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Detoxification is an
alternative medicine approach that proponents claim rids the body of "toxins", accumulated harmful substances that are alleged to exert undesirable effects on individual health. Detoxification usually includes one or more of:
dieting,
fasting, consuming exclusively or avoiding specific foods (such as fats, carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, juices, herbs, or water),
colon cleansing,
chelation therapy, or the removal of
dental fillings.
[1][2] Body cleansing is not supported by science, with no medical benefits demonstrated, and is based on questionable or disproved scientific claims.
[3][4][5][6] The toxins are usually undefined, with no evidence (or inappropriately used testing) for toxic accumulation in the patient.
[7].
.........
Criticism
Body cleansing and detoxification have been referred to as an elaborate
hoax used by
con artists to cure nonexistent illnesses. Some doctors contend that the 'toxins' in question do not even exist.
[1][16][17] Alternative medicine proponents frequently cite heavy metals or pesticides as the source of toxification; however, no evidence exists that detoxification approaches have a measurable effect on these or any other chemical levels. Medical experts state that body cleansing is unnecessary as the human body is naturally capable of maintaining itself, with several organs dedicated to cleansing the
blood and
gut.
[18] Professor Alan Boobis OBE, Toxicologist, Division of Medicine, Imperial College London states that "The body’s own detoxification systems are remarkably sophisticated and versatile. They have to be, as the natural environment that we evolved in is hostile. It is remarkable that people are prepared to risk seriously disrupting these systems with unproven ‘detox’ diets, which could well do more harm than good."
[13]
The apparently satisfied
testimonial and
anecdotal accounts by customers can often be explained by
disguised employees companies or individuals creating false anecdotes, legitimate customers who are experiencing the
placebo effect after using the products, natural recovery from an actual illness that would have occurred without the use of the product, psychological improvements on illnesses that are
psychosomatic or the result of
neurosis, or the lack of a larger number of dissatisfied customers not posting equally applicable anecdotes about their poorer experiences.
[19]
