Is your skin blemished? Do you feel tired? If so, your body might be full of waste products that need removing. That’s the idea behind detoxification.
Detox treatments are currently all the rage. They are based on the principle that the digestion process leaves behind waste products and toxins in the body’s cells. Many individuals cause themselves further harm by consuming nicotine, sugar, alcohol meat, coffee, white flour and cheese. All this leads to an over-acidification of the organism and makes us sick, claim detox supporters. Treatments last one to three weeks, and are said to help the body break down cytotoxins. They involve eating no food, so as to relieve the digestive system and stimulate our metabolism and fat burning. White flour, trans fats, simple sugars and processed foods are off limits, as are stimulants such as coffee, nicotine and alcohol. The detoxification process is supported by baths, massages, rest periods, and special nutritional supplements. Some experts say the concept is nonsense, however, insisting that a healthy body will detoxify itself – with the skin, liver, kidneys, lungs and colon together providing a perfect waste disposal system. And in any case, they insist: our bodies do not fill up with waste deposits. “There is no evidence suggesting that detox measures significantly accelerate the removal of toxins”, says the German Nutrition Society (DGE). The non-profit foundation Sense About Science examined 15 products with the detox label and classed all of them as ineffective. At the same time, medical experts have nothing against mindful eating and greater self-awareness – something known centuries ago, and called simply “fasting.”
