The latest trend in alternative medicine is a “cleanse” or a “detox”. While most of us have an understanding of the definition of detoxification, the process in the body is usually unknown and often misunderstood by the general public. The confusion is compounded by differing opinions on the viability of such approaches. The truth is, the science behind detoxification is real.
All organisms are exposed to unavoidable external toxins (known as xenobiotics) in our environment as well as internal toxins as the by-products of metabolism. By design, our bodies are capable of handling these toxins through complex systems of detoxification, thereby decreasing the negative impact of these toxins on our bodies. However, the real story is a little more complicated than that. The majority of these toxic products are fat-soluble, especially those more resistant to breakdown, which enables easy penetration into our cells but also makes their elimination much more difficult.
