Part of Nature's Laboratory
Herbs for Detoxification and Elimination by Dylan Parry BSc Hons Clinical Herbalism
Helping Your Body to detoxify in the New Year
Hello everyone and Happy New year!
After the festive season, we tend to feel a bit sluggish and lethargic after gorging on food and drink. In January, we often feel like we need to cut back on the rich food and begin looking after ourselves after the over-indulgence.
Herbal medicine can be a great way to help promote overall wellbeing, through helping to support your organs and creating homeostasis in the body.
Systems and organs that help our body to detoxify are constantly under strain from the modern diet we eat and drink and the chemicals in our everyday life. Therefore, using herbal medicine to help support these systems and organs can be beneficial in helping the body to detoxify in the New year.
Organs & Systems of Detoxification
What organs and systems do we need to consider in detoxification?
1) The Liver
2) The Kidneys
3) Lymphatic system
4) Cardiovascular system
The Liver
The liver is the largest solid organ in the body, and one of its most important roles, simplistically put, is to act as a giant filter. Approximately 60% of the liver is made of Hepatocytes, which absorb nutrients and remove wastes and toxins from the blood, which then eventually get excreted through urine or faeces. Therefore, if your liver becomes under strain through drinking too much alcohol or eating junk food, this can cause your liver to not filter as effectively, and toxins remain in the blood stream.
The Kidneys
The Kidneys are also another filter system within the body. The Kidneys, like the liver, remove waste from the blood and return the filtered blood back into the body. The Kidneys also remove lactic acid produced by cells in the body and help to maintain healthy fluid, salts and minerals levels in your blood. Each minute, approximately one litre of blood enters the kidneys via the renal arteries. The blood is filtered and cleaned, and it flows back into the body through the renal veins.
The Lymphatic system
The lymphatic system is a collection of lymphatic tubes and lymph nodes, which branch out throughout the body. The lymphatic system contains fluids that flow throughout the lymph vessels and are filtered through the lymph nodes. The lymphatic system filters out waste products and abnormal cells from this fluid. The filtered lymph fluid then goes back into the blood stream. Therefore, this system also has a big role in helping the body detoxify.
The Cardiovascular system
The blood, as highlighted above, contains toxins and waste when it circulates throughout the body. It then transports the waste and toxins to the Liver and the Kidneys. Therefore, it is extremely important to have good circulation throughout the body to ensure that the waste and toxins are transported to the organs of elimination.
Herbs to help detoxification:
In this blog, we will focus on one herb to help support each specific system and organ noted above. By aiding the organs and systems specific to elimination, this will help your body to function effectively and detoxify.
Milk thistle ~ Silybum marianum
This herb is renowned for its liver aiding abilities. Milk Thistle contains three isomer flavonolignan constituents (silybin, silychristin and silydisnin), which are known together as Silymarin. Overall, Silybin makes up approximately 50% to 70% of Silymarin and it is the component with the greatest biological activity. Silymarin can be found in the entire plant, however it is most concentrated within the fruit and the seeds. Silymarin, is what give Milk Thistle its liver aiding abilities.
Silymarin acts as an antioxidant as it reduces free radical production. Antioxidants act as “defenders” within the body. Free radicals are unstable molecules, which are created during metabolism or from certain things such as smoking, pollution or stress. Free radicals are cell damaging and this can lead to diseases, such as cancer. Silymarin aids with neutralising these free radicals and prevents them from causing liver damage.
Silymarin helps to reduce lipid peroxidation, which is when your cells, that are made up of fats are again damaged by free radicals. This causes damage as it weakens the cell membranes in the liver. Therefore, Silymarin can help to prevent this occurring and keeps your liver cells healthy.
Furthermore, Milk Thistle, due to Silymarin, helps to reduce Liver scarring (antifibrotic activity), due to Silymarin. Over time, the liver can develop scar tissue if it is repeatedly injured by certain things, such as viruses, alcohol or certain toxins. Silymarin modulates the fibrotic process, via reducing the activation of hepatic stellate cells, which are responsible for collagen deposition. Overall this helps to reduce scarring of the liver.
Another mechanism of Silymarin, is that it acts as a protective agent by preventing toxins from binding to hepatocyte (liver cell) membranes. This helps to protect the liver from the effects of environmental toxins, alcohol and drugs.
Finally, Milk thistle has been shown to help liver cell regeneration.
Therefore, Milk Thistle is an effective remedy to help support the liver from damage and also help regeneration, overall helping the liver to function effectively.
Cleavers are a great spring-time tonic herb to help detoxify the body. This herb usually shoots up in spring after a long dark winter.
Cleavers are a very cleansing and cooling herbal remedy. They stimulate lymphatic flow and drainage to help get rid of excess fluid and resolve congestion and inflammation. Furthermore, since Cleavers stimulate the lymphatic system, they also have an immunomodulatory action, as they stimulate the white blood cells in the lymphatic fluid. This will help to relieve any infection. Cleavers can be taken as a tea or tincture, or they can be picked in spring and juiced for a great springtime tonic!
Horsetail is given this common name, since the plant looks like a horse’s tail. The Latin name Equisetum is derived from the Latin roots equus, meaning "horse," and seta, meaning "bristle."
This herb is very high in minerals and silica, causing this herb to be very nutritionally rich and beneficial, increasing nutrient intake. Furthermore, the silica content is beneficial for supporting the regeneration of bones, cartilage and tissues.
Horsetail has a diuretic action. This helps your kidneys to flush out waste and excess salts and water. Through this mechanism it helps to reduce damage to your kidneys by lowering the blood pressure and helps to reduce pressure and damage to the blood vessels in the kidneys.
Capsicum frutescens ~ Wild pepper
Chilli of any kind is a great heating and stimulating herb. When you eat a chilli, it causes a hot sensation in your mouth and you become warm and even begin to sweat. This gives an insight to its therapeutic uses.
Capsicum frutescens contains a constituent called capsaicin, which has been shown to dilate the blood vessels and allow for greater blood flow throughout the body. It opens the periphery blood flow and allows blood circulation to the extremities, which can help in conditions such as Raynaud’s syndrome. Furthermore, Capsaicin exhibits anti-platelet effects and decreases blood coagulation (clotting); this means that chilli thins the blood, and thinner blood will flow more easily throughout the body, increasing circulation. Overall, this herb stimulates circulation, opens the cardiovascular system and pushes blood around the body.
In Conclusion:
Overall, herbal medicine can help you to detox in January and is a great natural way to help you to start getting back to normal after the festive period. The herbs listed above are accessible, and they can be integrated into your lifestyle easily.
However, as always, if you are taking any medication, have any medical conditions or if you are under the age of 12 years old, please check with a qualified practitioner before taking herbal medicine.
What herbs do you like to use for detoxing or getting back into the swing of things?
*Photo credit : Thanks to Denys Nevozhai
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