What Causes Poor Detox Pathways? 10 Tips on How to Open Detox Pathways 

Unlike popular belief, the word “detox” doesn’t always mean partaking in a restrictive diet or a way to cleanse your body from a fun weekend of binge eating desserts and drinking alcohol. Clearing your detox pathways simply means supporting your body’s natural detox organs daily…without needing to go on a juice cleanse or low-carb diet. But why do you need to clear your detox pathways to begin with?

If you’re dealing with any type of symptoms ranging from headaches to PMS, bloating to feet-dragging fatigue, and even frustrating insomnia, blocked detox pathways could be to blame! 

Now, are you wondering how to open your detox pathways? Well, this article will explain what your prime detox organs are, what factors could be contributing to toxin buildup, and tips to clear your detox pathways. This way, you can ditch those annoying symptoms and get back to feeling like yourself again!

Detox & Drainage Pathways 101

Detoxing is essentially the body “grabbing onto” and removing harmful toxins.

Drainage refers to the movement of these processed toxins out of the body. 

Over time, our drainage pathways can become sluggish or burdened. This can lead to our body’s toxic burden reaching a breaking point and symptoms start arising.

Symptoms of Poor Detox Pathways (aka toxin build-up)

When your body’s toxic burden becomes too much to bear, your body will give you signs that its detox pathways aren’t working optimally and that they need help. These warning signals could be expressed as any of the following symptoms (but not limited to):

• Acne or skin issues
• Stomach pain
• Insomnia
• Brain fog
• Constipation/diarrhea
• Bloating/gas
• Always feeling exhausted
• Depression
• Achy muscles & joints
• Poor immune function
• Feeling yuck after one alcoholic beverage

If left to accumulate, long-term toxin exposure can lead tocardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity just to name a few. 

Main Detox Organs That Rid Your Body of Toxins

Your body has a natural detox system that eliminates environmental toxins, foreign invaders, and even excess estrogen (which can be problematic if not excreted). Six organs make up this detox system:

1. Skin
2. Lymphatic system
3. Liver and bile ducts
4. Lungs
5. Kidneys
6. Gut

Top Sources of Toxins

It’s important to learn where your toxins are hiding and filter them out. It’s also important to buy non-toxic alternatives. I spent countless years and money finding my tried-and-true non-toxic products, which you can access in my free guide.

TheEWG’s website is a great place to explore more information about toxins. 

Feeling Constantly Stressed and “Down” 

Being constantly stressed and experiencing negative emotions and thoughts impact your body more than you think! This negativity can slow down your detox pathways, contributing to the accumulation of toxins that damage cells and cause poor health. 

It’s important to note, that in our modern world, coming into contact with toxins is inevitable. It’s also not realistic to avoid all the things that cause stress, but you can actively manage your stress to help heal your body and make smart choices when you can.

Stressing over everything will actually cause more issues than toxin exposure.

Poor Lifestyle Habits

Your body requires certain things to detox, such as quality sleep, nutrients, movement and more. When it doesn’t get these things, it can all lead to dysfunction and negatively impact the detoxification process.

When you lack sleep, your body will lack energy. It will also more easily put you into fight or flight mode, which decreases or even halts your ability to detoxify.

When you stay inside all day staring at a screen, your body is not getting the vitamin D and nervous system regulation it needs.

When you aren’t eating nutrient-dense foods, your body doesn’t have the tools necessary to detox like protein, vitamins and minerals.

Not Drinking Enough Water 

If you want your body to detox properly, you need to ensure that your body is hydrated every day. Water is the medium that transports toxic waste products out of your body through urine, breath or sweat. If you don’t have enough water, those pathways become sluggish and don’t detox efficiently, allowing build-up. 

It’s also vital to load your body with filtered water versus plastic bottled or tap. If not, you could be adding more toxins to your body!

Opening Your Detox Pathways

1. Choose whole + organic foods, and especially be sure to go organic for foods high on theEWG’s dirty dozen list. Buy from farmers’ markets or grow a little garden in your backyard if you’re up for it! Whole foods cangive your body more antioxidants which can help protect your body in the detox process. 
2. Remove liver loaders like alcohol and medications since they put extra pressure on your liver and detox pathways.
3. Buy non-toxic products to reduce your daily toxic burden. I would start with cleaning products, laundry detergent, and personal care products. I have all my tried-and-true brands in this FREE guide that took me years to develop!
4. Drink more filtered water to support the actual excretion of toxins out of your body, while making sure you aren’t loading up on toxins in drinking water while doing so. Invest in anAquasana water filter (use code AQTDW50) for your home and don’t forget to fill up your water bottle to encourage drinking throughout the day!
5. Eat to support your liver, consuming plenty of plants and protein! Consume cruciferous vegetables every day, which provide organs and detox processes with vital nutrients that act as cofactors tohelp metabolize carcinogens. Indole-3-carbinols from these veggies also encourage your liver to favor estrogen excretion via the 2-OH-E1 pathway. Eat high-quality protein, since your liver needs ample amounts of amino acids for your phase 2 detox pathway, which excretes toxins. This is why juice cleanses alone aren’t ideal — they don’t include enough protein to support this phase of detox. Include grass-fed meat, eggs and wild-caught fish like salmon.Butcher Box is AMAZING for their high-quality meats and seafood.
6. Feed your gut with pre and probiotic foods, which support your gut microbiome and motility, which aids in getting toxins and excess estrogens out. Your gut is a detox organ, so it is important to have daily bowel movements. 
7. Boost your liver with supplementation through antioxidants like glutathione (TDW Glutathione), nutrients like B Vitamins (TDW B Complex), or a liver-supporting herbal blend (TDW Liver Support).
8. Get your sweat on to help release toxins through your skin and encourage lymphatic flow to help get toxins out of your body. HIIT workouts, sauna, and hot yoga are great for this! I love my Sunlighten sauna (use code TAYLORDUKES) and HigherDose sauna blanket and PEMF mat.
9. Dry brush your skin to open your pores and allow heavy metals and BPA to be more easily released when you sweat. This supports your lymph system as well. I love The Skinny Confidential butter brush (use code TAYLORDUKES). 
10. Start using coffee enemas and castor oil packs, which help accelerate the detox process in your liver. I walk you through how to do these two detox practices plus dry brushing and my favorite supplies here.

How to Tell if Your Detox Pathways Need Support

Functional medicine lab testing like urine, stool, and nutrient testing (get access through TDW Community) can give you insight into the health of your detox organs, levels of inflammatory markers in your body, and what toxins are burdening your body. This information can give you a more specific idea of how to open detox pathways in your body, since every person is different. 

You can get access to these tests at a special price through my TDW Community.

Vibrant Total Tox Burden:

Remember that opening your detox pathways doesn’t have to be complicated but it does take a conscious effort to create those healthy habits. Stick with these tips and you’ll start to notice your symptoms start to fade away. I know you can do this!

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