58: The Liver Bucket: How and Why to do a Detox
God made our bodies to be detox machines but things can get backlogged when we overburden our livers with food chemicals, alcohol, OTC and prescription medications, toxic cleaning products and our everyday skin care routine.
It can be helpful to do focused cleanse a few times a year to boost detoxification and better overall liver health. This week’s podcast is all about liver detoxing. Tune in to hear why we’re temporarily cutting animal proteins, supporting bile flow, jumping up and down, changing face creams, drinking special teas and taking cold showers.
EPISODE 58: The Liver Bucket: How and Why to do a Detox
SHOW NOTES
(0:00) Intro
(0:44) Welcome back to the club!
Right now in the CHC we are in the middle of doing a spring liver cleanse.
Two versions:
One is a “detox lite” which is a short, food based detox
The other one is a little more intense. It is based on a purification program I got from my advanced training instructors that they especially use when there is a need to flush excess hormones from the body. Their version is 21-days but we’re doing a 14-day version of it in The CHC.
Now, we’re always detoxifying - that’s how God made our miraculous bodies. But because we can get kind of backlogged with toxins, it’s not a bad idea to do a focused cleanse like this a few times a year and spring and fall are really good times to do it.
(2:20) Detoxing in the transition seasons:
Spring is a time of growth and renewal and Fall is a time of shedding and letting go. Our bodies sync well with these transitions of the season and are more open to cleansing.
The weather is not too hot or too cold - you don’t want to detox in the extremes.
The Earth is generous with provision of new foods and plentiful bounty during the spring and fall. It’s just a good time to Receive well what God offers and honor your Holy Temple with a cleanse.
So that’s what we’re doing, but I have to admit that I have not been looking forward to it at all. 😂
It’s such a departure from how I usually eat because my body does so well on proteins - and the detox removes most animal proteins. Not because they’re “bad” but because they take a lot of digestive power.
The point of removing them is to help the body put more energy into detoxification instead of digestion for a period of time. In Genesis God gives us both plant and animal foods.
Plant foods are helpful for flushing out the body and animal foods are helpful for building the body up. The combination of both is optimal for majority of people. If you listened to the podcast #35 called Diet Denomination, you know that I don’t think extremes of any macronutrient OR choosing plant over animal foods is necessary or a good long-term solution.
Sometimes we do use something more rigid or extreme for therapeutic reasons based on individual health needs. But in the case of this kind of detox, we lighten up on animal proteins to allow the body a break on digestion. We’re still including collagen and bone broth, but nothing that requires a fork.
(6:35) The Liver Bucket
I have this video on youtube called The Liver Bucket that I do to give people a visual of just how much we overload our livers. It’s important that you understand just how much our liver does for us.
It is the workhorse of the body. It performs over 500 functions critical to your health including digesting food, assimilating nutrients, eliminating harmful substances, getting rid of excess hormones and managing energy.
It acts like the ultimate club bouncer - everything that comes in and out of your body has to be checked and processed by the liver whether it’s coming in from your mouth, your skin, or the air.
The excessive burden of toxins and stress takes a toll on your liver. It can become sluggish, allowing toxins and hormones to build up which can lead to chronic inflammation, excessive fatigue, hormonal imbalance, bloating and gas, chemical sensitivities and allergies, skin issues and poor sleep and lots of other badness in your bod.
You need good liver health for just about every function. The liver is like a mama. If the mom ain’t happy, ain’t no one in the house gonna be happy! If your liver ain’t happy, ain’t no organ in your holy house gonna be happy. So that’s why it’s a good idea to do a liver detox a few times a year as part of your health maintenance routine.
I don’t think we realize just how much stuff we ask our liver to deal with in a day’s time.
You get up in the morning you brush your teeth, take a shower with soap, shampoo and maybe conditioner, get out of the shower and maybe use more hair product, put on lotion and deodorant, face serum, sunscreen, makeup and perfume.
Before you’ve even left your bathroom you exposed yourself to 100s of chemicals like formaldehydes, pthalates, parabens, PEGs, synthetic fragrances and all kinds of other stuff.
Did you know that there are over a 1000 ingredients that the European Union bans in their products that the United States does not? Our standards here are way lacking here - there are all of these toxic ingredients in our personal care products that overload our livers and mess with our hormone pathways.
Most people have no idea, don’t even think twice about it because you would assume that if it’s on the shelf, it’s fine, but that’s not the case.
Then you go to your kitchen…
You pour yourself coffee, which is likely loaded with pesticides unless it’s organic. Coffee beans are one of the most pesticide-laden crops.
Then say you have eggs, or an apple with peanut butter, or yogurt, or even a plate of vegetables - even real foods have the potential to be genetically modified or have had pesticides sprayed on them or have an underlying mold problem. But majority of people are not eating real food, they’re eating a lot of processed food and fast food, what we call a Standard American Diet (SAD) - I know you’re not - my sweet listener, because you’re tuned in here, but most people fill their day with junky foods that are absolutely loaded with things that are toxic to the body like high fructose corn syrup, synthetic colors and flavors, vegetable oils, preservatives…and the list goes on an on.
And who knows what you’re breathing in all day long.
Chemical smells from exhaust, cleaning products, your laundry detergent or even candles are all things the liver is forced to process. And if you’re touching those cleaning products as you clean your house you’re both absorbing through your skin and your air pathways.
Keep in mind that skin is our largest organ - it both blocks things out but also absorbs things in. Everything you put on it has the potential to be absorbed into the body. That’s why cleaning and personal care products are so important to consider.
We ladies like our products. We typically have a morning and evening routine that involves quite a few things we slap on the face or body, even the simplest of routines can be toxic overload.
And how about alcohol?
We all know that can be hard on a liver but did you know that the liver prioritizes dealing with alcohol and so it puts other things on the back burner, which means the more you drink, the more your liver may be too busy or able to get rid of the extra hormones circulating in your body or detoxify the MSG that gives you a migraine or get rid of the thing causing your skin condition.
Oh, and every time you take an over the counter or prescription medication - your liver has to detoxify that as well.
So I hope you’re getting the picture here and when I do the Liver Bucket demonstration, I get a bucket which represents the liver and pile all kinds of things in it to give you the visual of the burdensome load you are asking your liver to carry each and every day.
It’s the cumulative effect of what you’re doing day in and day out that puts the liver in crisis mode. And the day comes when your liver is like I’ve had it - and that’s when the health conditions start.
(18:55) Now, the good news is…
God designed our bodies in the most miraculous way in that we are always rebuilding, regenerating and replacing parts.
Our skin cells are always turning over, our gut lining can be renewed and we practically generate a new liver in less than 6 months.
The opportunity for a liver makeover is ongoing.
We can take advantage of this incredible gift by giving some laser-focus love to our livers.
When we do a liver detox, we have a few goals in mind. We want to…
Ease the burden on the liver
Focus on foods that boost liver health for better detoxification
Use support therapies to enhance liver health
(20:22) Goal 1: Ease Liver Burden
The primary strategy here is to eliminate as many toxic things entering your body as possible.
Becoming aware of and removing daily toxins is an ongoing process. What I’m trying to do today is make you aware - I’m trying be the voice of your liver and be like - girrrl - back it up with those toxins coming at me.
There’s a list called the Dirty Dozen that comes out each year that tells you which produce are the most important to buy organic. You don’t have to buy everything organic - but the dirty dozen is a really good place to start.
If you can get rid of the pesticides on just a few of the foods you’re eating regularly, that would be helpful.
If you drink coffee daily, that’s an important one as I mentioned earlier.
Look at the skin and makeup products you use - if you’re about to run out of something, it’s a really good time to try a swap.
You know I use Beautycounter for about 95% of my products, I’m a consultant for them because I love their products and their advocacy.
They have a 60 day return policy.
I try to keep some samples on hand so hit me up if you have a question or want me to pop a sample in the mail to you.
Diffusing essential oils is a better than most candles that contain some toxic ingredients.
Essential oils have other health benefits besides just smelling good.
I primarily use YL, but Doterra is also good and I love Revive oils as well. They have a blend called Peppermint Latte that is my current fave. The other thing to look at replacing or upgrading is your cleaning products.
I love Thieves cleaner from Young Living and I also love Branch Basics.
Episode #44: My Clean Routine
So I know that sounds like a lot of things to switch, but like I said, you don’t have to do it all at once. Do what you can and make progress. A liver detox is just a really good time to be more intentional about making the effort to change.
(26:13) Goal 2: Focus on Foods that Boost Liver Detox Process
As I mentioned in the detox we do in The CHC we’re focusing on mostly vegetables and some fruits but intentionally incorporating ones that are especially good for the liver - beets, leafy greens - especially herbs like parsley and cilantro, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage, asparagus, celery, apples, garlic, avocado.
Teas like green tea and dandelion root are really good for helping detoxification.
Traditional Medicines Everyday Detox Tea
Traditional Medicines Dandelion Tea
Yogi Detox Tea
Yogi Roasted Dandelion Tea
Yogi Egyptian Licorice Root Tea
There are two major phases your liver goes through to detoxify.
In phase one, toxins are made water-soluble by enzymes.
In phase two, toxins are bound to protective chemicals that neutralize them and allow them to be eliminated through bile or urine.
Your body needs a lot of vitamins and minerals to make these phases happen. If either one of these phases are not working properly - which is quite common in people who do not eat enough Real Food - the body cannot detoxify properly. This can be the basis for many illnesses and disease.
If someone who does not eat a healthful diet tries to force a liver detox when these phases aren’t working efficiently, toxins can get trapped and recirculate in the body in a more detrimental way. This is why I am very very cautious when it comes to leading someone through a liver detox.
We do one twice a year in The Christian Health Club as a part of our regular health maintenance and we usually do it right after a round of Feast 2 Fast®
The body must be able to eliminate the toxins once the liver has got them all packaged up and ready go.
The primary ways we do this are through urine, bowels and sweat. This is why it’s key to drink plenty of water, make sure you are pooping daily and breaking a sweat regularly.
The toxins must leave the body or they will recirculate.
because we have been focused on real foods and healthful practices. It can be harmful to try a liver detox if you haven’t been eating well or able to eliminate well. I tell the Club members don’t you dare try a liver detox if you aren’t pooping.
Another key factor we have to consider is your bile flow.
Bile is produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder and it plays a major role in how we break down fatty acids and take toxins out of the body. it is imperative that bile flow is optimal.
Unfortunately It’s not uncommon to not have good bile flow. In a book by Anne Louise Gittleman that I like she says that there is already a 75% bile deficiency by the time allergies, arthritis and inflammation in joints and muscles develop. By the time cancer or chronic illness is diagnosed a 90% deficit has occurred.
So one thing we do when we’re doing a liver detox is purposefully eat foods that stimulate good bile flow - garlic, beets, radicchio, kale, endive, arugula, celery, and radish.
Bitter foods and healthy fats are important to keep bile moving and taking toxins out of the body. It can also be helpful to use a bile supplement during a detox too. And if you don’t have a gallbladder - then it’s a really good idea to use ongoing bile supplementation. That’s been a gamechanger for so many of my clients who don’t have a gallbladder.
It’s much harder to break down fatty acids efficiently when you don’t have a gallbladder because even though your liver still drips out bile, it’s not as efficiently released and timed to break down fat.
Many people without gallbladders often have diarrhea because they just can’t handle fats as well. A bile replacement supplement can be so helpful. But even people WITH gallbladders can have trouble breaking down fats and either have diarrhea or constipation and temporary supplementation can be helpful for that.
I always keep a bile supplement on hand and it’s something I incorporate during a detox but also other times of the year - I usually take it with me on vacation or when I’m holiday eating or if I’ve had more glasses of vino with my girlfriends than I intended to. Because I want to detox all that out.
(35:41) Goal 3: Use Support Therapies To Enhance Liver Health (Detox Boosters)
First and foremost - Our bodies are able to excrete toxins by breathing, sweating, peeing, or pooping.
It is absolutely critical that you get enough water to flush things out through the urine, that you are having a daily bowel movement and that you break a sweat while you’re detoxing.
Practicing some deep breathing is helpful too.
Getting plenty of rest: As the body releases toxins and it can be very fatiguing. You know, we store a lot of our toxins in our fat cells - this is our body’s way of protecting our vital organs.
The more toxic you are, the more fat your body will want to hang onto to keep you protected. It’s why we have to look at all sources of incoming toxins - from food to chemicals we may be breathing in, to lotions we put on our body.
Rest is vitally important. We do most of our “heavy-lifting” detoxifying when we are asleep. So if you don’t get enough sleep, you are missing out on major detoxification time.
(39:41) Some bonus actions you take to help your body detoxify are:
Dry brushing - that’s something that you do before you get into the shower or bath to stimulate lymphatic flow.
Epsom salt baths
Charcoal mask - as your body releases toxins you may start breaking out. Remember that we can purge toxins through the skin. Beautycounter’s charcoal mask is one of my favorites to help pull the junk out of the skin.
Dry or Infrared sauna - if you have that available to you it’s an awesome way to help the body release toxins by sweating or stimulating internal detoxification with infrared light.
You’ve probably heard me talk about or seen me use my Joovv light panels - they are red and infrared light panels that I have hanging on the back of my laundry room door. There are SO many health benefits to using them and detoxification is a biggie.
Using a rebounder or vibration plate - also known as the shaker to promote Lymphatic Drainage:
The Lymph system is like the body’s highway for toxins.
Jumping up and down like on a rebounder or a mini trampoline, shaking on the vibration plate or dry brushing help speed up our toxin highway to get them out more quickly.
Essential oils that promote detoxification:
Citrus oils are really good for that. There’s a specific liver detox blend that I like that’s made by Vibrant Blue Oils - the woman who owns that company is an NTP like I am and she makes EO blends based on the foundational healing therapies that we use when working with clients.
Hot and cold therapy is very effective when it comes to detox:
This is one that I tell myself I want to do but have a hard time applying. It’s basically alternating hot and cold water in the shower. You stand under cold water for 20 seconds, then hot for like 10, then back to cold for 20 - you do several rounds of this. But oh I hate cold showers! I love scalding hot water.
I’ve done this a few times if I’m already hot from working out - that’s about the only time I can stand it. If you don’t mind super cold showers, then maybe this would be something easy for you to apply.
You may have heard of people doing cold plunges first thing in the morning. Tony Robbins - famous motivational speaker - starts every day with a cold plunge into like 50-something degree water. Crazy!
(48:11) Supplements:
I’m always kind of hesitant to be specific about supplements unless I’m working with someone directly or unless it’s in The Christian Health Club FB group - which is where we apply all of these activities I’m always talking about here on the podcast. Whether its Feast 2 Fast®, liver detoxes, Self-Coaching Christians, nutritional assessments - there are so many cool things we do together.
There is an ACTUAL Christian Health Club and anyone who has done Feast 2 Fast® is eligible to join. F2F is the first step because I need you to understand the principles of metabolic flexibility.
We’re about to start our next round of Feast 2 Fast at the beginning of May for our Summer Slim Down round and our scripture focus is The Purpose of the Body. So if you’re interested in being in The CHC and want to do F2F and get ready for summer then you can click here to sign up!
What I can tell you that we’re using as far as supplements go is bile support - like I was explaining earlier, we’re using a broad spectrum detox support supplement from Metagenics that has Vitamins A, D, E, C and B.
I also like the desiccated liver pills from Vital Proteins - I think that’s a good one to rotate in on a regular basis. Actually, it would just be better to eat liver which is one of the most nutritious foods you can put in your mouth but many people are not fans or are too chicken to try it. But the liver pills are chock-full of nutrients.
Binder- something like activated charcoal (because liver detoxes will liberate stored toxins for your body to excrete them. Binders will help absorb those toxins so they are eliminated properly instead of recirculating in your circulation.) - GI detox or chlorella
We’re using a homeopathic liquid lymph support supplement.
A Probiotic - you know I love Just Thrive and they will give you a 15% discount when you use the code Chelsea15.
Magnesium
Digestive support as needed
I’ll be sharing some of the things I’m doing and using in IG stories this week so if you want to follow and check it out, then come on over rover.
IG: @thechristiannutritionist
(54:09) Changing our home and skin care products.:
I ask The CHC members to identify either the top 3 products they use the most and/or what they’re about to run out of and start replacing with cleaner options.
You know you can always go to EWG app and scan your products to see how they rate as far as toxicity.
(55:30) Closing thoughts:
Remember that we are made to be detox machines but that we can step things up when we get really focused and intentional about it.
Incorporating any of the things we talked about today - whether it’s eating mostly clean veggies and fruits for even just three days, or removing some of the harmful cleaning chemicals or skin products from your routine, or dry brushing before you get into the shower….on their own, any of these steps is awesome for your liver.
When we designate a specific time to do as many of them simultaneously as we can - we can seriously up our liver and overall health.
So I would ask you - What’s in your liver bucket?
Think about what you’re asking your liver to deal with on the daily and consider what you can take out, upgrade or replace.
And remember that you can follow me this week in Instastories (@thechristiannutritionist) and I’ll be sharing some of the things I’m doing and using.
And finally, don’t forget to sign up for Feast 2 Fast®: Summer Slim down which starts in less than 2 weeks! We won’t do another one until after summer so don’t miss it and don’t miss the chance to join the Christian Health Club because we’re doing a lot of cool stuff this summer that focuses on customizing macros and fasting.
Alright my friends, thank you for sharing this time with me. Remember to give your liver some love and have a healthy and blessed week.
(57:56) Outro & Disclaimer
Thanks for listening! Have a healthy and blessed week!