Detoxing

There are several questions at issue when it comes to the concept of detox.  The first question is obviously, what is detoxing?  Secondly, can detoxing be helpful but more importantly, do humans need to detox?

The assumption that many people in our society have on this issue is that detoxing or cleansing of the body is removing waste or toxins from their body and making them a healthier individual. 

The information that I was able to see on this issue may suggest otherwise. Detoxing is actually a very broad term that can range from the removal of toxins in the body to create “homeostasis”, to removing an addiction from the body, to simply removing waste that is stuck in our bowels.  More importantly, detoxing falls under the category of “alternative medicine” meaning that there is no real evidence to suggest that detoxing is helpful.  This simple fact does not stop people from creating thousands of different means of “detoxing” or buying into these bogus “cleanses”. The fact of the matter is that there are no set standards of what a detox actually consist of.  In my search I found sites that claim all an individual needs to do is drink water with lemon for a week to “rid the toxins”; while another site claimed that famous singer Beyoncé only had to drink water with maple syrup for three days in order to get her perfect body.  Never mind the fact that she has a personal trainer and chefs to make her meals.  The fact of the matter is that our bodies are naturally designed (kidneys, livers, and lungs) remove toxins from our bodies and do this job extremely well.  Detoxing is a made up science that too many of us are falling for.

In my opinion, I have always been a little skeptical when it comes to the world of detoxing and cleansing.  I strongly believe that our bodies were made to get rid of toxins on their own. The only reason that people are seeing these different results is due to the fact that they are starving themselves and the placebo effect.  Of course you will lose weight if you think hard enough about it and only drink water with lemon for a week straight.  There are proven and healthier ways for people to lose weight and remove toxins from their body. It’s called drink plenty of water and exercise.  There are no “quick fixes” in our world and people need to wake up to this fact.

http://www.dietriffic.com/2007/06/04/detox-diets-a-complete-scam/
http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20410095,00.html