Toxicity and Detoxification Part 2: sources of recognized toxins & why the liver isn't always able to detoxify

Sources of recognized toxins
Examples of materials processed and detoxified by the liver are:

• nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): Rimadyl, EtoGesic
• alcohol
• anesthetics: halothane, isoflurane
• antibiotics: tetracycline, sulfonamides
• anti-seizure medications: phenobarbital, primidone
• barbiturates: Valium

Why the liver cannot detoxify some materials
Unfortunately, some materials that enter the body are not detoxified. This occurs because

• there is too much of the material for the liver to process (alcohol overdose, phenobarb overdose),
• the liver cells are genetically abnormal and cannot function (copper storage hepatopathy, microhepatia)
• the liver cells are damaged and cannot function (hepatitis, hepatic cirrhosis),
• the liver didn’t evolve with enzymes to address the toxin, or
• the material doesn’t reach the liver (portosystemic shunt).

When the liver does not detoxify materials, they remain in a form that cannot be excreted and thus are stored in the body. Some toxic materials gravitate to particular organs, others are dispersed generally throughout the body. These toxic materials cause disease and death. For example, Bedlington terriers and Westies often have livers unable to process and excrete copper. Toxic levels of copper collect within their livers and the liver becomes nonfunctional. Eventually, this is fatal.

Other forms of toxic material deposition are much more subtle. It is these subtle forms that are often targeted by those promoting natural products. They say, and it is true, that unprocessed toxins are stored within cells. Eventually cells contain so much garbage they cannot function—just as the city of New York cannot function when streets are full of garbage. The death of individual cells leads progresses to the death of an entire organ, then of the pet.

Share this post