Detoxification  / Copper

DETOXIFICATION / COPPER

 Let’s talk about detoxification! You might already know that heavy metals including copper, in excess are not only bad for you, but they can also be dangerous. But there are MANY things we are exposed to that need detoxing. Detoxification is the way the body heals and repairs itself. The body always has an internal cleansing process that takes place continuously and naturally.

Things we are exposed to that require our body to detox:
Air and water pollution, bacterial/parasitic/fungal overgrowth, cellular/metabolic wastes, chemicals, heavy metal exposure, poorly digested foods, radiation, stress and more…

Daily our bodies are being stressed, our systems of the body that handle detoxification get clogged up and simply cannot do the jobs they are supposed to do.

The systems of your body that handle detoxification are:

  • The Cardiovascular System
  • The Lymph System
  • The Digestive System
  • The Urinary System
  • Your Skin
  • The Respiratory System
  • It is absolutely vital that one addresses proper digestion and elimination BEFORE beginning a detoxification protocol.


The basic idea of detox is to remove toxins from your body. The digestive system is responsible for more than just the physical and chemical breakdown of foods. If you are not digesting well, even an absolutely perfect diet can clog the body’s detoxification pathways.

Elimination pathways (handling of detoxification) and what they do:

The digestive system, also scans food for invaders, detoxifies poorly digested fermented toxins, filters foods for intestinal bacteria and then eliminates toxins and other unusable substances from the body. If anything is off here, these jobs are not being done adequately and are actually creating more toxic issues.

The cardiovascular system, think blood, shuttling around toxins or delivering oxygen and critical nutrients.

The lymph system, think interstitial fluids that flow through lymph nodes where bacteria, viruses and organic materials are filtered out. The lymph act as pre-filter for the liver, to prevent overload and clogging

The intestines, liver, and gallbladder, think blocking foreign molecules and chemicals from entering the body as far as intestines. Any imbalance in intestinal flora can cause injury to the intestinal walls and allow undigested food and other toxins to leak into the bloodstream. This is where the birth of autoimmune disease begins.

  • The liver is responsible for cleaning and purifying the blood that nourishes our bodies. This includes the breakdown/neutralization and disposal of pharmaceutical drugs, as well as other toxins.
  • The gallbladder then receives these neutralized toxins in bile, and they are eventually excreted from the body in feces.


The urinary system, our kidneys are responsible for filtering blood to remove cellular wastes, like water and bile pigments. The toxins that have been properly bound and are ready for elimination will exit the body through either feces or urine.

The respiratory system, our lungs eliminate a variety of waste products, including carbon monoxide.

The skin, our sweat glands act as a sort of “second kidney” and are one of the body’s many routes of removing toxins. Ever have mystery breakouts? When the liver and kidneys are blocked and clogged up, we will detox through our skin. This may be why you break out!

But if the body has blockages in any of these elimination pathways, you cannot properly eliminate those toxins! When you try to force detox with clogged detox pathways, you have horrible symptoms, severe headaches, nausea, diarrhea, rashes, cystic acne, irritability, depression and more.

Amino acids play a huge roll in detoxification pathways in the liver. For example, Methionine is necessary to run the sulfation pathway.

Poor fat digestion can clog up the lymph, which then clogs up the liver. Bile is built of healthy fats, it is the bile that transports toxins out of the body, and we want that free flowing and in adequate amounts!

Toxins can deplete minerals like magnesium, and those minerals are needed to make enzymes. Some important detox enzymes are cytochrome P450 and NADPH, they assist in Phase I detoxification. Minerals also keep heavy metals from collecting in the tissues. Molybdenum and Manganese are two minerals that activate metabolic and detox enzymes.

Hydration is extremely important! Being well hydrated allows you to keep flushing toxins out of your body through your bowels or your urine. Being hydrated also allows you to perspire, keep your lung tissues moist and keep your blood fluid so that toxins can be delivered to the lymph and liver to handle.

By addressing digestion (and all that encompasses) and the elimination pathways for about 3 months, you allow your body to be physically ABLE to cope with getting rid of toxins. If digestion and elimination are not working properly, there is no way for the toxins to be properly eliminated.

Remember, your body is designed to detox naturally, working on the Foundations (Digestion, Blood Sugar, Fatty Acids, Minerals, Hydration and a Nutrient Dense, Properly Prepared Diet) will allow your body to do what is was designed to do!

Once you have worked on all of your detox pathways and they are functioning, and if you still have high levels of copper as shown on blood tests and on HTMA, you might consider the following:

  • Zinc (the major copper antagonist, but should not be used alone to lower copper, and supplementing high amounts of zinc will increase detox symptoms).
  • Diatomaceous earth (food grade only). Promotes detox of metals. Work up one teaspoon per week to 2-3 tablespoons daily (on an empty stomach if possible). It may cause copper-colored evacuations, so do not be alarmed. This should be taken far away from NDT, T3 and supplements for best absorption of them.
  • Molybdenum: up to 500 mcg – helps the liver to remove copper.
  • Sulfur sources (copper antagonists) in food: Eggs are among the highest dietary sources of sulfur, with meat, poultry and fish also providing large amounts. Methylsulfonylmethane, commonly known by its acronym, MSM, is not a drug. It’s an organic form of sulfur and a potent antioxidant, naturally found in many plants. While MSM is an important source of organic sulfur, it also has other unique properties.
  • Spanish Black radish: 500 mg – an herb high in sulfur. Sulfur also binds with copper, reducing its toxic effects. Sulfur is also important for liver detoxification. The product also contains parsley, an herb helpful for the kidneys.
  • NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine) but must be taken with Vitamin C (500 mg of NAC with 1,500 mg of Vitamin C) (high in Sulfur).
  • B6 (up to 1000 mg daily for one week, then maintenance doses of 150-200 mg daily). This is another copper antagonist that may be helpful during a copper elimination.
  • Liver, Kidneys and colon support:
  • Liver: Ox bile, NAC, Dandelion root, and Milk Thistle (Milk Thistle not to be taken if you have low Iron as it has potential to lower Iron). The product GB-3 combines ox bile, pancreatin, and black radish.
  • Kidneys: Swanson’s carries kidney glandular, an excellent support for your kidneys…etc. i.e. your body will NATURALLY try to lower the high copper as long as you strongly support the major detox glands.
  • The amino acids L-histidine and L-cysteine have shown an inhibitory effect on copper retention.

Nutritional Support of the Foundations and HTMA:

Nutritional Support of the Foundations, HTMA, AIP Coaching and Functional Blood Chemistry:
Elaine Damerau Swanson is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP) who offers packages to only see her and also packages to see Elaine and a prescribing Dr via video conference calling. For more information, please see Elaine’s website “Farm or Pharma” page here:   http://farmorpharma.com