Second site of detoxification: the intestines

2023-04-20 09:31:22

The microbiota present on the skin and mucous membranes are in direct contact with pollutants and represent selective exchange surfaces at the service of the body. This “barrier” determines the interactions between an organism and its environment. It is capable of modifying the structure of pollutants, making them less or more toxic than the initial molecule. Take the example of the enzyme Beta-glucuronidase, produced by bacteria in the intestine. Normally, it breaks down conjugated glucuronides (products neutralized after phase 1). But under abnormal conditions (dysbiosis, inflammation, Sibo, etc.) or by certain compounds (pill, hormone replacement therapy, tobacco, pesticides, etc.), it will be overstimulated and promote reabsorption of compounds destined for elimination, thus overloading the liver. This aggravates the imbalance of the microbiota by generating low-grade inflammation and permeability of the intestinal mucosa, which allows more toxins to pass through, undermining the entire enterohepatic ecosystem (phenomenon of endotoxemia). Detoxification can then be very insufficient. Actions aimed at improving the intestinal ecosystem are therefore also essential. to restore good detoxification functions than those more specific acting on the liver.

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Humans have evolved with bacteria in symbiosis. A symbiosis that has become protective, which also plays a role in detoxification functioneither directly or indirectly by preserving the integrity of the intestinal mucosa. The “good” bacteria are naturally anti-inflammatory and produce a mucus which carries the unwanted molecules with the faeces towards the exit. The limits of its protection have been revealed because certain food pollutants manage to pass (phthalates, bisphenols, etc.).

Likewise, our microbiota are very different from those of our ancestors. Changed by our modern lifestyles (highly processed foods, environmental products, etc.), and exposed to recent unsuitable pollution to body detoxification.

Detox capacities in phase 1 are variable

There are three types of factors that (significantly) vary phase 1, just on the CYP450 enzyme group: age, inflammation and genetics. For the latter, multiple polymorphisms (genes that have evolved differently depending on the individual) and which sometimes combine, have been discovered recently because of the failure they cause in our modern lifestyles, which leads us to no longer look at detox as a general thing. On the contrary, it must be considered in an individual way and it is not true to say that the body knows how to do, without taking into account these specificities, which are an additional pitfall in the capacities of adaptation to the modern world. Especially since some detox products can modify the effectiveness of a treatment or its toxicity (for example, St. John’s wort with antidepressants).

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The intestinal mucosa: after the liver, an important site

Phase 1 enzymes are also present and their activity decreases throughout the intestinal tract. Those of phase 2 are homogeneously distributed and their activity is similar to that of the liver. Inflammation modifies the activity of these enzymes and of methylation, itself involved in the expression of genes which regulate said enzymes. It consumes many nutrients to buffer the free radicals it generates, depriving the enzymes of their essential cofactors. Preserving the intestinal mucosa inevitably involves the microbiota, but also the supply of zinc, vitamins A and D, fatty acids, amino acids. Micronutrition can sometimes unblock a situation, but beware of physiologically unsustainable doses (which will increase the metabolic effort to process them and eliminate what the body cannot manage), to synthetic molecules (methylation defects, blocking of receptors, difficult metabolism) or to maladjusted forms (which require several transformations before they can be used).

The importance of hydrochloric acid (Hcl)

This secretion in the stomach to break down protein also triggers the hormones that cause the secretions to digest other macronutrients. When it is insufficient, this is a source of poor digestion (inflammation, defects of assimilation). The intrinsic factor which allows the transport of vitamins B9 and B12 (highly required in the second phase of detoxification) is also a function of the secretion of Hcl. It is stimulated by the need relating to digestion: the presence of proteins, and more consequent for those of animal origin (easily detectable). Zinc also contributes to its production. Microfiltered seawater is a good way to provide cofactors and stimulate it.

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