From Gut-Brain Secrets.

Four factors of toxin injury

1. rate of intake/exposure
2. rate of excretion
3. total volume of accumulated toxins (aka “total body burden”)
4. your body’s reaction to toxins.

Think of exposure (1) as filling your “toxin bucket.” Total body burden (3) is how full that bucket is currently. And detoxification capacity (2) is the rate at which you’re draining it. If your detox system is unable to keep up with demand, it stores toxins that it can’t excrete in fatty tissues such as the brain, heart, nerves and endocrine organs. On the other hand, when your rate of excretion is outpacing your rate of intake, your system is getting cleaner and you are getting healthier, which is the goal of any detox treatment.

1. Rate of intake

Exposure level is how much of a toxin that you swallow, inhale, absorb through your skin, inject, or otherwise get into your system. Rate of intake is the quantity of toxin that you ingest over a certain time frame.

Not much needs to be added to the topic of toxin intake at this time, other than to remind you that a corrupted microbiome lets 90% of mercury into the bloodstream through a leaky gut. While an intact gut lining blocks 99% of the mercury that you swallow in food. To put that in simpler terms, a leaky gut can let ten times the amount of toxins into the bloodstream than an intact gut wall.

2. Rate of excretion (detoxification capacity)

Detoxification capacity is the rate at which your detox system excretes toxins. Like a pump’s capacity to transfer water, the rate at which your liver, kidneys, skin and lymph system are able to capture and remove toxins from the body is half of the equation in toxin injury. Improving the throughput of your detox organs is one of the two main focuses of modern detox treatments, cutting exposure being the other. Nothing new with either aim here. It’s the new mechanisms we have to increase excretion rate that are changing the game.

Three things you can do to increase your detoxification rate: (1) Get plenty of trace minerals. Natural sea salt and certain kinds of ocean water are excellent sources. (2) Increase your intake of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Without these vitamins, heavy metals are inaccessible to detox processes. (3) Get plenty of sleep. Detoxification is one of the last things the body focuses on during a night’s sleep, so if you consistently short yourself of sleep, your detox organs must work harder during the day.

Finally, we need to get Roundup and glyphosate out of our food supply. They interrupt cytochrome P450 enzyme activity (a family of 50 enzymes, crucial to the liver’s detoxification efforts). That means the liver can’t break down toxins as well as it should. And that makes all the toxins it is trying to remove that much harder to mobilize, and a lot more toxic.

3. Total body burden

The sum total of toxins stored in your body affects your ability to remove newly-ingested toxins. Along the same lines, “toxic load” is a general term that means the sum total of a toxin you have circulating and stored in your body. Often the term toxic load includes new exposure as well.

These variables are important to take into account. However, old-school practitioners typically look at indirect measurements to ascertain total toxin accumulation, often called “total body burden” because “that’s the way it’s always been done.” To measure total body burden, traditionalists have used chemical chelators to coax accumulated toxins out of storage sites and into circulation. They then use the quantity of toxins they see in urine or blood to extrapolate how much of a toxin that the whole body has in storage, beyond direct measurement of these tests.

These “provocation” or “challenge” tests don’t give you a perfect picture, because they may not accurately reflect your actual total body burden, what your body’s response to those toxin will be, or what will happen with any new exposure. They don’t tell you a lot of things that a practitioner would want to know, because there are more factors at play. However, they do give some useful information when used intelligently. Fortunately, the detox field has made huge progress in the last decade with more sensitive test equipment, better understandings of detoxification mechanisms, new detox agents, and advances in treatment protocols.

4. Your body’s (individual) response to toxins

Why does one person suffer long-term kidney damage when they get their dental amalgams removed, a second feels under the weather for a few days and then feels fine, and a third doesn’t have any adverse reaction to the same exposure as the other two? It’s because toxicity is your body’s response to a toxin, not just amount of exposure or accumulated volume. This can be described as sensitivity to a toxin. Everyone handles toxins differently depending on genetics, epigenetics and their immune reaction.

Genetics. Humans are genetically disposed to remove toxins at different rates. There are fast, medium, slow, and ultra-slow detoxifiers, much of which is based on how much glutathione your body makes (the body’s master detoxifier). Genes have a lot to do with that.

What’s interesting is, you can often tell who is, or is not, an efficient detoxifier just by looking at them. The people with the brightest eyes, clearest complexions, most youthful appearance, and radiant energy are often the best detoxifiers. On the other hand, some people are genetically susceptible to mitochondria dysfunction and/or poor methylation. Either condition can impair energy production which is needed for detoxification. As mentioned, detoxification is a lower-priority process in terms of energy used than activities such as circulation and digestion.

Methylation is the transfer of one carbon atom and three hydrogens (CH3) – called a “methyl group” – to another molecule. Methyl groups control detoxification through glutathione, immunity, inflammation, gene expression, repair of free radical damage, neurotransmitter production for brain function, energy production, the stress response and more. Methylation defects are thought to contribute to autism and many other disorders.

Epigenetics. Toxins change the way your genes are expressed – not just for you, but for your children and your children’s children. Some toxins can bind to your DNA, concealing its original coding. The body sees the “unholy union” and replicates it that way. This alters the way your genes are expressed physically and biochemically, not just for you, but for future generations. For instance, exposure to certain toxins can derail glucose metabolism and contribute to type 2 diabetes, thereby slowing metabolism and causing weight gain.

What surprises a lot of people is that epigenetics may play a bigger role in which traits you exhibit than your own genes (particularly biochemical ones). Scientists now believe that your own DNA contributes less than 10% of the expression of certain traits, while epigenetics influences more than 90%. And prevailing wisdom says it can take one to three generations to return epigenetic alterations back to their original state.

Immune system reaction. Another level of toxin response is how the immune system attacks harmful substances. Through this mechanism, the immune system sees a foreign material that doesn’t belong in circulation. It produces antibodies to fight the foreign material, and attacks the invasion with this TH₂ immune response. This creates another layer of sensitivity – another layer of toxicity. Glyphosate and GMO proteins are prime examples of substances that can set off an immune response.

Along those lines, sometimes the immune system can become so crippled that it can’t even begin to mount an attack on a lingering infection. Detox specialists see this happening in cases where the body’s immunological response to a disease (e.g., antibodies) is used to test for the presence of that disease, instead of measuring pathogens directly. Lyme’s disease is one such condition. In cases like these, clinicians warn patients when starting an intensive detox regimen to prepare for fever and illness, if they may be harboring an infection that was not dealt with adequately before.

Immune system function is collapsed in these people. So, after immune function is restored with advanced detox protocols, the body is then healthy enough to go through the healing process. It’s able to fight the infection and recover from it, rather than isolate it and adapt to side effects. This is a case where untrained observers might mistake fever for a bad thing when, the truth of the matter is, the body knows what it’s doing. And, when it’s strong enough, it will allow the immune system to activate fever and inflammation as healing mechanisms.

These actions and reactions determine your sensitivity to a toxin

Genetics, epigenetics, and immune system reactions are factors of toxin sensitivity that detox specialists are just beginning to get a good handle on. This is where the detoxification field is focused, moving forward: (1) finding the levers and switches that accelerate detoxification processes, (2) resolving immune system reactions by healing and sealing our corrupted guts, and (3) undoing damage to our epigenetic code by ending toxin exposures and addressing nutrient deficiencies.

Synergistic toxicity

Many (perhaps most) toxins react with other toxins, to amplify their combined effect. So instead of one level of toxicity plus another equaling two – we’ll call this “additive” toxicity – two toxins combined might be 3, 10, 100 or 1,000 times as toxic. For example, lead and mercury together are 100 times as toxic as either alone. But, the scary fact is, a tiny fraction of the 50,000+ chemicals introduced in the past hundred years have been tested for long-term toxicity by themselves. And far fewer have been tested for synergistic toxicity when combined with other toxins.

That’s the elephant in the room that medical science, corporate heads, and public health officials shudder to think about, because the damage being done to the world’s population is a train wreck crashing all around us, with potential solutions being few and far between. Indeed, synergistic toxicity is one of the biggest threats we face in our modern world. It’s a major reason why most of us are either sick, suffer from chronic annoyances, or are one or two insults away from a health crisis. And it’s not being talked about outside of the detox profession.

Trans-generational susceptibility

Accumulated exposure to toxins creates trans-generational susceptibility. That’s when the offspring of an exposed parent are at multiplied risk of genetic mutation, injury, and death when exposed to the same amount of toxin as their parents. In other words, the amount of toxin that a person is exposed to at any point in their life, not necessarily their present toxic load, gets passed through epigenetic machinery to posterity so that they are affected “geometrically” more from the same amount. And this happens whether or not parent or child reduces their overall toxic load at some point in their lives.

For instance, scientists have found the first generation of frogs exposed to a given quantity of mercury display ‘X’ level of injury/mutation. But the damage done by that same amount doubles in the second generation, and doubles again in the third generation, until none of them survive. So, instead of gaining a tolerance, as is common with many biological processes, the frogs developed dramatically greater intolerance with each exposure, due to alterations in how toxins affect epigenetic expression.

They displayed increased sensitivity in future generations that makes them far weaker in resisting environmental threats, and correcting genetic defects. Most important in detoxification, this impairs biochemical processes such as detoxification capacity, DNA replication, and energy creation. In frogs, it increases each generation’s risk of physical deformity, behavioral changes, and death – to the point that the entire third generation died.

Of course, skeptics may say that humans have stronger detoxification systems than frogs. And they would be right. But, then again, humans are exposed to more toxins, more often, in greater volumes, and over a much longer lifespan. Put into perspective, most of the Western world is about three generations into widespread use of mercury-based dental amalgams in much of the population. That’s in combination with tens of thousands of other toxins developed since the 1950s.

Could it be that humans have developed an amplified reaction to mercury with each generation exposed, and are experiencing dramatically more health problems as a result, just like frogs do? Is it possible that each generation exposed to our hottest toxins increases psychological and physiological problems, which are now showing up in our public health statistics? Anecdotal evidence is saying it absolutely is.

The 4 Phases of Detoxification

It’s a common misconception that mercury, for example, stays in the body unless some external provocation forcibly extracts it. When, in reality, the body’s own detoxification system is designed to never stop removing mercury. When each phase of the operation is doing its job, the body eliminates toxins roughly as fast as you take them in. And it stores the rest. This is the body’s native detoxification system. Whereas, external detoxification products and programs are designed to assist the body with one or more of these phases, in doing what it does naturally.

Here are the most important steps in the body’s innate detoxification system. Let’s call them “The 4 Phases of Detoxification”

Phase I – Activation. Phase I prepares toxins for processing (mobilization) by making them more reactive. The reason for this is that many toxins are fairly non-reactive inside cells. Heavy metals are the exception. They’re reactive by nature and don’t need activation. Phase I basically turns a toxin into a free radical, making it more toxic.

Phase I is controlled by glutathione through its ability to catalyze reactions. Glutathione is the body’s universal detox agent that’s involved in removing hundreds of toxins from the body. It’s instrumental in detoxification because it’s used as a “substrate” (base material) for the production of many enzymes that catalyze reactions in later stages. Glutathione is also the body’s most potent antioxidant.

Phase II – Mobilization. Phase II mobilizes toxins by prying them off of proteins or fats inside cells, and binding them to an enzyme called “glutathione S-transferase.” This process is called “conjugation,” and the new compound that’s created is called a “conjugate.” The conjugation process allows a toxin to leave a cell, makes it recognizable to the detox proteins in Phase III, and makes it water soluble so it can circulate freely.

Phase III – Transportation. In Phase III, active transport proteins – commonly called “multi-drug resistance proteins” – shuttle toxin conjugates out of the body in several stages. A different transport protein is used at each of these four stages: After being conjugated to glutathione, multi-drug resistance proteins carry the conjugate through cell membranes into the bloodstream (1), another transport protein pulls the conjugate from the blood into the liver (2), and still another protein moves it from the liver into the bile duct of the intestinal tract (3), so they can be passed out of the body (4). The same basic process applies to the kidneys as well. Key point: Substances don’t readily cross cell membranes all by themselves. They need the help of transport proteins, the most important of which are made from glutathione.

Phase IV – Elimination. When the earlier phases are working well, toxins generally don’t have a problem exiting the body. This phase is taken for granted in some people’s minds. But the heavy demands we place on our detox systems today can add a fourth auxiliary category that must be met to complete the detox process. The Elimination phase consists of roads that the detox machinery uses to transport toxins out of the body… that is, unless a traffic jam clogs them up.

• The skin. Toxins can get stuck when exiting the skin, causing itchiness, irritation, rashes, eczema or psoriasis. Sweating and increasing circulation can help move toxins out faster. Avoid skin care products made from toxic ingredients. If you wouldn’t eat a skin care product, use it on your skin sparingly/cautiously.
• The lungs eliminate a lot of toxins through breathing. You can help the body detoxify with more exercise, fresh air, and less pollutants.
• The kidneys collect much of the body’s water-soluble waste from the blood and remove it through the urine. Increase your detoxing capacity by staying well-hydrated and eating less processed food.
• The bowels. The majority of the body’s solid waste material leaves through the bowels. However, most people have some amount of impacted fecal matter in their bowels – particularly autistics and GAPS. So you can facilitate the flow of toxins and prevent reabsorption by getting/taking plenty of prebiotic fiber to sweep the colon clean and feed your probiotic bacteria. Enemas and colonics can produce stunning results. Of course, healing and sealing the gut with the GAPS protocol can help pretty much everything.

Together, The 4 Keys to Detoxification constitute most of your body’s over-all resistance to toxicity because they represent the speed and effectiveness with which your body removes toxins every day. When the productivity of any of these branches drops, your reaction to a given amount of toxin increases because more of it is sticking around and causing trouble.

What might not be obvious in The 4 Keys list is that detoxification involves biochemistry to make transport proteins, and physical equipment working together – including the liver, kidneys and bowels. So “detox pathways” are made up of a series of (1) compounds the body produces, such as glutathione, (2) processes, such as conjugation, and (3) elimination organs such as the kidneys that move material through and out of the body.

Transport proteins are the most important component, at least as far as detox therapy is concerned, because they’re the scarce resource needed to increase your detoxification capacity. They’re the actor that holds up the show when toxins aren’t leaving as fast as you’d like – and the focal point of cutting-edge detox protocols.

The entire detox system depends on glutathione for its function and efficiency. That’s because many compounds and process use glutathione as a raw material or catalyst to move things along. However, glutathione is somewhat powerless by itself. Rather, it’s the most valuable player on a team of detox performers. Glutathione is the backbone, and most important element, of a system that depends on glutathione to keep toxins moving onward and outward.