Getting Rid of Toxins

The presence of toxins in the body and the reduced ability of the body to remove toxins produce a number of fairly typical symptoms. Multiple allergies are one common symptom of a toxic load that is beyond the ability of the liver and other organs to clear or detoxify. Indeed, a large percentage of individuals who are overweight do not experience optimal liver function. This results from the fact that toxins and other sources of oxidative stress place an enormous burden upon many systems in the body.

Toxins can promote weight gain in a variety of ways. For instance, toxins can promote fatigue. Fatigue, of course, will tend to prevent individuals from getting the exercise necessary to maintain the proper metabolic rate.

Fatigue prevents training the body to use fat as an energy source. However, there are other less direct ways in which toxins can lead to unwanted weight gain. In particular, toxins can cause a peculiar response by the immune system that can induce water retention and poor hunger control in certain individuals.

The Serotonin Connection

Some toxins come from the outside, such as pesticide residues. Others are produced in the body itself, for example, if the digestive system is not functioning properly.

Normally, the immune system protects us against outside invaders, such as bacteria and viruses. It also functions to rebuild the skin, remove worn out tissues, and many other things. Activation requires the presence of a “trigger” of some sort. However, the immune system is also partially set in motion by a feedback loop in which its own activities can serve as yet new triggers.

Bowel toxemia and other sources of toxicity thus can cause a continuous low-level immune response. This low-level immune response causes inflammation and excessive permeability, not just in the intestinal lining, but in many other tissues. The upshot is swelling and the leakage of fluid into the tissues beyond what should normally be present. It is a source of water retention.

Immune responses, including from allergies, call upon the body’s stores of the substance serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate the appetite control center in the brain. Many diet drugs work by directly or indirectly manipulating serotonin levels in the hypothalamus. One consequence of a toxic buildup in the body and of excessive immune activity in response to toxemia is a reduction in the supply of serotonin available to the body to regulate food intake. Instead, serotonin is used to mediate the response to allergies.

In this schema, which is part of the “food-mood” connection that will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 10, serotonin is linked to food cravings, mood, and energy swings. The cycle goes something like this:

1. The afflicted person eats a food that triggers a low level immune response.

2. This immune response lowers blood levels of serotonin (made from the amino acid trypto-phan), which is involved in inflammation and immune reactions.

3. A reduced level of tryptophan means less serotonin for the brain.

4. This leads to discomfort, mood swings, and hunger.

5. As a result, there are cravings for simple sugars and carbohydrates, in part because these cause the release of insulin, which increases tryptophan levels in the blood and serotonin in the brain.

6. There is now a temporary feeling of well-being.

7. Excess insulin results in a drop in blood sugar, which leads to hunger and low energy, plus the exhaustion of available precursors leads to a drop in brain serotonin levels, which leads to hunger and to a depressed or unpleasant mood.

8. The cycle repeats itself, now either to control blood sugar swings or in response to renewed consumption of a food trigger.

Georgiy Kharchenko, selling: Fastin, ECA STACK, Phentramin D, lipodrene with ephedra