Natural detox for cancer
Our exposure to cancer-causing chemicals often happens on a completely unconscious level. SinceWorldWarII, morethan 80,000 new synthetic chemicals have entered commercial use. Globally, a new chemical is synthesized on average every 27 seconds.1
Detoxifying these carcinogens from your body is a multistep process where multiple organs mobilize, neutralize, transform and eliminate toxins. The kidneys, intestines, gut microbiota, skin, gallbladder and lungs all play a role. The liver, however, is the primary waste-treatment organ. It’s the dump, so to speak.
Toxins are sent to the liver, sorted and processed according to type. Envision the recycling area of the dump: plastics go in one spot, cans and bottles in another. Similarly, the liver sorts and processes toxic material by type, and the end products are added to the bile produced by the gallbladder. Toxin-infused bile then binds to fiber and is excreted through feces.
Specific nutrients are absolutely required for the proper functioning of the two phases of detox (see box, page 57). When these nutrients (including protein and vitamin C) are not present, the trash collector goes on permanent vacation, and carcinogenic compounds accumulate and circulate throughout the body, causing mutations and cellular damage.
Detoxification depends on nutrition. In fact, the metabolism of toxic chemicals and drugs can be impaired when protein intake is low.2
In addition to all the amino acids in
