One of the most profound beneficial effects of a thorough detox is rebooting the metabolism. We see people everyday who have tried every form of diet under the sun to lose weight and find that after initial success they plateau and never get to their goal weight. A detox is ideal to reboot the metabolism to help you achieve your goals.

Weight problems are incredibly common in Australia, with studies showing that 70% of males and 56% of females are overweight.

While unhealthy dietary choices play a role, weight gain is far more complex than we like to acknowledge, it is never a simple matter of energy in vs. energy out in my opinion, especially for those of us over 40.

Some common conditions can effectively block weight loss in even the most diligent dieter, leading to frustration and despair. Two of these common conditions, namely leaky gut and poor liver function, are addressed during your detox program, so if you have been having problems with weight you should experience a boost to your metabolism.

Leaky Gut

As you will know by now we always address gut health and investigate leaky gut where indicated, as part of every detox program. Even though we have touched on leaky gut already, it is important to explain how it has a negative impact on metabolism.

The human digestive tract not only breaks down food and absorbs nutrients; it is home to trillions of commensal and symbiotic microorganisms whose role in human health is the subject of intense scientific scrutiny. In a healthy digestive system, the extensive colonies of bacteria are in balance and assist in the breakdown of food and general workings of the gut. However, these bacteria can be affected by many factors, including poor dietary choices, medications, stress or infection with other opportunistic parasites or bacteria, which can lead to an overgrowth of bacteria in the digestive tract, known as dysbiosis.

Dysbiosis causes low-grade inflammation, which increases the permeability of the gut wall, hence the term ‘leaky gut’. Bacterial particles can then escape the digestive tract and enter the circulation causing systemic low-grade inflammation and oxidative stress. This phenomenon is called metabolic endotoxemia, and is a major factor in weight gain, insulin resistance and obesity. Interestingly, human and animal studies have identified a species of common bacteria, called enterobacter, as being particularly associated with weight gain and obesity.

High sugar and high fat diets contribute to bacterial overgrowth in the gut, it has been suggested that changes in the bacteria found in overweight individuals are simply due to poor dietary choices, however, studies have disproven this theory.

Human trials have shown that harvesting healthy bacterial colonies from lean individuals and transplanting them into the digestive tracts of overweight or obese individuals actually triggers weight loss and helps to and normalise other metabolic markers like insulin and blood sugar levels.

While this sounds strange, the fact is that bacterial imbalance in the digestive tract is incredibly common and rebalancing the gut by using antimicrobial herbal medicines, nutrients, probiotics and a special diet to support ongoing gut health can restart weight loss and result in significantly healthier metabolic function.

Liver Stress

You might not know this, but the liver is one of the largest reserves of stored energy in the body, second only to our muscles. When our liver is under stress it is less effective at storing energy so we can experience higher circulating blood sugar levels. This leads to a vicious circle of greater fuel and lower ability to store it, which contributes to excess body fat. In addition to this, if the liver is under stress it can cause chronic low-grade inflammation. Any source of inflammation in the body, whether it comes from leaky gut or sluggish liver,  will interfere with insulin signaling, which in turn can lead to insulin resistance and weight retention.

Enhancing the function of the liver and gut reduces inflammation, enhances their ability to metabolise and eliminate toxins and refreshes metabolism.