Cleanest Sunscreens of 2025 | Sunscreen for Face and Body
We know that UV exposure supports nervous system regulation and healing, circadian rhythm, and the production of vitamin D, all of which are essential to optimal health.
On the other hand, we know that even if there is no concrete evidence that sun exposure causes cancer, sunburns are painful and pain is a symptom of damage or dysfunction in the body.
Nutritionist-recommended sunscreens for face and body
You may have heard a saying in the wellness world that if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin. I agree, although that’s a bit of an oversimplification. I’ll explain the ins and outs of it in this article so you can make a better-informed decision about which sunscreen you’ll be coated with this summer (if any!).
Hi friends. I’m Hilary Beckwith, ex-dieter and holistic nutrition expert. Clients come to see me with signs of adrenal stress and inflammatory conditions, and my job is to find the root causes so we can address their symptoms more effectively and fill in the gaps between what their doctor is saying and what their body is saying. Click here to read my Medical Disclaimer.
In this article, you’ll learn:
benefits and risks of sun exposure
what goes on your skin is just as important as what goes into your body
health effects of phthalates and parabens
my favorite sunscreen products
is sunscreen for your face really necessary?
It’s probably not news to you that humans need sunlight for vitamin D production. Sunlight exposure is an essential component of human health. It regulates circadian rhythm and sleep, it’s been shown to improve recovery after surgery and illness, and, yes, it’s essential to vitamin D production and metabolism [1] which is important for bone health and immune function.
What’s really interesting is that we’ve never had concrete evidence that sun exposure causes skin cancer. Similar to the misinformation you’ve heard about cholesterol and veganism, somewhere in our history, someone caught wind that sun exposure might be correlated to the development of melanoma (skin cancer), and it was heavily publicized without providing all the information.
And we just ran with it.
Here’s what the research on sunscreens and sun exposure does show [2]:
non-burning, chronic sun exposure actually reduces the risk of melanoma, and has other health benefits
sunburns double the risk of melanoma development
association between reduced sun exposure (more indoor activities and workspaces) and increased melanoma development
association between reduced vitamin D levels and reduced sun exposure
no concrete evidence that chemical sunscreens reduce the risk of melanoma
Some experts speculate based on this research that the increase in melanoma over the past century may actually be due to reduced immune capability and increased toxicity, not from sun exposure.
It’s a matter of balance, right?
We know that UV exposure supports nervous system regulation and healing, circadian rhythm, and the production of vitamin D, all of which are essential to optimal health.
On the other hand, we know that even if there is no concrete evidence that sun exposure causes cancer, sunburns are painful and pain is a symptom of damage or dysfunction in the body.
So, is sunscreen for your face and body really necessary?
I would say - if you know you are going to be exposed to the sun for an long period of time, know you are at risk of sunburn, or have very fair skin, then yes, sunscreen is a good idea. Based on the data I’ve seen and will reference in this post, sunscreen for your face and body when there is a chance of sunburn will help reduce the risk of melanoma.
the dirty truth about SPF
SPF 50?
More like SPF iffy… (you’re welcome).
Did you know that a large number of sunscreen manufacturers’ SPF claims (sun protection factor) are inaccurate? The bottle might say SPF 50, but are you really getting that amount of protection?
When the EWG (Environmental Working Group) discovered this huge discrepancy in 2021, they began holding sunscreen manufacturers accountable by testing sunscreens for SPF accuracy in addition to their primary work of testing the effects of various ingredients.
Thanks to that work, we are starting to see more accurate SPF claims.
“if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin”
This is a lovely ideology, albeit a bit oversimplified. Even the cleanest of sunscreens contains ingredients I wouldn’t necessarily put in my food, such as titanium dioxide and caprylyl glycol.
So you look for the “safe for kids and pets” claim on your sunscreen, but relying solely on this claim for sunscreen is not enough. We need to become better informed about what is considered “safe” by regulating agencies and how they are impacting our health.
So, yes, “if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin” might be a better guideline than “safe for kids and pets”. But the spirit of this ideology is to choose products that don’t contain sh*t that’s toxic to your health (and harmful to the environment, BTW).
but, why?
Ingredients in products that touch your skin - lotions, soaps, cosmetics, laundry detergents, sunscreens, even the clothing you wear - pass through your skin and directly into your bloodstream. Any harmful ingredients contained in these products, be they plastics, parabens, phthalates, dyes, metals, petroleum, or harmful nanoparticles from certain minerals and metals, may circulate through your body completely before finally being filtered through your liver and dealt with accordingly.
Harmful ingredients in food, however, are filtered through your liver as part of the digestive process before circulating through your body.
That goes without saying, if your liver is overburdened by the vast amount of toxins you are exposed to through food, clothing, cosmetics, or other elements, it doesn’t matter if you eat it or bathe in it. In fact, you may already have symptoms of an overburdened liver without knowing it.
So when it comes to choosing a sunscreen for the face and body - give your liver a break. Start choosing better.
ingredients to avoid
When it comes to choosing clean sunscreens for your face and body, it may be obvious to avoid artificial dyes, colorings, and scents. Those are the easy ones to spot, and possibly the more obvious to you as a consumer. You wouldn’t eat it, so why put it on your skin?
The more insidious ingredients to avoid are phthalates and parabens.
Let’s take a look at why.
health effects of phthalates
Phthalates (pronounced THAL-ayt) are a class of chemicals added to sunscreens as well as many other products, used to make a product more flexible and pliable without breaking.
Phthalates are not only found in sunscreens - they are in many cosmetics, lotions, hair products, and even foods, such as dairy and dairy substitutes, breads, beverages, and even meats.
Why should you avoid them?
There has been a lot of research on the health effects of phthalates, and why they are still allowed in products we use on a daily basis, I do not understand.
PHTHALATES HAVE BEEN FOUND TO [3,4,5]:
increase oxidative stress (inflammation!)
increase insulin resistance (although this was a small study - more research is needed)
cause pre-term birth and low birthweight
f*ck with female sex hormones (where my PCOS gals?)
decrease testosterone and sperm count in men
inhibit neurodevelopment
HOW TO KNOW IF PHTHALATES ARE IN YOUR SUNSCREEN
Chances are you will not find “phthalates” on the ingredients list of your sunscreen, or any other cosmetics or foods. In sunscreen specifically, the most common phthalate used is called diethyl phthalate (DEP). You may also see them listed as “fragrance” or “parfum”.
Avoid sunscreens with these ingredients listed.
health effects of parabens
Parabens are an artificial preservative commonly found in personal care products, meaning lotions, hair products, shampoos, conditioners, laundry detergents, and yes, sunscreens. Parabens are also found in many processed foods.
Why are parabens used so abundantly? They prevent bacteria and mold from growing, which increases shelf life of many products (so convenient!).
There has been a lot of good research on parabens and their effects on human health and the environment over the past 10-15 years. Here’s what you should know about parabens:
PARABENS ARE ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING CHEMICALS:
Parabens are classified as EDCs, or endocrine-disrupting chemicals. This means they disrupt the normal hormone functions of the human body.
PARABENS AND ESTROGEN:
Parabens mimic reproductive hormones and glucocorticoid hormones (hormones that modulate blood sugar levels). An article from Science Direct states, “They have a structure equivalent to estrogen and can potentially block nuclear receptors for androgens, progesterone, estrogens, glucocorticoids, and others.” [6]
These disruptions include infertility, decreased sperm count, PCOS symptoms, and, although no human studies have been published as of yet, parabens has been seen to cause poor reproductive development in animals.
PARABENS CAUSE OBESITY:
Parabens cause obesity. Their interference with glucocorticoids interferes with the body’s normal ability to regulate sugar, which influences fat tissue. This may also be related to PCOS, as the two systems are strongly intertwined.
NEARLY EVERYONE IS EXPOSED TO PARABENS:
An alarming 99% of urine samples tested in a 2005 study found levels of methyl-paraben metabolytes [7]. The study also found that 92% of the samples contained propyl-paraben, 42% ethyl-paraben, and 47% butyl-parabens. These parabens comprise four of the six most commonly used parabens in foods and personal care products today.
THE FDA DENIES EVIDENCE OF HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS OF PARABENS:
As of the date this post was written, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says very clearly on their website [8], “At this time, we do not have information showing that parabens as they are used in cosmetics have an effect on human health.” This, despite the alarming amount of research I’ve referenced in this post alone…
I admit my lack of trust in the FDA is a bias of mine. I trust credible research, and I can only read research that is published and accessible. The FDA also approves many things that are very clearly harmful to human health (lookin’ at you, glyphosate!), and yet also does not approve therapeutic support from things like nutritional supplements and laser therapy. I encourage you to look at these studies yourself - don’t take my word for it.
Screenshot taken 7/2/2025 of the FDA’s remarks on parabens’ effects on human health.
PARABENS AND BREAST CANCER:
There has been a lot of research on parabens’ association with breast cancer and how it can influence carcinogens, and the studies do look promising. But nothing concrete has come of them yet. We need more and better studies before I would feel comfortable making that claim.
my favorite products
I hope I have provided some great tools to help you decide for yourself which sunscreens you feel great about using this summer. For those of you who want more guidance, click that button below to download my personal and professional recommendations for clean sunscreen products (plus get a 20% discount in my shop).
learn something new?
What are your favorite clean sunscreens for face and body? Share your favorites in the comments below.
NUTRITION SERVICES
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
BLOG REFERENCES
Joseph, Anjali. “Impact of Light on Outcomes in Healthcare Settings.” The Center for Health Design, The Center for Health Design, 16 Oct. 2012, www.healthdesign.org/chd/research/impact-light-outcomes-healthcare-settings.
Hoel, David G, et al. “The Risks and Benefits of Sun Exposure 2016.” Dermato-Endocrinology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 19 Oct. 2016, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5129901/.
Eales, J, et al. “Human Health Impacts of Exposure to Phthalate Plasticizers: An Overview of Reviews.” Environment International, Pergamon, 30 Sept. 2021, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412021005286.
Wang, Yufei, and Haifeng Qian. “Phthalates and Their Impacts on Human Health.” Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 May 2021, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8157593/.
Arrigo, Federica, et al. “Phthalates and Their Effects on Human Health: Focus on Erythrocytes and the Reproductive System.” Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology, Elsevier, 5 May 2023, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S153204562300100X.
Chatterjee, Sovona, et al. “Parabens as the Double-Edged Sword: Understanding the Benefits and Potential Health Risks.” Science of The Total Environment, Elsevier, 30 Sept. 2024, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969724067032.
Calafat, Antonia, et al. “Urinary Concentrations of Four Parabens in the U.S. Population: Nhanes 2005-2006.” Environmental Health Perspectives, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 4 Jan. 2010, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20056562/.
Commissioner, Office of the. “Parabens in Cosmetics.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, 25 Feb. 2022, www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/parabens-cosmetics.
Reasons Why You’re not Losing Weight | How to Lose Weight Fast
What if I told you that calorie tracking was making it harder for you to lose weight?
What if I told you there is viable research to show that calorie restriction actually slows your metabolism over time?
I’m about to share with you the top four reasons you struggle to lose weight. These are the first things I look for in clients who tell me they want to lose weight fast.
Weight loss programs are not working for you. here’s why.
It is no surprise that the phrase “how to lose weight fast” is searched and average of 246 thousand times on Google at the time this was written.
Our weight impacts how we feel about ourselves. It makes us feel inadequate, unappealing, and unhealthy and causes us to worry about how we are going to show up for others.
As a holistic nutritionist, I am not an advocate for weight loss programs as a measure of health.
But as a sufferer of disordered eating behaviors and body dysmorphia, I can relate to the negative feelings that often come with weight gain.
HERE’S HOW IT OFTEN LOOKS:
You gain some weight, you put in the legwork, you track the calories, and you hit the gym 5 days a week. And for a while, it works! You lose unwanted pounds!
It feels good!
And then out of nowhere, it stops. The weight stops shedding, and you’re wondering why the work you’re doing isn’t paying off anymore.
You think:
what am I doing wrong?
what’s wrong with me?
this happens every time
____ can eat anything they want and stay thin - why do I have to try so hard?
What if I told you that calorie tracking was making it harder for you to lose weight?
What if I told you there is viable research to show that calorie restriction actually slows your metabolism over time?
I’m about to share with you the top four reasons you are struggling to lose weight. These are the first things I look for in clients who come to me with weight loss goals.
4 reasons you can’t lose weight
We will get into the details of how to lose weight fast. But in short, the top four reasons you are not losing weight, are:
Chronic Stress
Constipation and digestive issues
Unaddressed gut pathogens
“Obesogens”
Your organs, systems, and hormones do not operate independently. They work together with other factors, nutrients, neurotransmitters, other hormones, and organs.
We need to look at weight gain as a symptom, and then figure out what factors are causing that symptom.
If calorie-tracking and exercise were enough to help you lose weight and keep it off, you wouldn’t be here. And you wouldn’t be adding “lose weight” to your New Year’s goals every year.
Dieting is not the answer to weight loss. It never has been.
Let’s talk about it.
1. Chronic STRESS
Before you bail, I’m not here to tell you to stop having stress. Let’s begin with a vocabulary lesson:
What do I mean by “stress”?
I define stress as any factor, whether internal or external, physical or emotional, that the brain views as a threat, and so triggers the cascade of biochemical and physiological events known as the stress response.
As humans, we experience both acute stress and chronic stress.
ACUTE STRESS CAN INCLUDE THINGS LIKE:
a car accident
injury
a single conflict
being physically or verbally assaulted (by yourself or others)
a scary movie
low blood sugar
death of a loved one
CHRONIC STRESS CAN INCLUDE THINGS LIKE:
unaddressed gut pathogens like overgrown bacteria in the intestines, parasites, or candida overgrowth
other types of chronic infections
toxic burden - environmental toxins from air and water, toxins from processed foods, endotoxins from bacteria or other pathogens, medications, recreational drugs, caffeine, alcohol, chemicals, fillers, and colorings in skin products - all of these will add to your body’s toxic burden
chronic constipation - many toxins are eliminated through your feces. When toxins cannot be eliminated, they are reabsorbed into your body
caregiving
disability
discrimination
overexercising
poor sleep
burnout factors - people-pleasing behaviors, regularly working more than 40 hours/week, overcommitting, high-stress job, lack of boundaries
insulin resistance
emotional stress from relationships or trauma
All stress types, acute and chronic, activate the sympathetic nervous system, also known as the “fight or flight” response.
In acute stress, this system activates, responds, and deactivates, based on a feedback loop.
In other words, your body is doing what it is supposed to do, but it is meant to stop once the stressor is dealt with, or has gone.
The problem is, that in chronic stress, the stressor doesn’t dissipate; as long as it remains present, it continuously activates the stress response.
And because our bodies have not yet evolved to know the difference between the stress of being chased by a tiger, and the stress of a work deadline, our body reacts the same to both types of stress.
WHEN ACTIVATED, THE SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM:
tells the adrenal glands to release epinephrine and cortisol to pull stores of glucose into the blood for energy to deal with the stressor
increases blood flow to large muscles, lungs, and heart, to help fight or flee the danger
inhibits non-essential processes to preserve energy for fighting or fleeing danger, such as digestive processes
increases insulin activity - more glucose means more insulin is needed to shuttle glucose into cells for energy production
In cases of chronic stress, the sympathetic nervous system is continuously activated, and thus continuously does all of the things listed above.
This is commonly known as “survival mode” - your body is literally trying to flee a tiger… all the time.
The only way to deactivate the sympathetic nervous system response is to deal with the stressor (fight the pathogen, decrease toxicity, leave the relationship, leave the job, etc.).
There are resources for ways to temporarily deactivate the stress response that can help with sleep, mood, and digestion. Those processes take time to learn and are helpful tools to have in your back pocket. But it’s important to remember that as long as the stressor still exists, the stress response will continue to reactivate regularly.
Referring to the list above, let’s talk about cortisol.
EFFECTS OF CHRONIC CORTISOL RELEASE
supresses immune response (1)
disrupts hormones (2)
causes weight gain (3) by way of insulin resistance
increases inflammation (4) - cortisol in and of itself is anti-inflammatory. But its consistent presence during chronic stress regularly activates inflammation pathways to deal with the stressors, thus leading to systemic and chronic inflammation. INCREASED INFLAMMATION LEADS TO INCREASED CORTISOL RESPONSE
glucose pulled from muscle tissue in a stress response does not return to muscle - it turns to fat
reduces T3 (active thyroid hormone) - READ THIS WITH CAUTION: Low T3 when a chronic stressor is present, is typically not a thyroid issue. In chronic stress, cells will deactivate T3 on site, in order to preserve energy to deal with the stressor. Although your doctor will try to put you on thyroid medication, it’s important to remember that low T3 in a chronic stress situation is often not a thyroid issue - it is a stress issue.
reduces the activity of leptin (a hormone that tells us when full), and increases ghrelin (a hormone that tells us to eat) - increases appetite
decreases digestive activity
affects sleep - heightened cortisol keeps you awake and alert, making it difficult to sleep.
2. CONSTIPATION AND DIGESTIVE ISSUES
DIGESTION HAS TWO MAIN PURPOSES:
breaks down whole foods into nutrients that are needed for the body to function well
finds and eliminates toxins
The intestines are a large piece of your immune system. So when digestion is not working well, tissues become damaged, immune health becomes compromised, and toxins are not effectively eliminated from your body.
SYMPTOMS OF DIGESTIVE DYSFUNCTION
chronic constipation or diarrhea
heartburn/acid reflux
bloat after meals
excess belching or farting
excess hunger
chronic sinus congestion or stuffy head
DIGESTION WORKS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH
If something is not going well on the north end (brain, mouth, digestive enzymes, stomach acid), it will have an effect southward (bloat, bowel movements, gas).
These symptoms are important to listen to. Left unaddressed (or more commonly, the symptom is addressed without looking at what’s causing it), these symptoms lead to:
intestinal hyperpermeability (AKA “leaky gut”), which leads to increased inflammation and heightened chronic stress response
damage to the intestinal tissues increases susceptibility to pathogens like parasites, bacteria, and yeast
overactive immune activity (frequently getting sick)
suppressed immune activity (never getting sick)
skin conditions like eczema and acne
inflammatory conditions like autoimmune disease and asthma
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DIGESTION AND HOW YOU CAN TROUBLESHOOT YOUR SYMPTOMS
The three main factors within your digestive system that find and keep out pathogens and toxins are:
your liver
the tissue of your intestines
your feces and urine
The liver, when functioning properly, acts as a filter to prepare toxins for elimination. I cover more about liver detoxification here.
Intestinal tissue acts as a physical barrier to between the food and microbiota inside your intestines, and your blood stream. You can learn more about intestinal health here.
Additionally, toxins that have been prepared for elimination by the liver, must actually find a way out of your body. When toxins are not eliminated, they are reabsorbed and continue to add to your body’s toxic burden.
Many of those toxins are removed through urine and feces. Additionally, toxins have a high affinity for fat, meaning, they are stored in fat tissue, and if there is not enough fat tissue, your body will make more fat tissue to store the toxins. For this reason, chronic constipation is adding to your weight loss woes.
3. UNADDRESSED GUT PATHOGENS
When a client comes to me struggling with their weight loss program, the first three things I look into are adrenal health, liver health, and gut pathogens.
I’ve briefly touched on gut pathogens when it comes to weight loss programs, but let’s look at it a bit closer.
There’s a wide variety of pathogens that can infiltrate your body and cause problems, but when it comes to nutrition, the three most common pathogens I come across that are preventing you from losing weight, are:
candida (yeast)
bacteria in the small intestine
parasites
Often when we can find these pathogens and address them, clients can lose weight fast.
You’ve probably gathered from previous discussions that pathogens cause a stress response. They trigger our immune system and adrenal glands to step up and do what they are supposed to.
One important thing to remember about any pathogen is that all pathogens are living things. They, like us, are working to survive in whatever environment they are in, and they, like us, need food and produce waste. If your body is their environment, they will leech your nutrients, and produce waste that becomes toxic and harmful to your body.
They can live in balance with your body, and should to some extent. The problems occur when the pathogen becomes overgrown and undetected.
This is why you are not losing weight. Calorie restriction and workouts are not going to kill off overgrown pathogens. In fact they will stress your body more.
CANDIDA
Candida is a type of yeast or fungus. Your body contains a small amount of candida as part of the natural order of things. But if you’re familiar with wine making, bread making, or beer brewing, you know that yeast is a fungus that grows rapidly and ferments when it is fed sugar or starch.
Candida itself is trying to thrive in your gut, and so it depends heavily on making sure you eat the things it needs. It leeches your nutrients and releases waste that increases toxic burden and increases your stress activation.
SYMPTOMS OF CANDIDA OVERGROWTH CAN INCLUDE:
excess hunger
cravings for sweets or carb-heavy foods
wanting to snack often
poor blood sugar regulation - “hangry” before meals, feel ill if meals are delayed, feel hyper or jittery after coffee or carbohydrate-rich foods
weight around belly, hips, and thighs that is difficult to lose
poor energy
brain fog
chronic fungal infections - fingernails, toenails, genitals, skin, mouth
Candida, like other pathogens, including “good bacteria”, will build a sticky film in the lining of your gut called biofilm. This biofilm helps pathogens to evade the immune system (and testing), and helps it to gather food in order to thrive, as well as live synergistically with other pathogens.
It’s sneaky.
Because yeast is a type of fungus, it has a lot of similar characteristics and symptoms as mold toxicity. Both types of pathogens are worth getting tested for when determining pathogen overgrowth.
BACTERIA IN THE SMALL INTESTINE
Bacteria are an important factor in immune health. “Good” bacteria live in your large intestine and feed off of dietary fiber in order to produce and maintain a strong mucosal barrier in your colon that prevents unwanted pathogens from getting into your bloodstream.
When bacteria get into your small intestine and begin reproducing and thriving there, it causes fermentation and tissue damage that leads to long-term health issues like intestinal hyperpermeability, food sensitivities, and uncomfortable bloating.
Your body is not meant to have bacteria that live in the small intestine. In fact, it has mechanisms in place to keep bacteria out of the small intestine. READ MORE ABOUT THESE MECHANISMS HERE.
Similar to candida, bacteria will create biofilm where they live off of the food you eat, produce waste, and hide from the immune system.
SYMPTOMS OF SMALL INTESTINAL BACTERIA OVERGROWTH CAN INCLUDE:
excess hunger
cravings for carbohydrate-rich foods
bloating within 1-2 hours after eating
excess foul-smelling gas
excess belching after meals
inflammatory conditions such as autoimmune disease or asthma
skin conditions such as eczema or acne
chronic constipation and/or diarrhea
chronic congestion or stuffy head
fatigue, especially after meals
PARASITES
You might think our modern technology prevents things like parasites from infiltrating your body, but we actually are exposed to parasites in new ways, despite modern technology.
To begin, a parasite is an organism that relies on another organism for its survival and at its expense. Parasites are commonly shaped like a flat or round worm and can be microscopic, or many feet long (even the ones that find their way into your body)!
Like other pathogens we’ve discussed, parasites will hide in biofilm, feed off your nutrients, and produce waste that increases toxic burden and heightened immune response.
WAYS YOU MIGHT BE EXPOSED TO PARASITES:
unfiltered water, from any source
swimming in lakes or rivers
handling pet waste
having your face licked by a pet
contaminated food
bug bites
undercooked meats, especially fish
It’s important to remember that animals are commonly affected differently by pathogens and toxins than humans. A great example of this is fish.
There are some parasites that can live in a fish’s guts without affecting the health of the host. In former days, fishermen would catch fish and immediately gut it before transporting it, preventing the parasites from moving into the meat of the fish. In modern fishing techniques, it’s common to catch the fish and store it prior to gutting it. This allows time for the parasite to make its way into the meat of the fish, leaving us exposed to them more commonly than we used to be.
SYMPTOMS OF PARASITE INFECTION CAN INCLUDE:
fatigue
fever
digestive symptoms (bloat, poor bowel movements, abdominal cramping, etc.)
skin rashes, acne, or eczema
excess hunger
sleep issues
diagnosed nutrient deficiencies, such as iron and B vitamins
frequent colds or cold symptoms
This is how unaddressed pathogens are keeping you from losing weight like you want. Eradications of these pathogens require strategy and are heavily personalized to the person’s nutrition needs.
Want to lose weight fast? Find an experienced and qualified holistic practitioner who can provide effective testing and can create a personalized and strategic plan for getting rid of them for good.
4. “OBESOGens”
This section will be short, as it is entirely too complex to go into every “obesogen” out there.
It’s much easier to say, the reason you are not losing weight is due to chemicals, preservatives, and other additives in foods, skincare products, and supplements, that are known as hormone disrupters.
The reason these additives are effectively known as obesogens is that weight is heavily regulated by hormones (not calories!). First, let’s talk about what a hormone is.
A hormone is a substance that exists in and travels through tissue fluids throughout your body, that regulate certain body functions. A few examples of hormones are:
ghrelin - tells you when your body needs food/fuel for energy production
leptin - tells you when to stop eating
estrogen (5) - affects tissue growth and maturation, such as egg follicles in the ovaries
cortisol - regulates sleep/wake cycles and regulates fat, protein, and sugar metabolism in cells
thyroid hormones - known as T3, T4, rT3, and rT4, these hormones regulate cellular metabolism and energy production
oxytocin - regulates contraction of the uterus during menstruation and birth
Regular consumption of additives that disrupt these hormones, or confuse their ability to activate, deactivate, or communicate, causes a wild cascade of events that can create imbalance and general dysfunction.
For example, you can imagine if ghrelin is produced, stimulating hunger, but leptin is not produced when you are full, this causes a pattern of overeating.
Another example would be chronic stress which causes a consistent stream of cortisol to be produced, stimulating the release of stored sugars to be converted to energy. Glucose not used during this process will be converted to fat tissue.
One last important note on hormone imbalance is hormone excess. Balance is relative to other hormones in the body, and so when hormones are out of balance, there has to be an excess of one over the other (depending on which hormones we are discussing).
This excess of hormone is treated as a toxin that must be processed through the liver and eliminated. Remember what happens to toxins that are not properly eliminated? They are reabsorbed into the body, and stored in fat tissue. This is a common reason for people who struggle with weight loss.
HOW TO AVOID OBESOGENS
Simply put, it is choosing more whole foods, choosing cleaner skin care products, choosing better cookware and storage, and choosing quality water and air filters for your home.
For most, this is not a process that happens overnight. It involves educating yourself and gradually replacing foods one grocery trip at a time. Replacing cookware one pan at a time. Learning what skin care products are clean, and gradually replacing those.
Take your time with it. Small changes are BIG in the long run. They create new habits that over time, will help you maintain better health and a more sustainable weight.
HERE IS THE BEST RESOURCE FOR LEARNING HOW TO CHOOSE CLEANER PRODUCTS
TAKEAWAYS
If you want to lose weight fast, consider having your gut health evaluated by a qualified practitioner
Digestive symptoms, sleep issues, and energy levels are common symptoms of pathogenic overgrowth that are preventing you from losing weight
Obesogens are additives in products we use every day and will disrupt hormone balance and function, which is a big driver of weight
I’ve written more on the subject here.
Want personalized support to help you lose weight? I can help you figure it out.
Did You Learn Something?
What’s your weight loss story?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
NUTRITION SERVICES
MORE RESOURCES
BLOG REFERENCES
Segerstrom, S. C., & Miller, G. E. (2004). Psychological stress and the human immune system: a meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry. Psychological bulletin, 130(4), 601–630. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.4.601
Ranabir, S., & Reetu, K. (2011). Stress and hormones. Indian journal of endocrinology and metabolism, 15(1), 18–22. https://doi.org/10.4103/2230-8210.77573
Kahn, B. B., & Flier, J. S. (2000). Obesity and insulin resistance. The Journal of clinical investigation, 106(4), 473–481. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI10842
Hannibal, K. E., & Bishop, M. D. (2014). Chronic stress, cortisol dysfunction, and pain: a psychoneuroendocrine rationale for stress management in pain rehabilitation. Physical therapy, 94(12), 1816–1825. https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20130597
Mair, K. M., Gaw, R., & MacLean, M. R. (2020). Obesity, estrogens and adipose tissue dysfunction - implications for pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pulmonary circulation, 10(3), 2045894020952019. https://doi.org/10.1177/2045894020952023
WEEK 2 - What Supplements Should I take for Liver Detox? | Supplement Mastery Series
As a holistic nutrition, I am often asked, “what supplements should I take for ____?”. While I do not recommend supplements without first assessing your body’s health needs, these supplements are safe and effective for most people when fighting a cold or flu. These are 3 supplements you should always keep on hand.
Supplements for liver detox
Let’s be clear - I am never going to recommend anyone take supplements without first being properly assessed. In fact, before you continue reading this post, it’s best to review Week 1 of the Supplement Mastery Series.
Moving forward!
Liver detox and liver cleanses are a hot topic this time of year. Everyone wants a clean slate, and they’re working hard to be better people, healthier people.
While I am not a fan of hard and fast liver cleanses, I can understand the appeal.
So here in Week 2, we are going to talk about liver function, and answer the question, “which supplements should I take for liver detox?”.
liver function 101
The liver is a complex organ. Though this will not be an exhaustive overview of liver function and liver detox, we will cover many important factors.
The liver has many functions, including:
IT MAKES CHOLESTEROL - Yep! Dietary cholesterol has little effect on total cholesterol levels in the body (1). Elevated cholesterol and fatty deposits in the liver are caused by refined carbohydrates and sugars (i.e. processed foods). Our body needs cholesterol for things like cellular structure, transfer of nutrients, and hormone production.
IT ACTS AS A FILTER FOR TOXINS - The more obvious toxins you probably recognize, are things like alcohol, medications, recreational drugs, and caffeine. Some lesser-known toxins include excess hormones (cortisol, estrogen, thyroid hormones, testosterone, insulin), many components of processed foods (additives, fillers, colorings, preservatives), excess blood sugar, and debris and waste caused by pathogens like bacteria, viruses, yeast, and parasites. Nearly two quarts of blood pass through this “filter” every minute(2).
PREPARES TOXINS FOR ELIMINATION - The liver not only determines what is and is not safe to enter our bloodstream, but it also converts toxins into forms that can be eliminated from the body so that they do not get reabsorbed. This process is known as detoxification, and due to the many different types of toxins we are exposed to, whether environmentally, dietary, pathogenically, or internally, liver detoxification can be affected by many different factors. Once toxins are converted, the liver delegates them to the respective organs responsible for eliminating them. For instance, excess estrogen (fat-soluble hormone) will be converted to a water-soluble form, so that it can be eliminated through urine (kidneys) or sweat (skin).
HELPS REGULATE BLOOD SUGAR AND FAT STORES - When glucose (the smallest form of sugar) is present in the blood, insulin is released from the pancreas and shuttles the glucose into cells to be converted into fuel. The glucose that remains is converted by the liver into storage forms of glucose, including glycogen and triglycerides (stored in fat tissue). Similarly, when glucose levels are low, the adrenal glands respond by releasing cortisol to break down these stored forms of glucose, which then have to be converted (again, by the liver), back into glucose.
MAKES BILE - A lovely sounding word, bile is essential to two important functions:
It binds to certain fat-soluble toxins, which get absorbed by fiber, then escorted out of the body through feces. Most (99%) of bile is reabsorbed into the body, and without adequate dietary fiber, the toxins bound to bile will be reabsorbed with it.
It breaks down dietary fats into fatty acids that are needed to regulate inflammation, for eye, skin, and hair health, for cellular health, and can be used as a fuel source. Rather than being used as important nutrients for your body, fats that are not broken down into fatty acids will be eliminated through feces.
symptoms of liver toxicity
SYMPTOMS OF A TOXIC LIVER
If you have any of the following symptoms, it’s a good idea to get your liver assessed by a qualified practitioner, so that you can safely and effectively detox your liver.
psoriasis, eczema, or dermatitis
acne
chronic headaches
constipation
inflammatory and autoimmune disease
chronic fatigue
unexplained weight gain, or difficulty losing weight
trouble controlling blood sugar levels
Simply put, if you have a poor reaction to any environmental toxin or drug, you can be sure that there is likely a liver detoxification problem.
SOURCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND DIETARY TOXINS THAT BURDEN THE LIVER
As we discussed earlier, toxins come in many forms, such as excess hormones, food additives, herbicides and pesticides, heavy metals, carcinogens, byproducts from overgrown pathogens like yeast or bacteria, waste from parasites, medications, alcohol, caffeine, etc..
Here is a list of things you may not realize could be contributing to liver toxicity:
drinking water
cookware
cigarette smoke
car exhaust
poor quality supplements
dental fillings and metal hardware
air
certain nutrient deficiencies
how does liver detoxification work?
LIVER DETOXIFICATION PHASES
Many are familiar with the fact that the liver has many phases of detoxification. For the sake of this article, I am going to discuss Phase I detoxification and Phase II detoxification.
It’s important to remember that liver detoxification varies widely from person to person based on genetics and toxic load. But the best thing we can do is to educate ourselves on how to support them as best as we can, and if things still don’t seem right, get evaluated by a practitioner who can help support you more specifically.
PHASE I LIVER DETOXIFICATION
Simply put, Phase I liver detoxification begins breaking down toxins, and in doing so, creates compounds that are more toxic than the original.
Phase I handles many types of toxins like chemicals from foods, medications, alcohol and caffeine. A series of enzymes collectively known as Cytochrome P450 are primarily responsible for the detoxification in Phase I.
Cytochrome P450 enzymes work in two ways (2):
They neutralize toxins, making them non-toxic, and water-soluble so that they can be removed from the body, OR…
They convert toxins to a more chemically reactive form that makes it easier for Phase II enzymes to neutralize them, making the toxins more toxic in the meantime
This means that it’s important for both Phase I and Phase II to be well supported. Toxins that are made more toxic by Phase I that cannot be effectively eliminated by Phase II, will be reabsorbed into the body, and cause further health problems.
It’s important to know that for every toxin metabolized by Phase I detoxification, a free radical is generated.
WHAT IS A FREE RADICAL?
Free radicals are common byproducts of all metabolic processes, and are the reason it’s important we consume a wide variety of antioxidant foods on a daily basis.
Here’s a great description from the National Library of Medicine (3):
“A free radical can be defined as any molecular species capable of independent existence that contains an unpaired electron in an atomic orbital. The presence of an unpaired electron results in certain common properties that are shared by most radicals. Many radicals are unstable and highly reactive. …
“These are highly reactive species, capable in the nucleus, and in the membranes of cells of damaging biologically relevant molecules such as DNA, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. Free radicals attack important macromolecules leading to cell damage and homeostatic disruption.”
Put another way, free radicals are unstable molecules, due to an unpaired electron, that damage other cells and tissues around them. In order to be neutralized, they need to be restabilized by having an electron donated by another molecule (antioxidants).
One of the most important antioxidants for neutralizing Phase I free radicals is glutathione, which we will discuss later in the post.
PHASE II LIVER DETOXIFICATION
Phase II liver detoxification takes the more toxic compounds, and adds a chemical to them which either neutralizes the toxin, or makes it water-soluble so that it can be eliminated through urine or sweat.
The process of adding a chemical in Phase II is called conjugation. Depending on the type of toxin being dealt with, each toxin will go through a different conjugation pathway, requiring different nutrients.
All phases of liver detoxification require that energy-production in cells is functioning well, primarily the mitochondria within cells. We’ll get into that more later, but what’s important to remember right now, is that supplements to support liver detoxification include both nutrients to support the pathways of liver detox, as well as cellular health within liver cells.
When the mitochondria are not functioning well, Phase II liver detoxification will slow down, causing a buildup of toxins that cannot be eliminated.
Conjugation pathways of Phase II liver detoxification include:
glucaronidation
sulfoxidation
glutathione
amino acid
methylation
sulfation
acetylation
foods for liver detoxification
Here’s a list of factors that will slow or inhibit liver detoxification:
magnesium deficiency, and deficiency of other minerals
low-protein diet
benzodiazapines
antihistamines
stomach acid blocking medications
toxins caused by overgrown bacteria in the intestines
grapefruit juice (decreases activity of Cytochrome P450 enzymes)
low anti-oxidant diet
deficiency in B vitamins
use of food dyes
use of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
Before we get into what supplements to take for liver detoxification, it’s important to know it is not a good idea to support Phase I liver detox without also supporting Phase II liver detox.
When answering the question, “what supplements should I take for liver detoxification?”, we have one more factor to consider:
LIVER CONGESTION
Remember, your liver is a filter. Before detoxification can occur, the liver needs to determine what is a toxin and what isn’t. It accomplishes this by filtering. If it is congested with fatty liver deposits, it cannot filter the blood effectively.
Fatty deposits in the liver, sometimes known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, are commonly caused by poor blood sugar regulation, and all that entails, such as:
diet high in refined foods
low fiber, protein, and quality fats in the diet
poor sleep
insulin resistance
poor digestion
adrenal dysfunction
Briefly put, fatty liver deposits are caused by the constant need to convert glucose into fat, and fat into glucose, in order to maintain energy production. To learn more about how this process works, read this article.
what supplements should I take for liver detoxification?
Here’s what you came for.
SUPPLEMENTS AND FOODS TO SUPPORT PHASE I LIVER DETOX
Support for Phase I is more about stimulating Phase I enzyme activity, whereas Phase II and liver decongestion will focus more on nutrients needed to facilitate each process.
brassica vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts - contain multiple chemical factors that stimulate both Phase I and Phase II detoxification enzymes.
Oranges, tangerines, caraway seeds, and dill seeds - contain limonene, which induce Phase I and Phase II liver enzymes.
B vitamins, specifically B1 (thiamin) and B3 (niacin) - these nutrients are known to activate Phase I liver detox enzymes. Foods rich in B vitamins are sprouted whole grains (why sprouted?), organ meats, and nutritional yeast.
SUPPLEMENTS TO SUPPORT PHASE II LIVER DETOX
This list will provide nutrients to look for when shopping for supplements, rather than specific products. Additionally, here is a complete list of high-quality supplements that contain these nutrients, that I commonly recommend to clients for liver detoxification.
Glutathione - Needed for the glutathione conjugation pathway, to convert fat-soluble toxins like heavy metals, solvents, and pesticides, into water-soluble toxins. Additionally, glutathione is a powerful antioxidant used to protect the mitochondria to support energy production in cells and protect against free radical damage by destabilizing free radicals.
Glutathione is produced from methionine and cysteine, which are amino acids (building blocks of protein). Getting adequate protein in your diet is essential to the formation of glutathione, in addition to foods that contain glutathione (asparagus, avocado, walnuts).
Glycine - Glycine is the most commonly used amino acid the human body uses to combine with and neutralize toxins in the amino acid conjugation pathway. Other amino acids are also used, such as taurine, glutamine, arginine, and ornithine.
SAM-e (s-adenosyl-methionine) - synthesized from the amino acid, methionine, SAM-e is essential to the methylation pathway and requires cofactors choline, vitamin B12, and folic acid to be synthesized.
SAM-e acts as a methyl donor to certain toxins, such as excess estrogen. A methyl group contains four atoms: one carbon, and three hydrogen. Donating this methyl group to certain toxins deactivates them.
Cysteine - also synthesized from methionine, cysteine is essential to the sulfation pathway of Phase II liver detoxification. Eating a wide variety of protein-rich foods, and supporting your digestive health (to make sure you can properly break down proteins), are the two keys to ensure you get the nutrients needed for liver detoxification.
Molybdenum - a trace mineral required for most enzymes used in sulfur metabolism (sulfation and sulfoxidation pathways).
Acetyl-Coenzyme-A (acetyl-CoA) - this nutrient is needed for the acetylation pathway to eliminate sulfa drugs (antibiotics). This enzyme is not a nutrient that can be supplemented but is produced through glucose metabolism in cells. So, going back to cellular health, if you want to increase Acetyl-CoA, make sure you are supporting your cellular health and blood sugar regulation.
Vitamin B1 (thiamin) and B5 (pantothenic acid) - both nutrients are required for the acetylation pathway and are essential to glucose metabolism, which is how Acetyl-CoA is formed.
Vitamin C - A powerful antioxidant that is necessary for many functions in the body, but in this regard, it is essential to the acetylation pathway. Vitamin C has a short half-life (is quickly metabolized and eliminated), so getting it consistently in foods (brightly colored fruits and vegetables) and supplementation is important.
SUPPLEMENTS FOR LIVER CONGESTION AND FATTY LIVER DEPOSITS
Nutrients that support the clearing of fatty liver deposits are collectively known as lipotropic nutrients. Decongesting the liver will improve liver detoxification and fat metabolism (2).
Individually these lipotropic nutrients include (4):
choline - synthesized from methionine (notice a pattern here?) and serine. Needed for the transport of fats to and from the liver via chylomicrons.
betaine - synthesized from choline, and is needed for the re-methylation of homocysteine to methionine.
methionine - needed for the synthesis of SAM-e. Also serves as an antioxidant to protect liver cells from free radical damage.
vitamin B6 - elevated toxicity increases your body’s requirement for vitamin B6.
milk thistle extract - contains a factor called silymarin, which is a powerful antioxidant that protects the liver against damage from harmful chemicals by preventing the depletion of glutathione during detoxification.
dandelion root(5) - enhances bile flow and improves liver congestion.
artichoke leaf(5) - promotes flow of fat to and from the liver.
takeaways
the liver performs many functions in the body, including the breakdown of fats, sugars, and detoxification
toxins include environmental factors, dietary factors, as well as internal factors such as byproducts and waste from bacteria and glucose metabolization, and excess hormones
the breakdown of toxins causes an abundance of free radicals, which cause damage to nerves, skin, blood, and other tissues
liver detoxification support requires improvement of bile flow, clearing of fatty deposits, good blood flow, as well nutrient support for detoxification pathways
while the focus of this article was on supplements, it’s important to remember that supporting elimination pathways in addition to liver detoxification, is equally important to ensuring you don’t reabsorb toxins. This article will teach you all about supporting elimination pathways (bowels, kidneys, skin, and lymph)
liver detoxification heavily depends on protein and other nutrients. Eating a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods, balanced with fiber, fat, carbohydrates, and protein, is the best way to get these nutrients. Temporary supplementation will improve your efforts to support liver detoxification.
what’s next?
In Week 3 of the Supplement Mastery Series, we will be discussing what supplements to take for Skin Care.
WANT MORE OF THIS SERIES?
WEEK 2 - Liver Detoxification
Questions or comments about detoxification? Please post them in the comments below.
NUTRITION SERVICES
MORE RESOURCES
BLOG REFERENCES
Fernandez, Maria Luz, and Anna Gabriella Murillo. “Is There a Correlation between Dietary and Blood Cholesterol? Evidence from Epidemiological Data and Clinical Interventions.” NCBI, PubMed, 23 May 2022, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9143438/#:~:text=Dietary%20cholesterol%20increases%20total%20blood,without%20affecting%20LDL%2FHDL%20ratio.&text=36%5D%20(2015)-,NHS%20(1980%E2%80%932012)%2C%20NHS%20II%20(1991%E2%80%93,HPFS%20(1986%E2%80%932016).&text=Higher%20egg%20intake%20is%20associated%20with%20lower%20prevalence%20of%20hypercholesterolemia.
Murray, M. T., & Pizzorno, J. E. (2014). The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine (3rd ed.). Simon & Schuster.
Lobo, V., Patil, A., Phatak, A., & Chandra, N. (2010, July). Free radicals, antioxidants and Functional Foods: Impact on human health. Pharmacognosy reviews. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3249911/
M.D., A.R. G. (2017). Nutritional Medicine (2nd ed.). Alan R. Gaby, M.D.. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781532322099
Murray, M., Pizzorno, J., & Pizzorno, L. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. Atria Books.
Why Weight Loss Medication Is NOT the Solution to Your Weight Loss Goals
One reason we gravitate toward fast weight loss methods, like weight loss medication, and even diet and exercise, is because we don’t understand what actually causes us to gain the weight in the first place.
I’m not suggesting you don’t ever choose healthy foods, or add regular movement into your routine.
But as a holistic nutritionist, I often find there are deep-rooted causes of weight gain that have nothing to do with calorie intake, and therefore cannot be solved with calorie tracking or appetite control.
Why weight loss medications aren’t working for you
The temptation for a quick solution to weight loss is REAL.
We all go through phases where we “fall off the wagon.”
Then out of nowhere, you’re blindsided with a photo of yourself, and you think, ‘Ugh! Is that what I look like?!’.
So you grab your phone and frantically search things like weight loss medications, weight loss app, calorie tracking app, and even weight loss gummies.
You want results FAST. You’re stressed, you’re worried about what other people see and think about you, you feel undesirable, or even unhealthy.
But, my friend, you have been here before.
You have tried the diets, the pills, the calorie trackers.
And yet, here you are again.
You need a different solution.
You need a solution that is longer lasting, that gets at the root of what’s causing weight gain for you in the first place. READ MORE ABOUT THE 4 REASONS YOU’VE STOPPED LOSING WEIGHT
“why am I gaining weight?”
One reason we gravitate toward fast weight loss methods, like weight loss medication, and even diet and exercise, is because we don’t understand what actually causes us to gain the weight in the first place.
I’m not suggesting you don’t ever choose healthy foods, or add regular movement into your routine.
But as a holistic nutritionist, I often find there are deep-rooted causes of weight gain that have nothing to do with calorie intake, and therefore cannot be solved with calorie tracking or appetite control.
Here are some common reasons for weight gain that you might not be aware of:
chronic stress - stress causes the release of cortisol and epinephrine, which cause glucose levels to rise in the blood. Increase in glucose triggers release of insulin, which leads to weight gain (and insulin resistance)(1,2). We tend to think of stress as being incoming events like relationship conflict, traffic, or work deadlines. But it’s important to remember your body also responds to internal factors as stress, such as elevated or low blood sugar levels, unaddressed pathogens (bacteria, yeast, parasites), and excess hormones.
liver congestion - fatty liver is a common result of a high carbohydrate diet, especially of refined carbohydrates (3). Interestingly, carbohydrates are lower in calories than protein or fat, and because of that, are prioritized in low-calorie foods.
gut pathogens - some pathogens are great at evading the immune system, and being seen on lab work. And since many pathogens thrive on the foods we eat, especially sugars, they can cause us to become more hungry than usual.
lack of sleep - sleep plays an important role in our liver health and immune function. Not prioritizing sleep can lead to increased chronic stressors.
food quality - marketing terms on food labels makes it difficult to know whether a food is actually healthy. Many packaged foods, even “health foods,” are heavily processed, causing a toxin overload. These toxins put stress on the liver, and are stored primarily in fat (called adipose tissue).
mineral imbalance - sometimes it can look or feel like we have excess weight, but it’s not always fat that causes that. Water retention occurs under chronic stress, and/or when minerals are out of balance. Minerals carry either a negative or positive charge - in order for fluid inside and outside of a cell to be balanced, we need to make sure we get a good balance of minerals in our diet.
nutritionist recommendations for effective weight loss
Before getting on the weight loss train, it’s worth questioning why you think you need to lose weight in the first place.
Our society is still filled with doctors misrepresenting weight as a measure of health, when it is simply not true.
BMI has long been outdated.
It’s all in the context, which looks different for each individual. Weight cannot, and must not, be a measure of health across the board.
To say that weight is a measure of health is irresponsible, and blatantly ignores the biochemical makeup of each individual.
Health can only be determined by an individualized assessment by a qualified practitioner. And when it comes to weight loss, it’s especially important to assess the whole body.
If it’s been determined that you do need to lose weight, here is what a nutritionist recommends for weight loss, before reaching for weight loss medication or calorie tracking apps:
weight loss tips from a holistic nutritionist
Address food quality and macronutrient balance - Many people in the US do not get enough quality plants or protein in their diet. Our climb-the-ladder lifestyle leaves us reaching for pre-packaged foods that are heavily processed or use low-quality ingredients, even if they are marketed as “heart healthy,” “low-fat,” “vegan,” etc.. Addressing the quality of foods you consume is the first thing I do when working with clients 1:1. That is why I developed a heavily researched online course to help with this.
Eliminate gut pathogens - Unaddressed gut pathogens cause a multiplicity of health problems, from disrupting neurotransmitter production, to adrenal overload, to blood sugar handling issues. What this looks like for you, is depression, anxiety, issues with sleep, not handling stress well, constantly hungry, getting “hangry” when a meal is delayed, and unexplained fatigue during the day. When a stressor goes unaddressed, it becomes chronic - this is when your body switches to danger mode - holding on to weight, shutting down cells, tissues, and organs that are non-essential to dealing with stress. Your body is doing what it’s supposed to do, but you are left with the consequences of weight gain, fatigue, and mood disorders. If you are looking for effective weight loss methods, get your gut checked.
Support detox organs - Toxins have an affinity for fat. If your body is full of toxins that it cannot get rid of, it will compensate by holding on to fat stores. Thus, supporting your detox organs, in addition to reducing your intake of toxins, is an important piece of long-term weight loss. Detox organs include:
liver: eating a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods, especially leafy vegetables, drinking plenty of water, and eating good quality fats, will go a long way in supporting your liver.
lymph: lymph is a fluid that runs through a system similar to your veins and arteries. It is responsible for carrying away debris from damaged cells or killed-off pathogens, and carrying immune cells to places where they’re needed. Incorporating at least 15 minutes of intentional movement per day, and drinking plenty of water will help keep lymph flowing well.
sweat: your skin is a major detox organ. Finding ways to sweat every day is important to helping your body get rid of toxins. Infrared or dry sauna, cardio movement, and warm epsom salt baths are all great ways of inducing sweat. The key here, is showering right after you sweat, so that you don’t re-absorb the toxins your body is eager to remove. And (you might be noticing a pattern here), drinking plenty of water throughout the day is important to making sure you have SOMETHING to sweat out.
kidneys/urine: similar to sweat, your body excretes many types of toxins out through the urine. Know what I’m about to say? Drink plenty of water to support kidney health!
feces: Your digestive health is a big factor in ensuring you have at the very least, one good bowel movement per day. Feces are, yet, another major exit strategy for toxins. Digestive health is too complex and individualized to tell you here exactly what you need to do to optimize it, but this guide will help you determine for yourself what can be done to help you poo better.
Prioritize sleep - Not only is troubled sleeping typically a sign that adrenals are overloaded (and thus chronic stress exists), but sleep is when important healing happens in the body. It’s when tissues get to work repairing, the liver does its biggest work while we sleep, and the brain (4) flushes out toxins and waste that built up during the day (similar to lymph). Most adults need a minimum of 7 hours of quality sleep each night. Some ways to improve sleep:
get sunlight first thing in the morning
allow your eyes to see the sunset
prioritize your intense workouts before lunch, saving more calming movement for evenings
turn off all screens 2 hours prior to bedtime
put your phone to bed, away from your own bed
work to balance your blood sugar more effectively
takeaways
Before you turn to weight loss medication or calorie tracking apps, take a moment to listen to what your body is already telling you it needs.
Your body already has the answers. Restriction from food is the opposite of healthy.
You can lose weight effectively, and still enjoy the foods you love, without the guilt or shame.
If you need help learning to listen to and to trust, what your body has to say, I can help.
Tap that blue button below to view your options.
what’s your story?
What is your experience with weight loss medications and calorie trackers?
Have you ever considered a more holistic approach? How did that go for you?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below.👇
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MORE RESOURCES
BLOG REFERENCES
Kolb, Hubert, et al. “Insulin Translates Unfavourable Lifestyle into Obesity - BMC Medicine.” BioMed Central, BioMed Central, 13 Dec. 2018, bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-018-1225-1.
Kahn, B B, and J S Flier. “Obesity and Insulin Resistance.” The Journal of Clinical Investigation, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2000, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC380258/.
Ludwig, David S, and Cara B Ebbeling. “The Carbohydrate-Insulin Model of Obesity: Beyond ‘Calories in, Calories Out.’” JAMA Internal Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Aug. 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6082688/.
Eugene, A. R., & Masiak, J. (2015, March). The neuroprotective aspects of sleep. MEDtube science. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4651462/
What’s Missing from Your Detox Liver Cleanse
As a holistic practitioner, I do not recommend doing a liver detox or liver cleanse without supervision of a qualified professional. In fact, I do not recommend them commonly at all.
A liver detox can have its place, and can be beneficial sometimes. But without being individually assessed by a holistic practitioner, unsupervised liver cleanses and liver detoxes can be more harmful to your health, than good.
Especially when they are missing these components…
Never do a liver detox without these 3 things
Who wouldn’t want a clean slate now and then?
I commonly hear this from clients who’ve been struggling to lose weight, or just feel like they’ve been off their game for a while, and want a fresh start.
A liver detox, or liver cleanse can sometimes help you feel better, and might even help you lose weight.
I WANT TO BE CLEAR HERE…
As a holistic practitioner, I do not recommend doing a liver detox or liver cleanse without supervision of a qualified professional. In fact, I do not recommend them commonly at all.
A liver detox can have its place, and can be beneficial sometimes. But without being individually assessed by a holistic practitioner, unsupervised liver cleanses and liver detoxes can be more harmful to your health, than good.
Especially when they are missing these components…
possible reasons for doing a liver detox
You might ask your holistic healthcare provider about doing a liver detox for the following symptoms or conditions:
blood sugar handling issues, hypoglycemia, signs of insulin resistance
history of alcohol or drug use
lab results confirming toxicity, including heavy metals, bacterial overgrowth, mold, or parasites
Although sometimes an intensive liver cleanse may help with these symptoms, more commonly I find that a simpler approach will relieve symptoms.
reasons to NOT do a liver detox
The following are symptoms that may be helped by assessing liver health, but are not cause for a liver detox, in and of themselves. Other factors may need to be considered.
weight loss, or struggle to lose weight
acne, eczema, skin issues
seasonal allergy symptoms
digestive symptoms: IBS symptoms, diarrhea, constipation, bloat, heartburn, or stomach pain
irregular periods, PMS, or period symptoms
I would never do a liver detox without these 3 things
BINDERS
A liver detox or liver cleanse, is typically designed to help clear out your liver of built-up toxins and improve detox pathways.
When these built-up toxins die off, they need to be eliminated from the body. Toxins, be it excess hormones, medications, alcohol, excess cholesterol, or excess sugars, must be removed from the body, or they simply get re-activated and re-absorbed.
All your hard work, wasted.
Think of it this way:
The liver acts as a filter. Everything in the blood has to be processed through the liver, so that it can find toxins, and convert them into structures that can be removed from the body by other mechanisms.
These converted structures must be escorted out of the body. They need to be bound to something that will carry it through the proper exit points.
There are many different types of binders, each having an affinity for certain toxins. The type of binders used, depends on the type of toxins being removed.
For instance, if detoxing from heavy metals, chlorella or citrus pectin would be most effective at binding to the metals, and escorting them out. Whereas if you are detoxing from mold, clays would be a more effective binder.
Your healthcare practitioner will be able to direct you as to which binders you need to use.
ELIMINATION PATHWAY SUPPORT
Above, we discussed how the liver is responsible for filtering toxins, but the toxins must be removed through other mechanisms.
These mechanisms are known as elimination pathways.
Most liver cleanses and liver detox instructions will tell you which nutrients are needed to help support the liver, and filter toxins more intensively. But what they do not commonly tell you is how to support elimination pathways (or that it’s incredibly important to make sure these pathways are open PRIOR to starting a liver detox).
ELIMINATION PATHWAYS INCLUDE:
skin (sweat) - If you find you do not sweat easily, or do not include ways of producing sweat in your daily routine, this elimination pathway is not open, and could lead to resorption of toxins.
colon (feces) - If you are commonly constipated (one bowel movement or less per day), this elimination pathway is not clear, and needs to be addressed prior to doing a liver detox.
kidneys (urine) - If you are not drinking enough water, or have poor mineral balance (swollen ankles, water retention, do not urinate often, urinate slowly), your kidneys may not be an effective elimination pathway.
lymph (an essential component of the immune system) - Lymph is a fluid that runs through channels and vessels similar to veins and arteries. It is responsible for moving nutrients, waste products, and white blood cells (immune cells) to and from body tissues.
lungs - Commonly struggling to “catch” your breath, feeling winded, feeling “air hungry”, or having a diagnosis of COPD (or similar), may be reason to better support this elimination pathway.
I do not recommend a liver detox if any of these pathways are not working well, first.
ADDITIONAL ELIMINATION PATHWAY SUPPORT
When actively detoxing, or actively killing off any toxin or pathogen such as doing a liver detox or liver cleanse, I recommend giving your elimination pathways an extra boost, in addition to simply ensuring they are routinely working well.
While it’s especially important to ensure your elimination pathways are working well PRIOR to doing a liver detox, additional measures can be taken to enhance the elimination of these toxins and pathogens.
Here are some ways you can additionally support your elimination pathways during a detox:
skin (sweat):
DRY SAUNA, OR INFRARED SAUNA - adding a daily sauna routine will optimize this pathway during a detox. Remember, just as toxins can exit through the skin, they can also be absorbed through the skin. Make sure to shower immediately after a sauna practice.
MOVE! - If intentional movement is not something you do daily, add this to your routine. It can be as simple as taking a 15-minute walk, but remember: the point is to break a sweat for at least 5-10 minutes. Walking the dog won’t cut it unless your walk is intentionally paced to help you sweat.
colon (feces):
FIBER - it’s no secret that adding plentiful, good quality fiber to your diet will help you poop. ADD: Lots of green, leafy veggies, more fibrous fruits like pears, apples, or avocados, and whole grains like wild rice, are a great way to get fiber into your diet. In more extreme circumstances, your holistic practitioner might recommend a high-quality fiber supplement like this one. AVOID: It’s best to avoid fiber-focused packaged foods (brands like Fiber-One), as they tend to be poor quality and add to your health problems. Dried fruit tends to be higher in fiber, but also MUCH higher in sugar, so I recommend avoiding these items.
HYDRATION - drinking enough water will help you poo better. For most humans not dealing with kidney issues, drinking ONE FLUID OUNCE PER TWO POUNDS OF BODY WEIGHT, daily, is considered adequate. Think of it as taking half your body weight, and drinking that many ounces of water. Avoid/minimize dehydrating factors, like high sodium foods, alcohol, or caffeine.
GET A COLONIC - these are not for everyone and should be done minimally, and under supervision of a holistic care provider. Colonics are an intensive, quick method, of removing everything from the colon. I mean, EVERYTHING (including all your good gut bacteria). Doing a colonic without properly addressing the health of your microbiome is a recipe for further health issues, like IBS. A good practitioner will help you re-establish your gut bacteria, and improve colon health going forward.
ABDOMINAL MASSAGE - Something I commonly find in my clients with constipation, is that regardless of how much fiber and water they take in, poops are still difficult. This can be due to lesions that form in the intestines over time. Breaking up these lesions is simple, but requires time and consistency (although you will likely see results shortly after starting this technique - keep going!).
This technique is known as Peristaltic Manipulation. In a gentle massage motion, similar to a ”tickle”, begin massaging your belly, just above your right hip. Work your way upward toward your ribs, stopping just below your rib cage. Massage your way horizontally across your belly, then downward when you reach your left rib cage. Continue massaging down until just above your left hip, then return to starting point. Do this entire cycle 3-4 times, 1-2 times per day. (I love hearing people’s success stories with this technique. Tell me in the comments how it works for you!)
kidneys (urine) - Hydration is the main key for supporting urine flow. Refer to the colon (feces) section for hydration instructions. Another key component to optimize hydration, and the mechanisms involved in kidney function, is mineral balance.
MINERAL BALANCE - minerals, specifically electrolyte minerals, create electric charges that impact the transfer of nutrients (including water) across cell walls. Eating plenty of whole foods, and avoiding packaged foods, is a great way to make sure you are getting good minerals. For someone who needs supplemental support, here are some product I like:
BioMins, by Thorne: I like this product because it has the best balance of minerals, ensuring they do not “compete” for one another, creating imbalance.
LMNT: I was skeptical of this product at first. It seemed too good to be true. But the more I researched it, the more I like it. I would not recommend it for anyone who consumes a high amount of packaged foods or fast foods. Use this link to get a free gift with your first order.
lymph (an essential component of the immune system) - There are three ways to support better lymph flow:
hydration (see a pattern here?)
massage
movement
lungs -
MILD CARDIO: If your lungs are not struggling due to a pulmonary condition, the easiest way to improve lung health is by exercising. Keep it simple - 20-30 minutes of brisk walking every day should help. Improve your respiratory health by practicing cardio with your mouth closed, breathing only through your nose.
BREATHWORK: intentional breathing techniques, such as Box Breathing, or yogic breathing, are fantastic for improving lung health.
NAC: NAC, or N-acetylcysteine, is a precursor to glutathione (essential for cellular health and liver detoxification), and is known to support the health of mucosal lining of tissues (lungs, sinuses, intestines). For someone needing a little extra support, I often recommend this supplement.
so, what?
Next time you think to yourself, “I need a reset,” consider the idea that maybe a liver detox or liver cleanse is not the way to go.
The answer to feeling like yourself again, is not going to be found in an intensive protocol like a cleanse.
The answer to feeling like yourself again is going to be found in your own body - your bio-individuality.
What is your body telling you it needs?
Finding a holistic practitioner who is qualified to assess this for you is the first step to getting that clean slate.
Not sure where to begin?
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How have they worked for you?
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