How the body detox naturally

The first thing you need to know about detoxing is that your body actually has a whole detox system of its own. It has to otherwise it would become poisoned by natural toxins, including waste products from food, dead bacteria and debris from the millions of new body cells produced each day.

The Liver

Food is processed in the stomach and the small intestine. Useful products are absorbed and waste products sent to the detox system. Seventy-Five percent of these pass through liver, where harmful toxins, which are not water-soluble, are neutralized by being combined with natural enzymes, so they become water-soluble, and are passes to the kidneys or bowel.

Fat Stores

If the liver is overwhelmed by the toxins, or doesn’t make enough conversion enzymes, it can’t process toxins. Because of the potential harm, th body pushes the toxins into the fat stores, where they do less damage.

The Kidneys

The kidneys filter the blood, removing excess water and water-soluble toxins, that are then passed out urine. Most are food waste and the breakdown of body tisues, but also include by products of toxins from the liver.

The Skin

The skin, the largest organ of the body, also has a role to play in detox. Like the liver, skin produces enzymes that make some of the toxins entering through it water-soluble. These pass into bloodstream and are excreted by the kidneys, or as sweat. Sweating also draws other toxins from the bloodstream; about 450g of toxins are excreted daily in this way.

The Lungs

The lungs remove carbon dioxide from the body and contain low levels of antioxidants, which neutralize free radicals. They also convert a small amount of toxins into water-soluble substances. Once this has happened, the substances are excreted in the breath.

The Lymphatic System

This is a series of tiny vessels that run into all areas of the body and transport nutrients, in a fluid known as lymph, to cells and tissues that need them. It’s also the place where white body cells are stored, ready to fight infection. The lymphatic system is also important in detox because it removes waste produced by body.

The intestines and bowel

The intestines’ role in detox is to filter out harmful ingredients from th stomach and send them to the liver for processing.The bowel’s main role is to excrete processed toxins in the form of faeces. If the bowel’s function is sluggish, the faeces linger there and toxins can actually be reabsorbed into the bloodstream.