Got skin problems like acne? Is your belly bloated? Having trouble pooping? Feeling out of it mentally (foggy brained)? Is your energy low and are you creating a vicious cycle by relying on several cups of coffee to get you through the day?
Even if you sleep 8 hours, does it feel like you’re a worthless slug in the morning? And no matter how many Zumba or hot yoga classes you’re doing—provided you have the energy and motivation—is it impossible to lose excess weight?
If you can relate to some of these symptoms, is it time to do a detox?
When it comes to detoxification, there’s one organ that immediately comes to mind: the liver.
Other than your skin, the liver is the body’s largest organ. Many people recognize the fact that the liver is the body’s most important detoxification organ. Indeed, the liver transforms substances like caffeine, alcohol, active ingredients in medication, pesticides and other toxins into smaller substances. By doing so, the liver makes it easier for these potentially-harmful chemicals to be removed from the body.
When your liver oxidizes these harmful substances into smaller elements, free radicals are created. If you’re not consuming enough antioxidants to neutralize free radicals, not even the most expensive liver detox program will help.
Best Antioxidants To Fight Free Radicals
Oxidation is viewed by most people to be a bad thing. When exposed to air, a bitten-into apple quickly browns because of oxidation. In humans, free radicals caused by oxidation alter DNA, which accelerates the aging process. But oxidation is critical to detoxification. Without oxidation, toxins wouldn’t be able to break down.
The key to neutralizing the harmful effects of free radical damage is consuming super foods every single day.
—> Vitamin C is the rockstar antioxidant nutrient that may prevent free radical damage.Get a daily dose of 1060% vitamin C with Super-C-Biotic.
Trace minerals and the phytonutrients in our award-winning 55-in-1 Organic SuperFood powder are also essential for removing free radicals out of the body.
Phase II Detoxification
But if you have a few cups of coffee to get you through the day, plus a couple cups of wine at night to help you relax, and on top of that eat non-organic processed foods that contain high amounts of glyphosate residue, your liver may become overwhelmed.
And when your sluggish liver tries to remove toxic metabolites, it will send them to other organs in order to clean house, sort of like how if a friend is coming over your house in just a few minutes, you tidy up the place by shoving junk in the closet.
The removal of free radicals from the body is called phase II detoxification. And the organ that’s perhaps most affected during phase II is not the liver.
It’s the gallbladder.
Your liver makes bile. Bile is a green-yellow fluid that breaks down fats, including essential fatty acids like omega-3s. Omega-3s are absolutely critical for hormone balancing, among other functions that can positively impact your health.
But if your liver is overworked and can’t keep up with the demands of breaking down toxins, your gallbladder, which stores and secretes bile, won’t be able to process the omega-3 fats from that piece of wild salmon you just ate.
This, in turn, can lead to mood fluctuations. Omega-3’s, by helping regulate hormone balance, help keep your mood stable and grounded. But if your body can’t make enough bile eating a huge piece of wild salmon or taking an omega-3 supplement may not help.
Gallbladder Dysfunction
Liver dysfunction is often blamed for the symptoms listed at the beginning of this article. Yes, the liver is a miraculous organ, performing over 500 critical functions, including the highly-complex process of detoxification. But the liver shouldn’t take all the blame if you’re experiencing symptoms that cause some people to spend lots of money on liver detox solutions.
Rather than look at under-performing detoxification through the lens of just one organ, keep in mind that the body is a holistic machine. When one important part of a car’s engine starts to break down, if it’s not repaired, other parts malfunction. That’s also the case with your body’s detoxification system.
Many people neglect to think about the gallbladder. It’s an easy organ to overlook, and it’s appropriate, symbolically, that the liver lies directly over the gallbladder.
How To Increase Bile
A lot of people are trying ketogenic diets these days. The ketogenic diet is a high-fat and ultra low-carb diet that may initiate weight loss—if the liver and gallbladder are working adequately.
But if you have sluggish detoxification, switching to a ketogenic diet can backfire. If you don’t have enough bile to break down a diet that’s 75% or more fat, you’re going to put even more weight on because all that undigested fat will be stored as excess body fat by the liver (house cleaning, remember?).
Detox Conclusion
So what have we learned so far? Don’t spend a lot of money on trendy liver detox programs and supplements. Try instead to increase your uptake of phytonutrients and fiber. Also drink lots of pure water. Unless you have diabetes, try going several hours in between meals and try intermittent fasting.
A far more affordable way to consume a high amount of phytonutrients without the hassle of cooking and cleaning up is with superfood powders.
In fact, if you skip a regular breakfast and replace it with our Super Lean System, you may be well on your way to improving digestion and elimination.
So rather than just be focused on liver function, you also should be conscious of consuming superfoods that increase bile production. Clean, plant-based proteins such as Sacha Inchi seed, pea protein, sprouted brown rice, cranberry seed extract and red dulse all assist in phase II detoxification. Our Super Protein powders contain these nutrient-dense vegan proteins, which contain all the 9 essential amino acids.
You also need to consume a lot of leafy greens in your diet, way more than a lunch or dinner side salad would provide. Again, the easiest way to make sure you’re getting the nutrients and micronutrients needed for phase II detoxification is with our award-winning Superfood powder.