Microplastics and Forever Chemicals: Why Your Body Can't Detox Them — and What It Actually Needs — The sequence, and why mobilizing without capacity makes things worse

The biology gives you a natural sequence. It&#8217;s not a protocol. It&#8217;s the order in which the system actually works when you&#8217;re trying to restore function. The first focus is always reducing the inflow. Continuing to add new exposure while trying to clear the old is a losing equation regardless of what else you do. The second focus is rebuilding capacity before mobilizing anything. This means restoring mitochondrial function, glutathione synthesis, methylation capacity, bile flow, and gut barrier integrity. Every downstream step fails without these. Pushing a detox without this foundation is a common and predictable reason people get worse rather than better. The third focus is upregulating phase II throughput. Nrf2 activation, broadening the enzymatic bandwidth of conjugation, and ensuring the handoff from phase I to phase II is tight enough that reactive intermediates don&#8217;t accumulate and cause oxidative damage. The fourth focus is specifically interrupting the recirculation loops &#8212; bile acid reuptake for PFAS and lipophilic toxins, and beta-glucuronidase deconjugation for hormone metabolites and phase II conjugates. Without this, you&#8217;re running a pump with the drain closed. The fifth focus is mobilization through the excretory routes &#8212; skin, lymphatic flow, urinary elimination. This is the step most people jump to first. When they do it