Anything that promises detoxification sounds a little questionable – like products that claim to “pull toxins out of your system” or “cleanse the liver.” The body does have detoxification mechanisms that are working all the time, and both healthful eating and intermittent fasting can accelerate those processes.
Several-day juice “fasts” are one way to tap into the benefits of intermittent fasting. They enhance the removal of toxins from the body because the body removes toxins when not digesting food and burning more fat for its energy needs. Our fat supply stores toxins, and when we lose body fat we release more toxic waste simultaneously. The body also needs adequate phytochemical and antioxidants for the liver to most effectively process fat-soluble toxins so they can be excreted via the urine.
Get Into The Catabolic Phase
We’re always either in a fed state or a fasting state; you’ve likely read about the anabolic and catabolic phases of digestion in my books or articles that discuss toxic hunger. When we are eating, digesting, and absorbing nutrients from food, we are in the anabolic phase. Think of it like filling your car’s tank with gas. That is followed by the catabolic phase, between meals, in which our energy needs are met by burning energy that we stored during the anabolic phase.
