In the seventh episode of The Healing Terrain, Dr. Emily Hernandez is joined by Dr. Drew Kidder to discuss the drainage funnel and where it belongs in a detoxification protocol.
The conversation covers the difference between detoxification and drainage, how the funnel is organized from the colon up to the cell, why mitochondrial support comes first, and what practitioners can look for when those pathways are not moving.
Detoxification and Drainage Are Not the Same Thing
Dr. Kidder opened by separating two terms that often get used interchangeably.
"It’s the process of mobilizing toxins. We always think of the liver as our primary detoxifying organ, taking these fat-soluble toxins, converting them into a water-soluble toxin to be eliminated from the body via the urine, the bile, the stool."
Drainage is what carries the mobilized toxin the rest of the way out. He tied the distinction to what patients report.
"They work in mobilizing, moving the toxin. But if those drainage pathways are not facilitated, then they’re going to feel bad because they’re recirculating them. They’re not getting out of the body."
Why Order Matters
Asked about sequencing, Dr. Kidder made the argument in one sentence about binders.
"Binders are wonderful, but if those binders bind on to a toxin but don’t have the ability to take it and get rid of it, now we’re missing the piece of drainage."
He described the goal as support rather than force.
"Our goal shouldn’t be forcing detox. It should be helping support those natural detox processes, but supporting then the elimination through the drainage funnel."
How the Drainage Funnel Works
Dr. Kidder walked the funnel from the bottom up, starting at the colon.
"If you’re not pooping, you’re not eliminating toxins."
Kidneys and liver sit at the next level, and he tied kidney function to hydration.
"If you are not hydrated, are you going to help through that kidney pathway? The answer is no."
Above those sit the lymphatic system, the glymphatic system, and the cells. The mechanism is the same at every level.
"If one of those areas is plugged, is congested, whatever is above it is going to back up."
When a patient reports feeling bad on a detox, his first question goes to the bottom of the funnel.
"If people feel lousy on a detox, then one of my questions is, how often are you pooping?"
Why the Lymphatic System Gets Overlooked
Dr. Kidder described the lymphatic level as where cellular debris collects, and noted where most of that fluid originates.¹
"25 to 50 percent of our lymph fluid is actually created by our liver."
What presents as a lymphatic issue may call for liver support alongside it. Dr. Hernandez raised the structural difference between lymph and blood.
"Our circulatory system has the heart to pump it, but the lymph doesn’t have any pumps besides that mechanical movement of the muscles and tissues that bring it back."
Dr. Kidder named rebounding, dry brushing, and vibration as ways to stimulate it, and pointed to the lymph chains under the mandible during an upper respiratory infection.
"Our sedentary lifestyles sometimes don’t really help facilitate good lymphatic flow."
The Brain Has Its Own Drainage System
Dr. Kidder described the glymphatic system as the brain’s counterpart to lymphatic drainage.²
"The glymphatic system is our lymphatic system of the brain. It’s what is going in and scrubbing all that cellular debris, mostly during our sleep cycles. That’s where our body really resets and recycles."
He connected stagnation at that level to waking with headaches and to puffiness above the clavicles.
Why Mitochondria Come First
Dr. Kidder placed mitochondrial support ahead of the funnel rather than inside it.
"Organs don’t just fail on their own. The energy within that organ fails. The energy within those cells, within the tissues, within the organ fails."
Every organ in the funnel depends on it.
"We can’t talk about our liver and our kidneys and our lymphatics if we’re not looking at what do we need to do to support the mitochondria within those organ systems."
He described the cell membrane as permeable in both directions, which makes exposure a cellular problem.
"What we’re exposed to through the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the toxic chemicals in homes and in work environments, those are impacting our cells. They impact our mitochondria."
Opening Drainage Before Going After Anything Else
Dr. Kidder described the sequence as mitochondria first, then drainage, then pathogens or toxic burden. Mold and mycotoxins, environmental compounds including glyphosate and atrazine, and heavy metals all come after.
"Going through the proper processes to support the body in the sequence that it needs."
Why the Exposure Load Keeps Growing
Asked about the environment patients are living in, Dr. Kidder used wildfire smoke to show that exposure is rarely one compound.
"It’s not just the wildfires. It’s what’s in the fires."
Agricultural land that has been sprayed carries pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides into the smoke. Structure fires add paint, rubber, and volatile organic compounds.
"We can’t live in a bubble. We can control what we can control."
That is where he placed binders, with a qualifier in the same breath.
"Binders are kind of becoming like the modern day multivitamin, not saying in any way it replaces your multivitamin."*
What Bile Has to Do With Drainage
Asked for a product he returns to for drainage, Dr. Kidder pointed to Advanced TUDCA and explained it through bile.³*
"We need bile on board to grab onto that water soluble toxin to dump it into the small intestine and then move out through the bile, through the bowels. So the more bile we can have on board, the better."
"It’s shown to actually increase not only the quality of our bile, so that we don’t have this thick sluggish bile, but increases the quality and the quantity of our bile."
Symptoms That May Point to Drainage
Dr. Kidder was direct that no symptom is specific to drainage, and named the ones he would not overlook: brain fog, general and chronic fatigue, digestive issues, and skin issues. He described the skin as an exit route.
"Our body is also going to push toxins through the points of least resistance."
"That’s your body pushing those toxins and toxicants through your skin."
He added fluid retention and puffiness as lymphatic indicators, and joint and tissue stiffness as another place to look.
"Sometimes we have to just look at the simple and go, maybe it is a drainage issue."
What Practitioners Should Ask About
The one place Dr. Kidder addressed practitioners directly was intake.
"It’s not when someone says, do you have regular bowel movements? To them, regular may be every three to five days. That’s not regular. That may be common for them."
Listen to the Full Episode
The Drainage Funnel: How the Body Eliminates Toxins is available on Dr. Talks, Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.
References
1. Ohtani O, Ohtani Y. Lymph circulation in the liver. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2008;291(6):643-652. doi:10.1002/ar.20681
2. Xie L, Kang H, Xu Q, et al. Sleep drives metabolite clearance from the adult brain. Science. 2013;342(6156):373-377. doi:10.1126/science.1241224
3. Kusaczuk M. Tauroursodeoxycholate—bile acid with chaperoning activity: molecular and cellular effects and therapeutic perspectives. Cells. 2019;8(12):1471. doi:10.3390/cells8121471
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
