How well is your liver detoxifying the ubiquitous chemicals in your environment?

This blog post explains one way in which the detoxification function of your liver can be assessed with functional medicine.

Many people seeking acupuncture in Del Mar, CA and acupuncture in La Jolla, CA are also highly interested in methods of liver detoxification to assist with a healthy metabolism and to counter the effects of environmental pollution. While we can lower our overall toxicity load by choosing organic food as often as possible, drinking filtered water, and avoiding chemical cleaning agents, we are still exposed to a countless number of pollutants every day. Of course, we don’t need to live in a bubble to stay healthy in a toxic world. Our built-in detoxification mechanism, orchestrated by our liver and kidneys, works around the clock to metabolize toxic compounds into waste products to be excreted. However, exposure to high amounts of certain chemicals can hinder complete detoxification and cause symptoms of disease in the body.

 

There are a few different ways that functional medicine can assess your body’s toxic burden and ability to detoxify completely. One test looks at specific organic acids that are excreted in your urine. Here is a brief explanation of the organic acids that are found in urine, and what they indicate about toxic load and detox ability.

2-Methylhippurate is a detoxification product that your body produces in response to xylene exposure. It is produced during phase 2 of detoxification in the liver by the conjugation of glycine. Xylene is a chemical found in gasoline, jet fuel, paints and paint thinners, new carpet, new car upholstery, degreasers and solvents, and in dry cleaning fluid. If high amounts of 2-Methylhippurate are found in your urine, you should take a supplement containing panthothenic acid and glycine, and avoid xylene exposure as much as possible. You can obtain therapeutic amounts of glycine from consuming bone stocks and gelatin (from grass-fed, organically grown animals).

Another organic acid found in urine is orotate. This is a detoxification product of ammonia. If you have high amounts of it in your urine, you might have an arginine deficiency or magnesium deficiency, or you may be eating too much meat for your body to handle. If you suffer from hypertension, impaired insulin production, and/or hair loss, you might consider supplementing with arginine.

Glucarate, which is produced during phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification, is an indicator of your overall hepatic function. Drugs, food additives, alcohol, tobacco, moth balls, and pesticide and herbicide exposure can cause you to have high levels of glucarate. Symptoms of high levels of exposure can range from headaches and chronic fatigue to muscle pain and mood disorders.

X-hydroxybutarate is produced in response to glutathione production, and high amounts of it indicate a lot of oxidative stress happening in the body. Oftentimes, chronic oxidative stress is caused by daily use of certain prescription drugs, pathogenic bacteria in the gut, or exposure to xenobiotics. Conditions such as autism, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, radiation poisoning, fatty liver, and extreme endurance training can cause increased glutathione turnover as well.

This is not a complete list of the organic acids that can be analyzed, nor is this the only way that functional medicine can measure your toxic load and detoxification ability. If you are interested in acupuncture for residents of Del Mar, CA and surrounding areas, be sure and ask us about our detoxification testing and protocols during your visit.