I want to admit—I was wrong. I used to believe that it was not the best idea for the body to be on supplements and vitamins all the time. Maybe now and then, to tweak a biochemical process that had gone temporarily awry, but that’s it. In the past, 50 years ago and longer, I would have been right. But we live in a world where disease is 30% genetic, and 70% lifestyle and nutrition. We are up against some toxins that make certain supplements vital to keeping our bodies working in balance as best we can.

It’s no secret that we live in an environment full of toxic chemicals. From pesticides and fungicides on our food and prescription medications found in our drinking water, to environmental pollutants, we live immersed in toxins. Our own homes are not even spared. Between the off-gassing of flame retardants in our furniture and the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in our paint, where can we turn? Our dependence on plastics steeps our bodies in BPA (Bisphenol A) which is a hormone substance. Our bodies can’t handle or process this toxic overload.

When our bodies are awash in toxins, many of them get walled off in fat cells. Your body is smart enough to keep you safe by refusing to release the toxins inside the fat—which means it won’t let go of the fat! So yes, toxins do keep you fat and, until you detoxify, you won’t lose weight.

While this may seem overwhelming, it’s also important to remember that our bodies are pretty clever and have four main methods of detoxifying: poop, pee, sweat, and breathing!

We detoxify when we sleep, as well, so getting adequate sleep will lead to an increase in detoxification. Enhancing your body’s detoxification systems, for example through nutrition and supplements, is equally key.

Your body naturally knows how to detoxify. Your body’s systems—circulatory, digestive, urinary—are constantly at work trying to remove toxins, bacteria, chemicals, and other harmful substances.

The liver, kidneys, colon, and lungs are the primary organs of detoxification. The kidneys detoxify by filtering the blood. The liver carries out many important processes in the body, and it detoxifies by removing harmful by-products of normal body processes as well as what you have introduced via food and drink, or even environmentally. The burden put on the liver by our lifestyle often depresses its ability to detoxify. (I like to imagine that all the toxins line up at the liver. If it’s too busy, you have to wait a long time to get that toxin excreted.

The more toxins you have, the longer the line, and the more burdened your liver becomes, like an exhausted check-out clerk working overtime.)

The two-phase process of liver detoxification is interesting and complex. One reason people often have trouble losing weight is that they are too toxic for the liver to do its job well.

Since your body won’t release the toxins into your body by allowing you to shed weight, your liver must move into Phase II of its detoxification process and transforms the toxins into water-soluble compounds that can be excreted through stool, urine, or bile. If you keep reintroducing toxins while it’s trying to do that, it will have a much harder job. If you don’t aid the body in detoxification while changing other things in your diet or lifestyle, it will struggle.

The cleaner your life, the better your body is at getting rid of the toxins that are either a by-product of your systems or that you introduce via lifestyle (e.g. alcohol, metabolites of medications, environmental pollutants, molds, bacteria, etc.). With some support and by reducing the toxins you consume, your body will get rid of a lot more bad junk. To sum up:

The cleaner you live, the less your body will have to work.

Support your natural detoxification processes by:

• Drinking at least 4-6 glasses of clean (filtered, not tap) water.

• Getting adequate sleep. Studies are now showing 7.5-9 hours is the ideal amount of time to sleep.

• Relaxing! Stress creates all kinds of problems with your immune, hormonal, and detoxification systems.

• Having regular bowel movements. One of the best ways to permanently get rid of toxins is 2+ bowel movements/day. (Seriously.) Increase the vegetables and fiber in your diet, and drink plenty of fluids.

• Exercising to sweat your toxins out. Infrared saunas or other forms of sweating can also help.

• Breathing exercises to move toxins out via breath.

Sometimes our bodies are so toxic that the natural detoxification process falls short and those toxins stored in fats simply don’t let go. The best way to move that process along is through a guided detoxification that supports the liver’s Phase II detoxification.

I’m not talking about a cayenne/ginger/lemon juice kind of cleanse. I find those quite harsh on the body — especially a toxic body. You need herbal support to push those toxins out through the above mentioned process.

If you want to learn more about how to do a supported detoxification cleanse, reach out to me (teri@TeriGoetz.com). I do these for my patients all the time, and the results are nothing short of miraculous. Hemoglobin A1C down, cholesterol down, inflammatory markers down. And, of course, weight— down. The way you feel after a healthy detoxification is remarkable: increased energy, balanced blood sugar (so no afternoon dips in energy), better sleep, improved bowel movements, fewer hot flashes, increased emotional stability, and best of all, you feel just plain happier. Often, people don’t realize how lousy they felt until they start to feel well!

So, take stock of what you are bathing your genes in and give your body a break from the toxic burdens of living in this age.