Nowadays, we are exposed to foods full with chemicals and out liver and digestive system could easily get conquered. Our body removes toxins in a natural and continuous way.
The two groups of toxins are water soluble and fat soluble. The water soluble toxins are removed all the time through the kidneys and blood.
The fat soluble toxins are difficult to be eliminated. The body eliminates toxins all the time and in a natural way.
These are the fat soluble toxins:
- Pesticides
- Heavy metals
- Preservatives
- Plastics
- Food additives
- Pollutants
- Different environmental compounds
They can be completely removed by our body only when they become water soluble.
These fat soluble toxins can reach our blood, brain and fat cells through our liver and they can get accumulated there for a long time.
Researchers believe that balanced digestion, detox pathways and stress levels can be controlled to prevent the accumulation of such dangerous compounds and toxins in the body.
While digesting our meal, the toxic and nutritional fats are mixed up from the stomach to the small intestine. The bile from the liver and gallbladder will emulsify them in the small intestine. The tiny villi and lacteals will help in sweeping the gut. They also aid the absorption of nutritional fats and will move the toxic fats to our liver so it can process them.
If there is any damage to this detox pathway, the body won’t be able to eliminate toxic fats and it will store them.
The Gut Associated Lymphatic Tissue or GALT is the initial part of the lymphatic system and it surrounds the intestinal tract. Here the lacteals trigger the absorption and processing of the toxic and nutritional fats. This place needs the villi and lacteals to work properly.
The lymphatic system surrounding the gut carries the absorbed fats to the liver. The liver uses the good fats for making:
- Cholesterol
- Hormones
- Cell membranes
- Skin
- Brain cells
When they get processed, the liver will mark them for elimination.
If there is congestion in the lymphatic system, there is a dangerous impact on the process of usage of good fats and removal of bad fats.
The following are the symptoms that reveal there is congested GALT that damages the lymphatic system:
- Bloating
- Additional weight around the belly
- Stiffness in the joints
- Swelling in breast
- Skin irritation or itching
- Hypersensitive
- Problems with elimination
- Hands or feet swelling
- Irregular headaches
The intestinal villi can get damaged due to many reasons, including stress and poor diet. It can also affect the functioning of the bowels. The intestinal villi can become dry due to much stress or cause irregular constipation.
Extended constipation can cause drying of the villi, which can result in production of reactive mucus. Too much mucus can make your stool to seem normal, but you may be bloated, have additional belly weight and feel unhealthy.
Also, too much mucus can make you have more frequent bowel movements and the stools can become loose and look like diarrhea. If you find mucus in the stool, contact your doctor immediately. It means that villi is suffering from excess congestion.
When this happens, the toxin break down process will be affected due to:
- Delivery of good fats
- Removal of toxic fats
- Regular immune response
- Intestinal skin health
When there is too much mucus present, this process gets impeded and the toxins are moved back into the liver.
To prevent this toxin return to the liver, you need to keep a balance of the mucus membranes. They should not become too wet or too dry. The other factors that can affect them are:
- Stress
- Coffee
- Worrying
- Soft drinks
- Hyperacidity
- Processed foods
- Food additives
Ideal flow of bile from our liver is important because it helps in digesting fats. The bile can break down even parasites, bad bacteria, chemicals, pesticides, and heavy metals that can be dangerous to our health.
Plenty of fiber in the diet can cause large amount of bile to be removed through stool. However, if there is lack of fiber, almost 94% of the bile will be reabsorbed by the liver for recycling. This will also include toxins. In this situation, the liver gets overpowered because it does not expect toxic fat cells to return to it.
This can cause liver congestion and thick bile, which will make it harder for the bile to break down fat-soluble toxins.
Congestion in the biliary tubes in the liver makes the liver push the fat-soluble toxins into the blood stream. These toxins can get stored for years and harm any part of our body, even the brain.
Ayurveda focuses on getting the body to burn fat rather than on weight loss. The fat metabolism in the body functions as its detoxification fuel. It is important for flushing out fat cells for removing toxins in the future.
Often, it is not possible to absorb good fats after breaking them down because the lymph and villi in the gut have been congested. That is why many people are diagnosed with allergies to soy, dairy and wheat. These foods are hard to digest and need more mucus.
They include gluten that irritates the intestinal walls. This can lead to release of additional reactive mucus even when there is too much mucus in the gut and the stomach and upper small intestine didn’t break down the gluten effectively.
This could negatively affect the capability of the intestinal wall.
What you need to remember:
Loose stool, regular constipation or mucus in the bowel can be a sign that your detox and assimilation pathways have some problems. This may require avoiding some foods and eating something else for proper elimination.
If you feel like heavy foods with plenty of fat are sitting in your stomach or if you notice pain after meals or become nauseous, it could mean you have bile flow problems or there is storage of toxic fats.
Some foods are very effective in cleansing the liver and restoring its functioning, such as:
- Garlic
- Beets
- Green tea
- Grapefruit
- Carrots
- Apples
- Green leafy veggies
- Olive oil
- Limes
- Cruciferous vegetables
- Lemons
- Alternative grains
- Turmeric
- Cabbage
- Walnuts
This is one of the best methods for cleansing your liver and bile:
Needed ingredients:
- 3 lemons or one large grapefruit
- Tablespoons of Epsom salt
- Half a cup of virgin olive oil
- Apple juice (optional)
How to prepare it?
- Take as many apples for 4-5 days before starting this cleansing method. You can also drink apple juice or use malic acid supplements.
- During the last two days, take 8 ounces of apple juice every 2-3 hours. This will help the cleansing process.
- On the 1st day of the treatment have a light breakfast without fats.
- Combine 4 tablespoons of Epsom salts in 3 cups of water in a jar at 2 pm. Store it in the fridge and avoid taking anything after 2 pm.
- In the evening, at 6 pm, take ¾ cup of the mixture from the jar. Add 1/8 tablespoon of powdered vitamin C for flavor.
- Take ¾ of the mixture at 8 pm once more.
- At 9:45 pm, take a jar and add half a cup of the virgin olive oil into it. Take the grapefruit and squeeze the juice into the jar. Remove the pulp with a fork. Mix the juice with the olive oil. Shake well after closing the lid.
- Drink the mixture at 10 pm within 5 minutes.
Lie down on your right side and keep the right knee up pointing to your chin for 20-25 minutes. Avoid any movement and you can go to sleep.
Take the remaining salts 2 hours later. Wait for another 2 hours before taking anything and avoid solid fruits. Take only fluids and then gradually move to fruits.