Bioregulatory Detox: A Smarter Way to Clear Metals and Glyphosate

Join Dr. James Odell for Season 2 of the Science of Self-Healing Podcast! He's the medical and executive director for BRMI, as well as a practicing naturopathic doctor for over 35 years, and he's here to share with you his extensive knowledge of medicine from a different perspective.

The Bioregulatory Medicine Institute

The Science of Self-Healing Podcast

Heavy metals and glyphosate rarely show up as the “obvious culprit” behind fatigue, inflammation, brain fog, or hormonal chaos — and that’s exactly why they’re so disruptive. In this episode of The Science of Self-Healing, we explore how these quiet, pervasive environmental exposures interfere with cellular communication, microbiome balance, mineral status, detoxification rhythms, and the body’s innate regulatory intelligence.

You’ll learn how heavy metals mimic essential minerals, why they disrupt enzymes and mitochondrial function, how glyphosate reshapes the microbiome and binds to minerals, and why these two toxins often amplify each other’s effects. We’ll also break down the bioregulatory philosophy of detoxification — a slow, rhythmic, system-supportive approach that prioritizes drainage, mineral repletion, lymphatic flow, bile support, microbiome restoration, and safe chelation practices.

From the role of sulfur compounds and EDTA… to humic substances, probiotics, binders, and the emotional terrain of detoxification… this episode reframes cleansing not as an aggressive intervention but as a return to biological intelligence.

If you’ve ever wondered why detox can feel overwhelming, why symptoms don’t always match exposures, or how to support resilience in a world of invisible toxicants — this conversation will change the way you understand the body’s self-healing capacities.

Transcript for: Bioregulatory Detox: A Smarter Way to Clear Metals and Glyphosate

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Science of Self-Healing podcast. For health and wellness knowledge from a different perspective. Produced by the Bioregulatory Medicine Institute, also known as BRMI. We are your source for unparalleled information about how you can naturally support your body's ability to regulate, adapt, regenerate, and self-heal. I'm your host, Dr. James Odell, the medical and executive director for BRMI, as well as a practicing naturopathic doctor for over 35 years. And remember, this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for the direct care of a qualified health professional who oversees and provides unique and individual care. The information here is to broaden our different perspectives and should not be construed as medical advice or treatment. Let's get started.

Introduction

Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Science of Self-Healing.

There are topics in health that sit quietly in the background of our lives—so familiar, so embedded in modern culture, that we hardly recognize them as threats. Heavy metals and glyphosate belong to that category. They don’t demand our attention the way an acute illness does. Instead, they accumulate slowly, invisibly, and—perhaps most importantly—they interfere with the body’s natural regulation and self-healing in ways that are deceptively subtle.

We’re living in a moment in history where environmental exposures are higher than ever before, yet our awareness of them is lower than it should be. And part of the reason for that is that our symptoms don’t usually point directly to these exposures. Fatigue doesn’t announce itself with the message “I am caused by aluminum,” and brain fog doesn’t whisper “This is what happens when glyphosate disturbs your gut microbiome.” These exposures blend into the background noise of modern living, and their effects are easy to attribute to stress, aging, or genetics.

Yet the human body is always communicating with us. Every symptom is a message. Every discomfort is a signal. And in the bioregulatory model of medicine, the key to understanding these messages often begins with looking at the most basic building blocks of cellular communication—minerals, enzymes, energy production, detoxification rhythms, microbiome ecology—and asking what is interfering with them.

Heavy metals and glyphosate are not villains in a dramatic story. They are simply mismatched guests in a biological home that wasn’t designed for them. And when they accumulate, the home becomes disorganized. Communication falters. And the systems responsible for regulation become overwhelmed.

This expanded narrative is an exploration of that disorganization—how it forms, how it affects physiology, and how bioregulatory strategies guide the body toward restoring its natural sense of order through chelation, binding, and system-wide support.

A Brief History of Exposure: How We Got Here

It’s helpful to step back and remember that heavy metals have always existed in nature. They are part of the earth’s crust, present in soil, rock, and water. In ancient cultures, metals were used to create pigments, cookware, jewelry, and armor. But the scale of exposure before the industrial era was dramatically smaller. Metals existed in the environment, but not at concentrations that could build up in the human body with the intensity we see today.

Industrialization changed everything. Mines expanded. Smelting operations released metals into the air and water. Lead became popular in household goods—pipes, utensils, and especially paint. The bright, durable pigments were irresistible. Mercury found its way into hat manufacturing, thermometers, and even medicinal products such as vaccines. Arsenic was used in pesticides and wood treatments. Cadmium became essential in manufacturing electroplated metals and batteries. And aluminum—once considered rare—became ubiquitous in packaging, cookware, personal care products, certain medical applications, and now it is sprayed into the atmosphere in the guise of climate geoengineering.

Fast-forward to the 20th century, and exposure wasn’t just common; it was routine. Children chewed on lead-painted toys. Workers handled mercury without protection. Water flowed through lead pipes for generations. Industrial emissions settled into soil, to be absorbed by crops decades later. Then came glyphosate.

Glyphosate, introduced in the 1970s and made globally dominant in the 1990s, was hailed as a breakthrough in agriculture. It was marketed as safe, efficient, and selective—killing weeds through a pathway humans don’t possess. But that claim missed the point. Humans may not have the shikimate pathway, but our gut microbiome does. Plants do. Soil organisms do. And the ecosystems that support human detoxification rely heavily on those microbial networks.

What emerged over time was a clearer and more concerning picture: glyphosate changes the chemistry of the intestinal microbiome, binds essential minerals, increases the absorption of heavy metals, and persists in the environment for far longer than initially believed.

The combination of historical metal accumulation and modern glyphosate use created a perfect storm. Metals disrupt enzyme signaling. Glyphosate disrupts microbial communication. Together, they interfere with the body’s ability to filter, neutralize, and eliminate environmental stressors.

Bioregulatory medicine sees this not as evidence of a failing body, but as evidence of an overwhelmed, toxic condition.

How Heavy Metals Alter Physiology at the Cellular Level

To understand bioregulatory detoxification, you have to understand the disruption it attempts to correct. Heavy metals don’t merely accumulate—they interfere with fundamental biological processes.

One of the most overlooked aspects of metal toxicity is molecular mimicry. Many metals resemble essential minerals in shape and charge. This allows them to displace the minerals our enzymes rely on. Magnesium-dependent enzymes can be displaced by aluminum. Lead can disrupt calcium channels. Cadmium can replace zinc in metalloproteins.

These substitutions have far-reaching consequences. They distort enzyme structure, slow metabolic reactions, weaken antioxidant defenses, impair neurotransmitter function, and disrupt hormonal signaling. And because enzymes are the gears of biology, even slight disruptions can have ripple effects throughout the entire system.

Mercury, for example, has an affinity for sulfur-containing proteins. These proteins are crucial for detoxification pathways, mitochondrial function, and antioxidant protection. When mercury binds to these proteins, the result is an oxidative stress state, where the body is producing more free radicals than it can neutralize.

Lead interferes with heme synthesis, impairing oxygen delivery, cognition, and muscle function. Arsenic affects methylation, a process essential for DNA repair and gene expression. Cadmium accumulates in the kidneys and disrupts filtration. Aluminum affects the nervous system, the immune system, and the structural integrity of cell membranes.

These are not dramatic disruptions; they are progressive ones. They take months, years, or decades to fully manifest. And their symptoms rarely point directly to metals. Instead, they show up as fatigue, impaired healing, chronic inflammation, cognitive changes, hormonal imbalances, and increased susceptibility to stress.

The bioregulatory perspective emphasizes that these symptoms are not random—they are signs that regulatory systems are being asked to do too much with too little support.

Glyphosate as a Biological Disruptor and Synergistic Toxin

Glyphosate, compared to heavy metals, behaves differently. Rather than binding tightly to human enzymes, it exerts its influence indirectly through the gut and through mineral binding.

Glyphosate chelates minerals, meaning it binds to them and reduces their availability. This is particularly relevant for magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc—minerals required for detoxification, antioxidant activity, and hormone production. When glyphosate binds these minerals in the soil or the gut, they become less available to plants, animals, and humans.

Glyphosate’s impact on gut bacteria is equally profound. Many beneficial bacteria rely on the shikimate pathway for survival. Glyphosate inhibits this pathway, altering the microbial community. Pathogenic bacteria often survive better under glyphosate exposure than beneficial strains. The result is a shift toward dysbiosis—a microbial imbalance known to affect immunity, digestion, neurotransmitter production, and detoxification.

One of the most overlooked consequences of glyphosate exposure is its synergy with heavy metals. Glyphosate binds metals such as aluminum, arsenic, and lead, forming complexes that are more easily transported across biological barriers. In other words, glyphosate doesn’t just chelate minerals; it can help metals penetrate deeper into tissues, including the brain.

This synergy means that even low-level exposures to metals can have amplified effects in the presence of glyphosate. It also means that detoxification requires a dual approach—supporting the body’s ability to release metals while addressing the compounds that help them accumulate.

Bioregulatory strategies recognize this relationship and aim to restore the body’s natural barriers, especially the gut lining and the microbiome.

The Bioregulatory Philosophy: Detoxification as Communication

In conventional medical detoxification, the goal is often straightforward: remove the toxin. In bioregulatory medicine, the goal is broader: to restore the body’s ability to regulate itself.

This distinction may seem subtle, but it’s foundational.

Mobilizing a toxin out of the extracellular matrix, which it's embedded in, without subsequently binding it and supporting organs of detoxification to eliminate it will create an insult to the system and stress the body further. Chelation with sulfur chelators or EDTA, for example, can cause mineral depletion if the body isn’t mineral-supported. Mobilizing toxins without adequate lymphatic or liver support can increase inflammation and may redistribute the toxin into other tissues. Also, pushing detoxification too quickly can overwhelm the body, particularly the nervous system. Detoxification to be effective is a long, slow process. It takes time and careful consideration.

Bioregulatory detox emphasizes:

• Pacing — detoxification that follows the body’s rhythms and takes time

• Preparation — supporting drainage pathways (lymph, liver, gut microbiome) before deep detox

• Restoration — replenishing minerals and nutrients that regulate detox systems

• Communication — restoring the gut-brain-immune network that coordinates detoxification

• Integration — recognizing that physical, emotional, and environmental stress all influence detox capacity

This approach creates a detoxification process that is not only more comfortable but safer and more sustainable.

Drainage: The Foundation of Safe Detoxification

Before metals are mobilized or glyphosate is bound, the pathways for elimination must be open and functioning. This includes the liver, kidneys, lymphatic system, gut, skin, and lungs. Detoxification without drainage is like trying to vacuum a house while the filter is clogged—you only redistribute the dust.

The liver relies on enzymatic pathways that require minerals and amino acids. The kidneys filter the blood and remove water-soluble toxins – hydration is very important. The lymphatic system, lacking a pump of its own, depends on movement, hydration, and gentle stimulation to flow. Thus, walking and movement daily is important. The gut provides the exit route for many bound toxins, especially those eliminated via bile. Supporting the intestinal microbiome with pre- and probiotics and nutrient-dense organic foods is important. 

Improving bile flow with herbs such as dandelion root and beets is a great way to assist the liver’s detox job. Also, improving hydration and electrolyte balance with minerals such as magnesium and potassium will stabilize pH balance and enhance kidney filtration. Stimulating lymphatic movement through gentle therapies such as dry brushing, light exercise, infrared sauna, or hydrotherapy are also keys to mobilizing toxins out of the body.

Only when these pathways are functioning well does deeper chelation become appropriate.

Chelation in the Bioregulatory Model

Chelation is the process of binding metals so they can be carried out of the body. The bioregulatory approach uses a spectrum of chelators, from gentle, natural compounds to stronger clinical agents. The choice depends on the individual’s health, resilience, and level of toxicity.

Natural chelators like chlorella, brown algae, cilantro, fulvic acid, humic acid, pectins, and fiber-based binders work gradually. They bind metals in the gut, assist in preventing reabsorption, and support steady elimination. They are also rich in nutrients that nourish the body during detoxification.

Stronger chelators like EDTA, DMPS, and DMSA work quickly and can pull metals from deeper tissues. In the bioregulatory framework, these agents must be used thoughtfully and with appropriate experienced support, since they can mobilize metals faster than the body can comfortably process them.

Chelation is never just about the chelator. It's about the system receiving the chelator—the mineral balance, the cellular energy, the detox pathways, and the overall resilience of the organism.

Glyphosate Binding and Elimination

Glyphosate is water-soluble, but its persistence in tissues often relates to its binding to metals and its effect on the microbiome. Binding strategies focus on substances that can intercept glyphosate in the gut, such as humic substances, specific clays, modified citrus pectin, and certain probiotics that degrade glyphosate.

Essentially, some of the same protocols that detox heavy metals (toxic element excess) are useful for eliminating glyphosate. 

• Prioritize organic foods 

• Eat more detox-supporting greens — like dandelion, arugula, and cruciferous vegetables.

• Reduce processed foods — which often contain hidden glyphosate residues.

• Consider natural binders — such as activated charcoal or bentonite clay (taken away from meals and supplements).

• Support your gut — with probiotics, prebiotic fiber, and fermented foods that help restore microbial balance.

• Stay hydrated — water helps the kidneys process and flush toxins.

  
  

Some bacterial strains—particularly Bacillus species—have been shown in research to break down glyphosate metabolites. These strains become part of a regulatory approach focused on restoring microbial diversity, improving gut barrier function, and reducing systemic absorption.

As glyphosate levels decrease, mineral balance often improves naturally, since fewer minerals are being sequestered in complexes. This allows detoxification enzymes to function more effectively.

Restoring Cellular Regulation After Detox

Detoxification is only part of the journey. Once metals and glyphosate begin to clear, the body’s regulatory systems need time and support to recover. Mineral replenishment is essential—especially magnesium, zinc, selenium, manganese, and trace minerals that participate in enzyme function. Mitochondrial support becomes important as cells shift from stress mode to repair mode. Antioxidants help neutralize residual oxidative stress.

The microbiome requires restoration, not only through probiotics but through prebiotic fibers and polyphenols that nourish beneficial bacteria. Nervous system regulation—through breathwork, sleep, emotional processing, and parasympathetic stimulation—helps detox pathways remain active and efficient.

Resilience is not built by simply removing what is harmful; it is built by strengthening what is essential.

The Emotional Landscape of Detoxification

An often-overlooked aspect of detoxification is the emotional experience. The body stores not only chemicals but also stress responses, memories, and patterns of tension. As detox unfolds, some individuals feel emotional shifts—clarity, irritability, grief, or relief. This is a natural part of the regulatory process.

In bioregulatory medicine, emotional balance is woven into the detox process. The nervous system influences detox pathways, and detoxification influences the nervous system. Rest, grounding practices, gentle movement, and supportive relationships can all reinforce the body’s capacity to process not only physical burdens but emotional ones.

Long-Term Resilience and Environmental Awareness

The final stage of detoxification is not the end of a journey but the beginning of a new relationship with the environment. It involves recognizing exposure pathways—water quality, food sources, air quality, household products—and making informed choices that reduce load. It means understanding that the body has incredible adaptability, but that this adaptability thrives when supported rather than challenged.

Bioregulatory medicine teaches that the goal is not to fear toxins but to respect the body’s communication systems. When those systems are supported, detoxification becomes a natural part of daily life rather than a crisis-driven intervention.

A Return to Biological Intelligence

Heavy metals and glyphosate are not just environmental challenges; they are catalysts that reveal the body's extraordinary capacity for adaptation and healing. Through bioregulatory approaches—slow, gentle chelation, intelligent binding, mineral replenishment, microbiome support, and nervous system regulation—the body finds its rhythm again. It remembers how to detoxify, how to regulate, and how to communicate. Essentially, detoxification is a return to the body’s original wisdom.

Well, that’s all for this episode.Stay tuned in two weeks for another episode of the Science of Self-Healing podcast. Be well.

Thank you for your time today, and remember that this podcast is made possible by the Bioregulatory Medicine Institute, also known as BRMI, a nonprofit, global, non political, non commercial institute to promote the science and art of bioregulatory medicine. We extend our gratitude to each and every one of you for listening today, and if you haven't already, make sure to visit us at brmi.online. A treasure trove of invaluable information awaits you there. Connect with us across various social media platforms as well. Come and become a member of our thriving tribe. If you've enjoyed today's episode, we invite you to show your support by rating us, leaving us a review, or sharing the podcast within your circle. Our podcast and mission flourish through sharing, and your participation means the world to us. Our organization is sustained by donations, each of which is tax deductible and fuels projects like this. Visit our website, brmi.online, to contribute or simply to explore the wealth of uncensored and impartial information we offer. No contribution is too small. In just two weeks, we'll be back delving into another captivating topic. Until then, we thank you once again for listening. May wellness and wisdom be your path. Be well.

Bioregulatory medicine is a total body (and mind) approach to health and healing that aims to help facilitate and restore natural human biological processes. It is a proven, safe, gentle, highly effective, drugless, and side-effect-free medical model designed to naturally support the body to regulate, adapt, regenerate, and self-heal. BRMI is a non-commercial 501(c)(3) foundation and will expand and flourish with your support. Our goal is to make bioregulatory medicine a household term.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for the direct care of a qualified health practitioner who oversees and provides unique and individualized care. The information provided here is to broaden our different perspectives and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.