Why Detoxing Is Necessary (and Why It’s Not a Scam)
You’ve probably heard someone say, “Your body detoxes itself. Detoxes are a scam.”
And in one sense, they’re right.
Your liver, kidneys, lungs, skin, and gut are beautifully designed to filter and excrete toxins all day, every day. The problem isn’t that your body forgets how to detox or that it only does it if you help it. The problem is the sheer amount of chemicals it’s up against in today’s world.
There are now over 100,000 man-made chemicals in our environment (some report up to 350,000!)—chemicals our grandparents never had to contend with. They’re in our food, water, cleaning products, personal care items, furniture, and even the air we breathe.
Most of these chemicals have not been thoroughly studied, and the ones that have, are often studied individually, not together.
It’s like saying one piece of candy won’t hurt you (true), but we’re essentially eating 1,000 pieces of candy every day. That will absolutely wreck your health. The cumulative effect is what overwhelms our system.
And if you’re still skeptical, here’s what firmly convinced me that detoxes were effective: you can test it. Environmental labs can measure the toxins in your system before and after a functional medicine detox. My mentor has done thousands of these labs and consistently sees a huge change after detoxing. The numbers don’t lie—levels drop when you give your body real, effective support.
How the Body Detoxes (When It Works the Way It Should)
Your detox pathways are like a busy highway system. The liver is the central hub. The liver does a lot in the body (more than most people realize), but it’s most known as being our main filter. But it’s not as simple as toxins enter in then *poof* they’re gone. It’s a process that requires specific nutrients and open pathways.
Phase 1 Detox (the breakdown stage):
The first part of detoxification is known as Phase One. The liver takes harmful toxins and breaks them into smaller compounds so they’re easier to eliminate. However, these compounds are often more reactive and damaging than the original toxin. Which is why completing this process is so important. Phase 1 requires B vitamins, antioxidants (like vitamin C and glutathione), and other nutrients to run properly.
Phase 2 Detox (the packaging + shipping stage):
During this phase, the liver attaches those reactive compounds to molecules that make them safe and water-soluble so they can leave the body through urine, sweat, or stool. This process needs amino acids (glycine, taurine, cysteine), sulfur compounds from cruciferous veggies, and minerals like magnesium and selenium.
What happens if you don’t have those nutrients?
You get a traffic jam. Phase 1 keeps churning out reactive intermediates, but Phase 2 doesn’t have the “supplies” to finish the job, OR your detox pathways are clogged and everything gets stuck. In this case, toxins will recirculate or get stored in fat and tissues, waiting for “someday” to be cleared. That “someday” often never comes.
When the Body Gets Stuck
Here’s what happens when your detox system can’t keep up:
Constipation means toxins get reabsorbed.
Poor lymph flow means stagnation.
Your skin takes over → breakouts, rashes, body odor.
Fatigue, brain fog, and hormone imbalances creep in.
There are so many symptoms that can show up because of toxicity. It can be the start of so much dis-ease in the body. But it’s not because there’s something broken in how your body detoxes—it’s because it’s completely overloaded and often lacks the nutrients it needs to do its job.
Stress, Survival Mode, and Detox
There’s another piece no one talks about that has a massive impact: stress.
When your body senses danger, the hypothalamus shifts resources to short-term survival. Blood moves to your muscles, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, and your digestion slows way down. That’s so your body can fight or flee from whatever danger is in front of you.
Detox takes a back seat because in those moments, your body isn’t prioritizing long-term healing—it’s focused on getting you through the next five minutes.
If you stay in this state long term, your gut slows, nutrient absorption weakens, and the liver doesn’t get the building blocks it needs for detox. Over time, that survival mode leads to toxic buildup.
This is why you can be eating all the “right” things and have all the “right” habits but still get sick or not heal. When you’re stuck in a stressed state, your body will continue to stay focused on your safety, not your long term health.
How Toxicity Triggers a Dysregulated Nervous System
Here’s the other piece in the puzzle.
When toxins build up, they trigger inflammation in the body. That inflammation releases chemical messengers (cytokines) that signal the hypothalamus—the brain’s command center for safety. The hypothalamus interprets those signals as danger, which keeps your nervous system stuck in fight, flight, or freeze… even if your life looks calm on the outside.
That’s why so many people feel anxious, exhausted, wired but tired, or disconnected and can’t figure out why. Sometimes, it isn’t “just stress.” It’s the toxic load hijacking the stress response.
This is also why stressing about toxicity only does more damage. The answer is not to obsess over every single potential toxin you might come into contact with, but the answer is also not to put your head in the sand and ignore all the warnings because “everything causes cancer so who cares.”
The answer is finding the balance. Lower your toxic load as much as you reasonably can, and then support your body’s detox pathways to filter out the rest.
Everyday Detox Support
This is why supporting your detox pathways is so crucial for overall health!. Small, simple habits are what help keep the pathways moving. And guess what? They’re so many of the things we already know we should be doing:
Hydrate with clean, filtered water.
Eat cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts).
Get enough protein (especially sulfur-rich amino acids).
Move your body daily—exercise and sweat.
Support your lymph with movement. Get extra support with dry brushing or rebounding.
Get outside and breathe deeply.
Prioritize daily bowel movements (fiber, magnesium, hydration).
These daily practices make the biggest difference. We can’t always control what we’re exposed to, but we are absolutely in control of our habits.
In addition to this, doing something like a functional medicine detox can be key to lowering your toxic load.
Why I Choose Seasonal Functional Medicine Detoxes
Everyday detox support keeps things flowing, but seasonal detoxes are like hitting the reset button.
A well rounded functional medicine detox gives your body exactly what it needs to run both Phase 1 and Phase 2 efficiently. It gives your liver the nutrients to keep traffic moving, your gut the support to eliminate waste, and your nervous system a break from the chemical chaos.
I’ve seen it firsthand in myself and my clients. Energy returns, brain fog lifts, mood stabilizes, digestion improves, and labs confirm that toxin levels actually drop.
I’ve been doing a functional medicine detox 3-4 times a year for many years now and every time it shocks me how amazing I feel afterward. I’ve tried many different detoxes or cleanses throughout the years, but since understanding exactly how detox works in the body, I’ve stuck to the one that fully supports everything the body is already trying to do. And this fall, I’m inviting you to join me.
Join the Fall Group Detox
If you’ve been feeling sluggish, anxious, foggy, or stuck, this is your chance to reset in a safe, supported way. We’ll go through it together as a group, step by step, with accountability and guidance.
It’s only 7 days, but I often see people’s skin clear, they’ll drop a few pounds, feel lighter, more energized, and after feeling so good, you want to continue making good choices for your body so it completely shifts your overall trajectory.
If you’ve ever wanted to try a detox but felt intimidated, this is a great way to start. It’s gentle and very simple, yet incredibly effective.
Your symptoms are not signs of a broken body—they’re your body calling out for help. Let’s give it the support it needs!
