From the Doctor’s Desk: How Do I Detoxify? Detoxification Part 3

First of all, take a few minutes to read through my two previous posts: Detoxification Part 1 and  Detoxification Part 2. Part 3 of our detoxification series begins with a little chemistry lesson. Are you ready? Here we go. Let’s get down to the nuts and bolts of detoxification in the liver. By learning how the detoxification process works, we can learn the steps we need to take to detoxify.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, there are two basic parts to liver detoxification: Phase I and Phase II (this reminds me of Thing 1 and Thing II from the Dr. Seuss book I read to my kids).

Phase 1 Detoxification.

Phase 1 detoxification involves the cytochrome P450 system. Phase I detoxification involves oxidation, reduction, and hydrolysis. Phase I detoxification is always active and is very redundant.  What do I mean by redundant? There are a handful of enzymes in the CYP450 family that are utilized by over 200,000 substrates for oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis. In other words, many different chemicals or substrates will use the same CYP450 enzyme. A great picture of the redundancy is seen by clicking here.

Of note is the the CYP1A2 enzyme. This particular enzyme is responsible for metabolism of 40-50% of the drugs that we take. Do you remember the statistic from my earlier post? A leading cause of death is drug-to-drug interactions. Approximately 100,000 Americans die each year from adverse reactions to medications. If we are taking too many medications, then there is not enough CYP1A2 enzyme to adequately metabolize the drugs in the system leading to drug-to-drug interactions.

Let me give you some perspective. Drug interactions cause twice as many deaths as car accidents. And furthermore, hospital costs due to drug interactions have been estimated at between $1 and $4 billion annually. One of the big topics in the healthcare debate is controlling health care costs. Reducing deaths due to drug interactions looks like a good place to start, doesn’t it?

It doesn’t stop there. Phase I detoxification requires many cofactors: niacin, magnesium, copper, zinc, vitamin C, vitamins B2, B3, B6, B12, folic acid, and flavonoids. As you can see, vitamins are extremely important in the detox process. Without them, our bodies don’t work well. One more tidbit on vitamins — many causes of vitamin deficiencies today are the prescription medications we take — a double whammy!

Phase II Detoxification.

Phase II detoxification leads to further modification of the products of Phase I detoxification.  Large water-soluble molecules are added to the toxins through several different processes: glutathione conjugation, amino acid conjugation, methylation, sulfation, acetylation, and glucoronidation. In layman’s terms, after phase II modification, the body is able to eliminate the inactivated toxins via the bowels and/or bladder.

In summary, Phase I and Phase II enzymes are the power houses that detoxify our bodies of our daily toxin load. They are very dependent on vitamins, minerals, and energy. The many prescriptions we take lead to major drug interactions and vitamin depletions which interfere with our body’s ability to detoxify. Thus, if we are malnourished (typical American diet of fast food) and lack key vitamins and nutrients, then our body cannot adequately detoxify.  If we cannot detoxify, then we become inflamed. If we become inflamed, we develop disease.

So what next?  A shoe isn’t one-size-fits-all. And neither is detoxification. Assessment of your individual detoxification system and the build-up of toxins within your body will allow us to develop a customized detoxification process to fit your individual needs. Not only will we live healthier, disease-free lives through detoxification, but we will also save money! It all starts with a call. Make an appointment at Seasons join us on the path to wellness. Renew yourself.