The primary aim of the detox cure is to eliminate the waste that accumulates in the body. Find out why you should do this major cleanse, and how to go about it in practice.

Good reasons for a thorough clean

Before going into the practical details of a detox, it's important to understand where the waste that clogs up the body comes from, how the body eliminates it naturally and why, sometimes, we need to give this 'self-cleansing' system a little boost.

What kind of waste is weighing us down?

Every day, the body, like any other machine, produces waste products. It must also filter and eliminate harmful substances brought in by the food we eat, the air we breathe in or the cosmetics we apply to our skin. Here's a brief overview of these various undesirable substances, which can be divided into two main groups: those that come from within and those that come from outside.​

Internal toxins

Breathing, cell or blood cell renewal, digestion... these vital chemical reactions that take place in the body (known as metabolism) lead to the production of residues. This is a perfectly normal process. This metabolic waste is gradually filtered and eliminated by the emunctory organs: the liver, intestines, kidneys, lungs and skin. These main waste products are:

• dead cells, resulting from cell renewal
• urine, produced by the functioning of the kidneys
• carbon dioxide, produced during breathing
• mucus, produced by the mucous membranes
• sweat, made up of water and nitrogenous waste products
• sebum, produced by the renewal of the sebaceous glands

In addition to these "physiological" toxins, there are dietary toxins, produced when the food we eat breaks down:

• urea (which turns into uric acid), produced by the breakdown of proteins
• lactic acid, produced by burning carbohydrates
• ketoacids, produced by the metabolism of fats

External toxins

Potentially toxic products are present everywhere in our daily environment: in the food we eat, in the air we breathe, in the cosmetics we apply to our skin... These enemies are also known as "xenobiotics".

These toxins, mainly from food, are as follows:

• Pesticide and fertiliser residues in fruit and vegetables. Some are particularly affected (see table below).

• Heavy metals, present in certain fish (especially predators such as tuna and swordfish), tap water in certain regions, milk, cereals, certain vegetables, etc.
• Drug residues in meat and milk.
• PCBs (endocrine disruptors), found in animal fats (meat, fish, dairy products).
• Preservatives, additives, colourings and flavourings found in industrial products.
• Bacteria naturally present on the surface of fruit and vegetables, which are absorbed if they are poorly washed, or present on poorly preserved raw meat and fish.
• Toxic (and carcinogenic!) substances produced by certain cooking methods: acrylamide (in carbohydrate-rich foods cooked at high temperatures or grilled, such as chips, pastries, biscuits, toast, etc.), heterocyclic amines (grilled or barbecued meats), benzopyrene and acrolein (vegetable oils heated to too high a temperature and which 'smoke'), etc.
• Perfluorinated compounds, such as PFOA from Teflon frying pans.
• Chemical molecules that migrate from the container to the contents (bisphenol A and phthalates in plastics, aluminium in wrappers, etc.).

In addition to these food-borne toxins, there are others:

• Alcohol, which is a real poison for the liver when consumed in excess.
• Medicines. While they are of course essential in certain cases, we mustn't forget that they can also be considered toxic to the body. So you need to make sure you eliminate them properly, which is particularly important if you take them regularly.
• Cosmetics, which contain a number of compounds that are potentially toxic to the body.
• Chemicals and pollutants in the air, both outside (atmospheric pollution) and inside (glues, paints, candle smoke, household products, etc.).
• Tobacco smoke (both active and passive smoking!).

The body: a huge waste processing plant

To eliminate all these toxins, whether of internal or external origin, the body has five major self-cleansing systems, also known as 'emunctories': the liver (which plays a central role), the intestines, the kidneys, the lungs and the skin. Note that some naturopaths distinguish only four of these, grouping together the liver and intestines. Each of these organs specialises in filtering and eliminating one or more types of waste.

The liver, the key organ in the cleansing process​

The liver is the largest organ in the human body, and also the heaviest (just after the skin, which must also be considered an organ). In traditional Chinese medicine, it is the "general of the armies". Its role is to regulate the circulation of blood and the distribution of energy. It releases blood to nourish the muscles during periods of physical activity, then recalls and filters it during periods of rest. The liver is also the central organ of the self-cleansing system, the centre of detoxification: all the body's waste products pass through it. It filters the blood: it receives 'dirty' blood and its job is to clean it. And it does this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! To do this, it kills microbes, inactivates the various toxic substances absorbed (such as medicines, food additives, pesticides, alcohol, etc.), eliminates dead cells, etc. It is helped in its mission by the gallbladder, a small pouch located under the liver that stores bile. This substance produced by the liver has a dual role: it enables digestion and absorption of lipids, but also promotes the excretion of toxic substances and toxins. The liver is therefore said to have a choleretic function (it secretes bile) and a cholagogue function (it evacuates bile).

But detoxification is only part of the liver's job: it is also responsible for making vitamins available to the body, synthesising proteins, converting glucose into glycogen, i.e. energy... So it's easy to see that if you overload it with filtering toxins, it will have less time to devote to all its other vital functions!

This organ performs over 800 different functions.

The intestines, the sorting centre

The intestines are responsible for sorting out the nutrients that are useful to the body (amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, etc.), which pass into the bloodstream, and the unusable residues, which are evacuated in the form of faeces. In their work, they are helped by the friendly bacteria of the intestinal flora or microbiota (located in the colon, the lower part of the intestines), which enable the synthesis of vitamins and enzymatic reactions. The intestinal flora is also directly involved in the detoxification process. For example, it plays a central role in the elimination of steroid hormones and cholesterol. It is also a perfect complement to the liver's role in eliminating xenobiotics, particularly certain drugs.

The kidneys, essential filters

The kidneys play a central role as blood filters, processing more than a litre of blood every minute. In the form of urine, they eliminate a number of waste products, in particular those resulting from the transformation of nitrogen (uric acid), but also organic acids, ammonia, etc. To do this, they need a sufficient quantity of water, which will enable them to carry these waste products to the outlet (urine is made up of 95% water and 5% waste products). The kidneys also have the role of retaining certain non-toxic substances that are present in excess in the body, such as minerals, certain water-soluble vitamins and glucose.

The lungs, at the centre of gas exchange

Breathing, carried out by the lungs, has a dual function. Breathing in brings oxygen to the cells; breathing out expels waste gases produced by the body (carbon dioxide) and those brought in from outside, such as gaseous residues from smoking or pollution. This is an essential function, as the lungs are the first line of defence against the many pollutants that surround us. Hence the importance of taking the time to breathe properly to ensure this self-cleansing function!

The skin, mirror of our emunctories

The skin is just as much an organ as the heart and intestines. It's even the heaviest and largest organ in the human body! It is responsible for a number of functions, including regulating body temperature (sweating eliminates excess heat) and eliminating certain metabolic waste products. This elimination takes place via the sweat glands (perspiration), the sebaceous glands (sebum) and also via the epidermis, which 'expels' dead cells, hence the importance of not wanting to block perspiration at all costs (via antiperspirant sprays, for example), but also of regularly exfoliating and caring for the skin to facilitate cell renewal.

Another reason to pay attention to the appearance of your skin is that it is often said to reflect your inner health. What happens when the liver or intestines are congested, overwhelmed by waste that they can no longer eliminate? This waste looks for another way out, and ends up in the skin. The result: pimples, dark circles, dry skin, a blotchy complexion, accelerated ageing... The secret to keeping your skin beautiful and healthy, and fulfilling its role as a waste eliminator, is to take care of your other emunctory organs, particularly your liver and intestines.

The importance of lymph and the lymphatic system

In addition to the major detox organs, through which the blood circulates, there is another major circulation system that is essential but much less well known: the lymphatic system. Its role is to drain the lymph into the venous bloodstream. Lymph is the clear liquid that drains from wounds when people are injured. Derived from blood plasma and the interstitial fluid in which the cells are immersed, it circulates in the lymphatic vessels and is eliminated in the lymph nodes (folds in the groin, under the armpits and on each side of the neck). Lymph plays an essential role in the detoxification process. Because it circulates so slowly, it ensures that the body's fluids are properly purified: it takes infectious agents, foreign bodies and cellular waste with it and eliminates them in the lymph nodes. Lymph also plays a central role in immunity: it enables immune cells to circulate throughout the body, activating the immune response in the event of infection.

Unlike blood circulation, where the heart pumps the blood and then propels it through the vessels, lymphatic circulation has no pump: its proper circulation depends on our movements (muscle contraction) and our breathing (how the lungs work), as well as our diet (the more toxins it contains, the thicker and more abundant the lymph, and therefore the less efficiently it circulates). Hence the importance of a healthy lifestyle combining physical exercise, deep breathing and a healthy diet. There are also manual massage methods to stimulate circulation. (Lymphatic drainage and dry brushing).