The Myth of Detoxifying

My sister forwarded an article through social media from the Guardian newspaper. Titled “You can’t detox your body. It’s a myth. So how do you get healthy?” it spells out how products that claim to detox your body simply do not work, because there’s nothing to detoxify.

The claims are typically this, your body has built up toxins somewhere that your body is not removing and these products or diet will remove them. They never say what exactly these toxins are or how it is that they build up in your body (because if they did biologists will be able to point exactly how the manufacturers' claims are wrong) they just use vague and nebulous language about these toxins being inside you. The Guardian interviews doctors and medical researchers who discuss why these claims about toxins are wrong.

It’s a scam. It reminds me a lot of ear candling, where you stick a candle in your ear and light it. It is supposed to draw earwax and toxins out of your ear and you can then break the camel afterward to see the gray or brown “toxins” in the middle of the candle. Of course if you lit the candle on its own without sticking it in your ear the toxins also appear in the candle afterward.

Toxin has become the latest fad word for diets and health products. I’m glad the Guardian decided to finally look into this and call it out.

Eat healthier and exercise everyone. I know, I know, that's more difficult than sticking Detox Foot Pads on your feet and going to sleep but exercising and eating right is the magical way to healthy living.