ago. I can't get behind giving something that could be tainted with radiation as a detox supplement. JMHO.

 

We use magnesium (doses that produce daily BMs but don't cause loose stools - which for my kids is 200mg/day). We use P-5-P and psyllium husk and lots of water. My DS has issues with mold, which peak in the fall and during raining weeks in the spring. So we periodically use cholestyramine when it's this time of year and he develops PANS symptoms like hyperactivity, eye tic and such. The cholestyramine works great for the eye tic, not as much for the hyperness, but then, I'm conservative in dosing.

 

Can't imagine getting my kids to imbibe vinegar

 

You also asked on another thread about CPY450 - we did get this info via our 23andMe testing and our LLMD did say he'd have used the info to adjust medication/antibiotic dosing, but at that point, we were pretty much done with medications. But knowing the status of the different liver pathways will help you increase or decrease standard dosing levels for a given medication, so it's a helpful piece of info to have.

 

As far as overall methylation, which I fund to make a huge difference in my kids, this introductory article may help when it comes to understanding how detox and methylation are intertwined...http://autismnti.com/images/Website-_Yasko_Education.pdf

[momslove]

Hard to also figure out when to fit some of these things in the day. We give DD various antibiotics that need to be spaced out and away from probiotics. Have been told that some of the detox options (e.g., charcoal and clay, maybe the "binders"?) need to be taken away from "meds" and probiotics. That sometimes seems like it only leaves us with the middle of the night... Do other detox supports need to be taken or done away from meds and probiotics?

 

One additional comment--Haven't offered vinegar to DD, but think it would be easier to get her to try that than the glutathione paste we ordered at the recommendation of our lyme practitioner.

[chubbermommy]

We do abx breakfast, lunch and dinner, and binders away from abx in between (except during school days, when he can't get any in the morning, but I'll give him some after school).

So our day looks like this:

7:30/8am - abx + some supplements

10:30am - chlorella binder + burbur etc.

1pm - abx

3:30pm - chlorella + burbur etc.

6pm - abx + supplements

8pm - probiotics, Mg, sacc B

 

I do give burbur, pinella and parsley throughout the day at any time if I feel he is herxing or flaring.