How the Body Gets Rid of Toxins

by Craig Paardekooper

When your body wants to get rid of toxins, it does so by converting the toxins into a form that is soluble inwater, so that they can be excreted in the urine. The conversion into a soluble form takes place in the liver,and the excretion of the urine takes place in the kidneys.

The Detox Process
The process of conversion into a soluble form involves 2 steps.
Step 1: The first step is usually oxidation of the toxin carried out by oxidase enzymes called CYP450
enzymes, and by reductase enzymes.
Step 2: The second step is conjugation of the oxidised toxin with polar molecules - including the following
groups. These reactions are carried out by transferase enzymes.
••
••
••

AcetylGlycylGlutathione
Sulphyl
MethylGlucuronyl

These groups greatly increase the solubility of the toxin.

A Cause of Ageing
When these groups are in short supply, then the toxins in your body cannot be fully eliminated, and willbuild up - causing irreversible damage to tissues.
As we age, our ability to synthesis these groups diminishes, so inevitably our bodies become more toxic,and our health declines. In fact, the damage caused by toxins may turn out to be one of the main factors
responsible for ageing, and fixing this may result in a longer and healthier life.

Supplements that Promote Detoxification
Supplementing with the following amino acids boosts the synthesis of the conjugating groups •••glycinemethionine
cysteine

1. Glycine --> Glycyl group
2. Cysteine and Methionine --> Glutathione,
3. Cysteine and Methionine --> Sulphyl group
4. Methionine --> Methyl group
5. Acetyl Cysteine --> Acetyl group
Consequently, taking Glycine and cysteine (also possibly Methionine) as a supplement will greatly boost
your bodies ability to remove toxins.
For example - the health services typically use acetyl-cysteine for detoxification of paracetamol overdose

The graphs below show that methionine and cysteine increase the synthesis of Glutathione, and also treble
the activity of transferases, oxidases and reductases, which consequently trebles the rate of detox.

Wikipedia – “Cysteine” has this to say –“Due to the ability of thiols to undergo redox reactions, cysteine has antioxidant properties. Its antioxidant
properties are typically expressed in the tripeptide glutathione, which occurs in humans and otherorganisms. The systemic availability of oral glutathione (GSH) is negligible; so it must be biosynthesizedfrom its constituent amino acids, cysteine, glycine, and glutamic acid. While glutamic acid is usually
sufficient because amino acid nitrogen is recycled through glutamate as an intermediary, dietary cysteine
and glycine supplementation can improve synthesis of glutathione”

This table shows that GSH (Glutathione) concentration increased by
17 x after 1 day70 x after 2 days
135 times after 3 days
The greater concentration of Glutathione, and the greater concentration of all the other conjugating groups,
together with the tripled activity of the oxidases and transferases, will produce a stronger and more complete detox.

References:
1. University lecture notes on Toxicology – Timbrell, “Principles of Toxicology” p304
2. Wikipedia – “Cysteine”
3. “Methionine and Cysteine Affect Glutathione Level, Glutathione-Related Enzyme Activities and theExpression of Glutathione S-Transferase Isozymes in Rat Hepatocytes”
https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/127/11/2135/4728653