Why should detoxification support be considered with SIBO? And be very individualized per person?

“Detox” is a big buzzword circling the health industry right now. We see tons of supplements, protocols, fasts, etc being promoted for it.

While some of these protocols are great, many are not, and are pushed too soon in a detoxing regimen. They are also not individualized, and we see the same supplements and pathways being treated consistently for them: glutathione and methylation. 

Oftentimes we need to put our focus elsewhere.

What is happening with detoxification in the body?

All toxins in the body (mold, environmental, endotoxins, metal..) go through the same detox path that’s addressed by the liver to ultimately get turned into a less toxic compound to get excreted from the body.

In order to turn these toxins into less harmful ones, a type of compound has to be added to it to make it more water soluble, which allows it to eventually leave the body through urine or stool. 

Glucuronidation (which I discuss more below) is responsible for 40 to 70% of toxin elimination, and it’s often missed in detox protocols!!

Let’s talk about the first issue:

What happens when detoxification support is pushed too soon?

In this case, the root cause of why it’s needed is not being addressed. Detoxification support is to support the pathways that eliminate toxins from the body. If we are pushing a detox protocol on a sluggish pathway without FIRST removing the harm, then we risk worsening symptoms and re-circulating toxins in the body. 

1. Look into toxic load: environmental toxins, stress, nutrient deficiencies, endotoxins (produced from bacteria overgrowth)
2. REMOVE the harm
3. Add in support

How does this relate to SIBO? This overgrowth of bacteria within the small intestine releases LPS (Lipopolysaccharides) which are inflammatory promoting and actually inhibit phase 2 of our liver detoxification pathway. Without addressing what is continuously burdening the liver and jumping into a detox regimen, we can create more harm than good.

Let’s talk about the second issue: 

There’s a whole other pathway that occurs leading up to producing something called a glucuronide, and this pathway is termed glucuronidation. It takes that glucuronide compound and adds it to a toxin in the body, to help our body ultimately get rid of it.

For those familiar with glutathione, it’s the same thing: glutathione (the body's master antioxidant) is added to a chemical to excrete it from the body.

Glucuronidation is responsible for other things too: metabolizes bilirubin, involved in bile acids, fat soluble vitamins, salicylates, serotonin, melatonin… 

Specifically with bile acids, these are super important for the elimination phase of detox (phase 3), by delivering the toxins to the intestines to be secreted. 

So if someone has impaired glucuronidation, they aren’t able to move toxins into the bile (from the gallbladder) and into the intestines: so taking binders and other detox support supplements will not benefits them since the body is not actually getting the toxins to the place where those supplements would work!

How to know you may need specialized detox (and glucuronidation) support?

• React negatively to Vitamin D supplementation
• Negative reaction to detox support protocols
• Unable to get rid of SIBO/IMO or SIFO
• Suffering from mycotoxin illness
• High reverse T3 on lab work
• Higher than normal bilirubin
• Estrogen dominance 

Need help in your SIBO/IMO, MCAS or toxic load symptoms? Schedule a free discovery call here. 

Happiness & health,

Dr. Steph

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