Importance of detox before a weight loss diet

After the holidays, and at the end of January, our body asks us for a complete reset, a detox to start the year off right.
Celebratory meals are usually loaded with fats, sugars, additives, and tremendous amounts of calories that can affect the normal functioning of our body.

That is why before starting a weight loss or healthy eating diet, it is necessary to “empty our body of toxins”, so that everything can flow correctly.

Detox for our greatest purifying organ

Detox diets are interventional strategies that aim to facilitate the elimination of toxins and weight loss, thereby promoting health and well-being.
Previously, in another post on our blog we talked about the different stages or stages of the internal detox process in our body.

The liver is a vital organ involved in a host of functions, including the production of plasma and bile proteins, the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids, and the synthesis of urea.
In addition, this organ is primarily responsible for the detoxification of xenobiotics, including drugs and toxic endogenous compounds.
The detoxification process, also known as xenobiotic metabolism, involves at least two phases with different reactions: in phase I of the internal detox process, toxic products are transformed into intermediate forms more accessible for phase II.
These intermediate forms are much more chemically active and therefore more toxic.

The chemical reactions involved in the metabolism of drugs and other toxins usually convert these substances into more water-soluble metabolites, which facilitates their eventual excretion in urine and feces.

Glutathione reductase is a flavoprotein that catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of glutathione disulfide (GSSG) to reduced glutathione (GSH).
The reaction is essential for the maintenance of glutathione levels.
Glutathione has a major role as a reducer in oxidation-reduction processes and serves in detoxification and other important cellular functions.
Reduced glutathione will be used by glutathione peroxidase for the reduction of peroxide and lipoperoxides, which are reactive oxygen species.
This enzyme plays an important role in antioxidant defense and its presence is highly widespread in different tissues and organs. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0076-6879(85)13062-4

Some common drugs can be harmful

Paracetamol hepatotoxicity, for example, is the leading cause of drug-induced liver failure.
Although some of the mechanisms of acetaminophen-induced liver cell injury are not yet fully understood, some studies suggest that the formation of reactive metabolites, glutathione depletion, and alkylation of proteins, especially mitochondrial proteins, are critical initiating events for toxicity.
Members of the Bcl-2 family, Bax and Bid, form pores in the outer mitochondrial membrane and release intermembrane proteins, e.g., apoptosis-inducing factor and endonuclease G, which then move into the nucleus and initiate chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation, respectively.
Mitochondrial dysfunction, due to covalent binding, leads to the formation of reactive oxygen and peroxynitrite, which trigger the transition of membrane permeability and the collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential.
In addition to the decreased ability to synthesize ATP, more endonuclease G and AIF are released.
Endonuclease G, together with an activated nuclear Ca2+-dependent endonuclease, Mg2+, cause DNA degradation, which prevents cell recovery and regeneration.
DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/kfi336

It is at this time that our body will benefit from the use of Active detox, a supplement specially designed to provide the components that are needed to achieve a good result in our detox process.
Below, we will briefly outline some of its most important assets:

• Chlorella algae provides proteins and amino acids – such as glutamic acid – which are essential for glutathione synthesis.
• Cysteine is an amino acid with a thiol group that is easily oxidizable due to its ability to undergo redox reactions.
  This gives cysteine excellent antioxidant properties.
  When administered orally, it is a chelator of toxic elements.
  Cysteine, along with glycine and glutamic acid are essential for glutathione synthesis, particularly in the presence of vitamins C and E.
• Silybum marianum, better known as milk thistle, is an excellent adjuvant in antioxidant processes, as well as being hepatoprotective.
  The seeds and fruits of this plant contain a flavonolignano complex called silymarin, whose active compounds include silybin, isosilybin, silicristan, dihydroslybin, silydianin, and several more.

Multiple signaling pathways associated with oxidative stress and inflammation are the common molecular targets of milk thistle. In addition, flavonolignons are potential agonists of PPARγ and ABCA1, inhibitors of PTP1B (protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B), and metal chelators. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113709

In addition, it induces the activity of enzymes responsible for the synthesis of reduced glutathione (GSH) and other antioxidant enzymes and is a cofactor of several mitochondrial enzymes.

This plant, of wide geographical extension, would act as a protector against toxins in people with alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver disease associated with metabolism, viral hepatitis and drug-induced liver injury.
DOI:10.3390/medicines6010041

• Lipoic acid is a powerful endogenous and exogenous antioxidant.
  It is a disulfide compound soluble in both water and oil.
  The reduced form, dihydrolipoic acid, representing the active metabolite, increases glucose utilization in the mitochondria by supplying acetyl-CoA for acetylcholine production https://doi.org/10.3164/jcbn.11-005FR
• As if this were not enough, it has the property of regenerating other antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, in addition to reduced glutathione.
  In turn, lipoic acid regulates several processes, such as nucleic acid synthesis and energy production, through the citric acid cycle. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0891-5849(97)00371-7
• S-adenosyl-L-methionine – another component of Active Detox – is an endogenous molecule with hepatoprotective properties linked to redox regulation and methylation.
  The potential therapeutic value of SAMe was tested in 17 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, where an increase in glutathione production was seen. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbadis.2020.165895

The microbiota is extremely important

The gut microbiota, often referred to as a superorgan, comprises up to a hundred trillion microorganisms, and species diversity can vary from person to person.
These beneficial bacteria play a decisive role in various biological functions related to metabolism, immunity and neurological responses.
The gut microbiota has recently emerged as a potential target for therapeutic applications to prevent and treat obesity and its associated comorbidities.

Recent studies show that there is an ongoing interaction between heavy metals and the microbiome. Exposure to heavy metals slows growth and changes the structure of the phyla involved in the gut microbiome.
Meanwhile, the gut microbiome tries to detoxify heavy metals by altering physiological conditions, gut permeability, and enhancing enzymes to metabolize heavy metals. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126676

That is why, along with a detox program, it is necessary to take care of and improve our intestinal flora, providing pro- and prebiotics, which can be found in Active Flora, whose description can be read here.

Conclusion

As with any other procedure, a series of steps must be followed to improve the efficiency of the process, and our body is no exception.
At this point we would like to recall the toxic barrel theory, which suggests that our body is able to tolerate large amounts of toxins without them visibly affecting the general functioning, but there comes a point when the barrel fills up and begins to spill.
That’s when we see the symptoms caused by toxins.

There are different ways to do it, but it is always good to start at the beginning, draining excess toxins (with Active Foods Prickly Pear Powder), providing antioxidants and substances that add added value in the elimination of free radicals, either from oxygen, as well as species from other reagents.