A detox diet is a nutritional plan which claims to rid the body of impurities. Several such eating plans involve limiting consumption to only water or juice or outright fasting on a regular basis. Another type of detox diet recommends the complete elimination of a certain type of food for example all fats or all carbohydrates. Proponents of these methods of eating believe that trapped toxins are released somehow, passing through the skin, sweat, or breath and out of the body.
All detox diet plans are based on very ancient Egyptian and Greek notions about the body. Besides what we eat, other modalities are employed to detoxify the body, including physical treatments for example colon cleansing. Many herbs and allegedly herbal supplements are sold to supposedly speed up or otherwise aid the detoxification process. Such products are frequently marketed as targeting specific organs.
Bodily dextoxification is a field of so-called alternative medicine, which means that there is no scientific evidence for its claims. Nevertheless, many swear by its placebo effects, though some of the more outrageous practices prevalent in the field appear to be potentially dangerous.
The entire affair may be more psychological than physical, in the final analysis. For one thing, there are simply those who derive a certain sense of pleasure from being contrarian, individuals for whom eccentricity is fashionable. Then there are people who are mentally disturbed conspiracy theorist-types and think that the medical establishment wants to keep folks sick. Whatever the private motivations of such people, the final effect is to perpetuate new generations of detox theory adherents who seem to argue against anything scientific.
Of course, not all detox diets are shams – many are quite sensical plans that seem to be basically affixing the “detox” label onto themselves becuase it is a hot-selling buzzword at the moment. Insofar as people are a lot more conscious of what they’re eating, these dietary schemes are, in the main, harmless.