hol+ with Dr. Taz MD | The Future of Medicine is Holistic

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This episode is sponsored by Hol+, a holistic health platform built around [00:00:05] education, personalization, and integrative care. Hol+ blends [00:00:10] holistic, integrative, and functional medicine clinics with learning resources like blogs, [00:00:15] YouTube videos, and of course this podcast, so you're not just treated, you're informed.[00:00:20]
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The body detoxifies continuously through the liver, the [00:00:45] kidneys, the gut, the skin, and the lymphatic system. Juice fasts and cleanse kits [00:00:50] do not add capacity to that system. What measurably supports it [00:00:55] is adequate protein for liver phase two conjugation, daily bowel movements, [00:01:00] hydration, cruciferous vegetables, limited alcohol, and [00:01:05] sufficient sleep.
Detox has been turned into a product. Powders, [00:01:10] teas, juice fasts, foot pads. Meanwhile, you already own the [00:01:15] most sophisticated detoxification system ever built, and almost [00:01:20] nobody is taught how to support it. Let's fix that. In traditional Western medicine, detox is [00:01:25] honestly dismissed as a wellness kind of woo woo fad, and in fairness, [00:01:30] much of what is sold under that name deserves it.
Your liver [00:01:35] detoxes itself is the usual answer. True, but it stops the [00:01:40] conversation too early. Liver enzymes are checked only when something is [00:01:45] wrong, and mild elevations often go unexplored. [00:01:50] Cumulative environmental exposure is rarely discussed despite being a genuine [00:01:55] load on the system. The functional medicine approach to detoxification believes and [00:02:00] explores that detoxification is essentially continuous [00:02:05] biochemistry.
It's not an event that you schedule. It runs in a couple of [00:02:10] phases, and phase two is what requires nutrients that most [00:02:15] people are simply not getting any longer The exits matter [00:02:20] as much as the processing, and what I mean is that if your bowels are slow, your [00:02:25] work for detoxification is simply not done.
Supporting the [00:02:30] detoxification system is not glamorous, but it's effective. It's protein, [00:02:35] fiber, hydration, and sleep. The basics, guys. They keep applying to [00:02:40] so many of the different things that we talk about. There are actually five pathways of [00:02:45] detoxification that our body actually uses, and here's how we're gonna break them [00:02:50] down, and maybe while I'm doing this, you're kinda thinking through if there's one [00:02:55] that might be the weak point for you.
We have the liver, which is the processing [00:03:00] plant. It needs protein, B vitamins, and cruciferous vegetables. We have the gut, [00:03:05] which is how things get out of here. It needs fiber and a daily bowel movement, or the work [00:03:10] is reabsorbed. We need filtration from the kidneys, which needs adequate water [00:03:15] and electrolytes.
And our lymphatic system needs drainage. It doesn't have a pump, [00:03:20] so it needs movement and breathing. And your skin, largest organ of the body, needs [00:03:25] a secondary route, supported by sweating and by lowering what you put [00:03:30] on it. Now, here's what maybe doesn't really work. A juice [00:03:35] cleanse strips out the protein and the fiber and actually takes away the essential [00:03:40] things that this entire detoxification process depends on.
May [00:03:45] provide temporary gut rest. A detox tea, those are usually laxatives, [00:03:50] which is not actually the same as true detoxification. [00:03:55] Your foot pads and your patches and your foot baths, that discoloration is a [00:04:00] chemical reaction, not actual toxins. And then all that extended fasting as [00:04:05] a cleanse, over time, that can slow the very pathways that we're trying to [00:04:10] support.
So when we kind of find the middle road, right? The root cause [00:04:15] approach, really, like, taking what the wellness world is talking about and trending and [00:04:20] all that stuff with what the medical world really wants to solve and finding the happy [00:04:25] spot, we know we need to adopt a functional medicine and holistic medicine approach.
We [00:04:30] wanna know why the system is struggling to keep up. Is it not enough protein? [00:04:35] So then phase two conjugation that takes place in the liver slows down. It [00:04:40] runs on amino acids. Is it constipation? All that processed stuff, all those [00:04:45] compounds get reabsorbed rather than getting eliminated. Those [00:04:50] nutrient gaps, like your B vitamins, magnesium, and glutathione, these are things that we talk [00:04:55] about in practice over and over again.
Those are really important for both phase [00:05:00] one and phase two detoxification and all the different pathways we just talked about. [00:05:05] Alcohol and your medication load, it's competing for those same liver [00:05:10] pathways, so detoxification can slow down. And then chronic stress and poor [00:05:15] sleep just reduces capacity, and the environmental and cosmetic exposure, [00:05:20] that actually contributes to the total toxic load, which matters, as [00:05:25] science is showing, more than any one particular source [00:05:30] What we try to do at holplus, and what I try to do and e- educate my patients on, [00:05:35] is we start with the basics when it comes to detoxification.
It doesn't have to be fancy. It doesn't [00:05:40] have to be super organized, but the basics matter and the day-to-day routine [00:05:45] counts. Getting enough protein, the single most overlooked requirement for [00:05:50] real detoxification. Remember, we need those amino acids, but [00:05:55] that protein has to be paired with fiber and water or it [00:06:00] also does not get metabolized well and elimination won't happen, [00:06:05] along with movement that the body needs to make all of this work together.
We [00:06:10] know the cruciferous vegetables are powerful when it comes to detoxification. [00:06:15] They contain everything from DIM that helps metabolize estrogen to sulforaphane, which really [00:06:20] helps the glutathione pathways in terms of eliminating both internal and environmental [00:06:25] toxins. Broccoli, cabbage, and greens support the liver pathways [00:06:30] directly.
We know we need to hydrate properly. Water with electrolytes, having that [00:06:35] consistently throughout the day. And then measuring and understanding [00:06:40] your incoming load. Alcohol, ultra-processed foods, and one or [00:06:45] two personal care swaps can make a world of difference when it comes to how you [00:06:50] detox and your overall detoxification pathways.
Sleep, the [00:06:55] brain has its own clearing system and when we are not sleeping, we are putting more [00:07:00] burden on the body when it comes to toxic load, which in turn triggers [00:07:05] inflammation and micro inflammation, keeping us in that cortisol loop and [00:07:10] becoming sort of the precursor for future disease. So again, [00:07:15] everything is connected.
We've gotta connect the dots and we've gotta understand your [00:07:20] story rather than just jumping on the latest trend. You don't need a cleanse. You need [00:07:25] to give a very sophisticated system the raw materials it's been asking [00:07:30] for. I'm so curious, what detox products have you guys tried? Have they worked? Have [00:07:35] they not worked?
What was the benefit that you saw as you tried them? Now, a lot of the [00:07:40] nutrients that I'm talking about here we do have and we use within our clinics as [00:07:45] a part of our detox protocols when we're trying to help patients support these different pathways. [00:07:50] They are all physician-grade. They're evidence-based.
We've used them over and over again and you can [00:07:55] find them in our holplus shop. If you want a deeper dive into all things [00:08:00] detoxification and cleansing and what it actually means and our perspective clinically, check [00:08:05] out my latest episode on the holplus show where I talk a little bit more in depth [00:08:10] about detoxification.