Detoxification (medical)
Detoxification in a medical context refers to the process of removing toxins from the body, which proponents believe contributes to various health issues. This concept is prevalent in alternative medicine practices such as Ayurveda, naturopathy, and chiropractic care. Advocates argue that toxins from processed foods, environmental pollutants, and even pharmaceutical medications accumulate in the body and lead to chronic illnesses. Common detoxification methods include increased water intake, fasting, the use of herbal supplements, and the removal of mercury dental fillings. However, scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of these methods is limited, with many detox practices lacking rigorous validation.
While some detox techniques, like hydration, are generally considered safe, others, such as high colonics or intravenous therapies, carry potential risks. Notably, the body naturally detoxifies through organs like the liver and kidneys, calling into question the need for additional detox methods. Despite the popularity of detox trends, it is advisable to approach such practices cautiously and consider their safety and effectiveness.
Detoxification (medical)
DEFINITION: The removal from the body of toxins, such as certain chemicals added to food and the mercury in silver dental fillings.
Overview
The concept of detoxification plays a significant role in many schools of alternative medicine, including Ayurveda, naturopathy, and chiropractic. In this context, the term refers to a belief that toxins accumulated in the body are a major cause of disease and that health can be promoted by removing these toxins through various means.
The toxins referred to in this theory are said to have several major sources and include the following: chemicals added to processed foods, such as preservatives; chemicals that enter the food chain through the use of pesticides, artificial fertilizers, and drugs given to food animals; toxins produced in the intestines from improper digestion; toxins produced in the bloodstream from stress; pharmaceutical medications, nearly all of which are regarded as essentially toxic by proponents of detoxification; toxins present in the general environment, such as automobile exhaust, cigarette smoke, the aluminum in antiperspirants, and the formaldehyde released by new carpet; toxins in water; and toxins introduced through the use of mercury in silver dental fillings.
These toxins are said to cause a wide variety of chronic illnesses, from multiple sclerosis and migraine headaches to cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. Alternative practitioners use various methods to remove the toxins. One such recommendation has made it into conventional wisdom: drinking at least two quarts (or one-half gallon) of water daily. Other detoxification methods include fasting (on juice, water, fruit, or brown rice), using “cleansing” herbs and supplements (such as olive oil and lemon juice to flush the liver, dandelion root to purge the gallbladder, or psyllium seed to cleanse the colon), taking high colonics, receiving intravenous vitamin C, and removing mercury fillings.
Removing toxins is often said to cause a temporary flare-up of illness. This reaction is generally interpreted as a positive sign, but it also calls for careful medical management to avoid causing harm on the way to healing.
Scientific Evidence
In general, there is little to no scientific support for detoxification methods. Aside from specific toxicities such as lead or arsenic, medical researchers have observed no general phenomenon of toxification. For this reason, it is difficult to scientifically validate whether detoxification actually works.
Most detoxification approaches remain unexamined rather than proved or disproved, and they rely on reasonable concepts but no hard evidence for their justification. Mercury-filling removal is a typical example. Many alternative practitioners believe that the mercury in silver dental fillings is a cause of numerous health problems and should be removed to prevent or treat disease. However, although it is indisputable that mercury can be toxic, scientific evaluation generally indicates that mercury levels in people with mercury fillings are far below those necessary to cause toxic symptoms. Opponents of the use of mercury respond that some people are sensitive to mercury in very low amounts, and that those people will benefit from filling removal even if they are not experiencing actual toxicity. This could certainly be true. However, despite numerous unreliable anecdotes, no meaningful evidence exists that removing mercury fillings can treat or prevent any disease.
Much the same can be said about the other popular detoxification methods. However, the theory behind the technique is wrong in the case of one form of detoxification, colon cleansing. According to this nineteenth-century theory, known as colon health or colon hygiene, years of bad diet cause the colon to become caked with layer upon layer of accumulated toxins. This accumulation is said to resemble sedimentary rock. High colonics, essentially enemas that reach far into the large intestine, are said to release the accumulated buildup and thereby restore health.
However, physicians have performed colon examinations to search for colon cancer in millions of persons, and their findings do not support the theory. Most of the people given these examinations are middle-aged or older, and few have devoted their lives to healthy diets and clean colons. According to the colonic hygiene theory, colon examinations should turn up concrete-like deposits on such persons. However, all that shows up during a typical colonoscopy is fresh, pink flesh. Proponents of colonics do not seem to have assimilated this information, and they continue to recount theories about the colon that were shown to be untrue decades ago.
Despite dubious scientific backing, detoxification remains popular in the alternative medicine community. New methods of detoxification, including infrared saunas, ionic foot baths, ear candling, oil pulling, and coffee enemas, have become popular in the twenty-first century. Still, scientific evidence backing these detoxification methods is limited. Most lack significant scientific study, and some therapies can be dangerous. It is important to remember that the human body has its own methods of detoxification through the kidneys, lungs, liver, and skin functions.
Safety Issues
The safety of detoxification methods varies widely. While drinking one quart of water daily is undoubtedly benign and mercury-filling removal is unlikely to be harmful, other methods might be risky. High colonics have occasionally resulted in serious internal injury, and intravenous therapies, being highly invasive, must be handled with a certain degree of sophistication to avoid causing harm. Considering that detoxification has not been proven useful, one should try the more moderate of its various methods if one wants to try detoxification at all.
Bibliography
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