Summary
In order to effectively rid your body of accumulated toxins, they need to be released from where they're hiding, processed by our liver, and eliminated from the body. The first requires calorie restriction, the second requires nutritional density, and the third requires optimal functioning of our organs of elimination. These include the skin (via sweating), kidneys (via urine), liver (through bile), colon (acting like a sewer), and lungs (through evaporation).
Details
Periodic "detoxes" as they have been come to know are a beneficial practice among those looking to kick start a healthier routine, or just hit their body's reset button. In order to get the most out of your experience you'll want to consider the 3 key elements: mobilizing the toxins from where they're hiding, processing them in the liver, and eliminating them from the body.
Many toxins end up getting stored in our fat cells. In order to get them out, you need to start burning that fat. That's why all "detox" protocols have one thing in common: calorie restriction. When you limit your energy intake, you start burning your fat, and the toxins move out in the blood and lymphatic system. This initial phase often shuffles the toxins around and people often experience headaches or flu like symptoms. Then next step is to make sure your body has the tools it needs to handle the impending toxic storm.
The liver has many roles in the human body, not the least of which is metabolizing toxic materials. What this means is taking something that is fat soluble, and making it water soluble so that it can make its way to the kidneys and out through the urine. This requires many nutritional co-factors. One common and effective way to get these is to incorporate fresh vegetable and fruit juices. Using carrots as an example, the juice of 5 or 6 carrots may only amount to a small glass of liquid, whereas if you were to try and eat 6 carrots, you won't have much room left in your stomach for anything else. Ideally you'll want to juice a variety of fruits and vegetables to get the full array of beneficial nutrients. There are also some products available on the market designed specifically for medical fasts that provide your body with a good mix of nutrients for the job. The downside to juices is that they tend to be high in sugar, and almost completely void of fibre.
Our organs of elimination are the final and in my opinion the most important component of any healthy detox regime. Without enhancing our ability to get rid of the toxins that have been mobilized and processed, they'll just get reabsorbed and redistributed in our bodies. The obvious organs are the kidneys - which produce urine; the colon - which acts more as a sewer system than anything else; the skin - which eliminates through sweat; the liver - which processes the toxins and makes bile to be eliminated through feces; and the lungs - through evaporation.
The kidneys are sensitive organs and susceptible to damage by heavy metals and other toxins. In order to help them out, drinking at least a couple litres of clean water will help ease their burden. Also, since sweat is essentially just a more dilute version of urine, the skin serves as a large, nearly indestructible extra kidney if you know how to use it. Saunas and exercise are great ways to get sweating. Public saunas are often too hot to tolerate any longer than a 10 minute sweat, which isn't sufficient to get the toxins flowing out. if you can keep the temperature between about 140-180 F, it will be much more tolerable for longer periods. If using a sauna is an option for you, be sure to hydrate with electrolytes to prevent dehydration.
As for the liver/colon connection, fiber is the key. Bile from the kidney enters the sewer superhighway (colon) en route to entering the real sewer through the toilet. If there's no fiber in the colon, it's unable to keep things moving and the system slows down. The toxins pumped into the colon from the liver will get broken down by bacteria and reabsorbed into the body. To prevent this, we need to make sure we're getting fibre. My recommendation for the juice fasters is to eat some of the pulp they get from their juicing. This helps bind up the toxins in the feces and carries them out of the system.
The lungs are helpful to eliminate certain types of toxins through evaporation. Clean air and deep breaths are the keys here.
In conclusion, occasional detoxes are a very beneficial practice for your health. Although this article provides an overview of the principles, medically supervised detoxification is optimal. Discerning physicians are able to identify the best course of action based on your exposures to target the specific toxins that are likely to be problematic for you.
