Botanical Nutrition

WITH ADDED SCIENCE ON ZEOLITE AND FULVIC MINERALS FOR HUMAN HEALTH

Just because mainstream medicine doesn’t talk about detoxification doesn’t mean it isn’t a legitimate health strategy. All too often the way mainstream (read: pharmaceutical driven) medicine dismisses natural medicine (its ‘competitor’ in the marketplace of ideas, as well as dollars) as some kind of “hoax” or “made up thing” that silly alternative med fans believe.

We have also seen Zeolite used for natural treatment of toxic smoke inhalation in the case of wildfires and other public health crises.

This can be particularly true when you talk about natural supplements for detoxification. The craziest thing to me is that this has now even become politicized, which is madness. Still, we must address those who think all natural supplements are a ‘hoax’ as well.

 One may simply dismiss nutritional supplements out of hand, but to do so would be to inherently miss out on loads of beneficial supplements which exist outside the realm of “conventional medicine.”  Nutritional supplementation in general exists in a sort of grey area in the United States, classified more as a ‘food’ than as a ‘drug’[1] by laws passed in 1994 and 2000 (See DSHEA).

[1] (but really, in its own category outside of either food or drug)

In natural medicine, there are many different kinds of detoxifying agents.  Many of these support detoxification by supporting the body’s natural detoxification organs including the liver and the kidneys, as well as supporting the lymphatic system.

The porous nature of Zeolite results in high surface area and cation-exchange capacity. The negatively charged framework of Zeolite allows it to attract and bind positively charged ions, including metal cations, ammonia, and organic molecules.n the context of detoxification of the body, the high surface area and cation-exchange capacity of Zeolite is of particular interest. These properties enable Zeolite to adsorb and trap reactive oxygen species and free radicals, as well as modulate the bioavailability of essential minerals and trace elements in the gastrointestinal tract.

Zeolite acts in the body in a way that is quite different from most natural detoxification agents, in that it acts as a magnet for potential pathogens vis a vis what is called cation exchange at a cellular level.  Once it has adsorbed (not to be confused with absorption) these harmful substances they are more easily excreted from the body by the liver and kidneys and other parts of the body.

TOP 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP YOUR BODY DETOXIFY

1. Get at least 8 hours of sleep per night
2. Take Black Earth Zeolite, a combination of volcanic Clinoptilolite and over 70 humic fulvic minerals
3. Drink plenty of clean purified water every day
4. Drink fresh vegetable juice as often as possible
5. Avoid processed foods and synthetic chemicals like dyes and preservatives
6. Take liver and kidney (detoxification organs) support herbs like Milk Thistle, Turmeric and Dandelion and and mushrooms/mycelium Reishi, Chaga and Turkey Tail.
7. Only drink alcohol occasionally and in moderation, or avoid it altogether
8. Make sure to consumer a fiber-rich diet, and try supplementing with additional amounts especially while cleansing
9. Eat a whole foods diet rich in antioxidants such as organic fruits and vegetables

So is detoxification a hoax?

WHY IS DETOXIFICATION CONTROVERSIAL?

Everyone has a bias.  This is part of the reason we need to control for it in scientific experimentation, and account for it in philosophy and reason.

Some people are biased against natural health modalities, and still many others may just be lean on information needed to evaluate such modalities.  Surely history AND philosophy are on our side when we consider the benefits of trying a “preventive” model.

Often the criticisms I see of natural health online are based on extreme examples used to create a sort of ‘straw man’ argument. (Where the critic refutes an imagined argument, custom fit to match their critique, rather than addressing credible scientific arguments to the contrary.)

I offer this quote from Dr Peter D’Adamo (author of the Blood Type Diet) and a big advocate of specific supplementation from an interesting blog post on DETOXING FROM DETOX

“While detoxification might seem like big-business pseudoscience, the reality is much clearer: our bodies simply weren’t designed to deal with the chemicals they’ve been introduced to in the past hundred-plus years. Detoxification itself is a well-understood process, and by pursuing the proper supplements and nutrients, you can implement a proper cleansing regimen.”

THE SCIENTIFIC VALIDATION OF DETOXIFICATION SUPPORT

         This is particularly important because of the many public misconceptions about ‘detoxification’.  In many ways the two biggest modulators of detoxification in the human body are the liver and the kidneys. (Okay maybe that is technically three).

         One could write an entire book on the Liver and the processes of Phase 1 and Phase 2 detoxification, indeed many people have.  Suffice to say, if we want to support the detoxification of the body, one of our most important areas of focus should be on supporting Phase 1 and Phase 2 liver detoxification.

         However, the supportive effect of Zeolite on detoxification processes appears to be indirect.  By adsorbing or deactivating toxins in various local areas of the bodies (vis a vis cells and tissues) Zeolite may help to reduce the liver load, while not necessarily supporting liver function as other supplements have been shown to such as Milk Thistle, Glutathione, NAC and many others.

Researchers in Frontiers in Pharmacology Pavelic et al in 2018 concluded, “Due to clinoptilolite’s remarkable ion-exchange and adsorption properties and consequent detoxifying effects, it has proven useful in the elimination of a variety of contaminants from the body or in amelioration of the intestinal status. An indirect systemic detoxification effect attributed to clinoptilolite-based material supplementation in the diet of both animals and humans was documented in other organs as well, e.g., liver. However, the observed positive systemic mechanisms are still not completely understood.”