Are you one of the millions of people who, worn down or stressed out by modern life, have been seduced by myths that the recipe for glowing good health involves little more than sticking dudgy-looking patches on your "},"modified":"2019-07-14T05:49:30","modified_gmt":"2019-07-14T05:49:30","slug":"be-wary-of-those-detoxing-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/14\/be-wary-of-those-detoxing-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Be wary of those `Detoxing’ Products!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Are you one of the millions of people who, worn down or stressed out by modern life, have been seduced by myths that the recipe for glowing good health involves little more than sticking dudgy-looking patches on your skin or slugging down Aloe Vera and wheatgrass smoothie?\u00a0 Unfortunately, observed Professor Atan Boobies, a university toxiologist, \u201csuch a world only exists in the fairy tales peddled by the burgeoning detox industry. An industry where robust and exacting science is unapologetically dismissed in the whirlwind of mind-boggling products and diets that extravagantly claim to cleanse the body and flush harmful toxins from our system.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a toxicologist, I can say categorically that detox diets and products that claim to do the same are at best, a money-gorging waste of time and, at worst, can even make you ill.\u00a0 The science is not merely insubstantial. It is, frankly implausible. It is also unnecessary. According to him, Mother Nature, honed by years of evolution, has gifted the human body with a very efficient detoxing system of our own \u2013 in the form of the liver, kidneys and intestinal tract.<\/p>\n
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Every day, these three major organs breakdown and eliminate harmful substances from the body \u2013 some that come from our environment, and some that are by-products of natural chemical process in our body. We are further protected by an extremely efficient barrier between us and the environment: our skin. Together, they form a detoxification system that is robust, sophisticated and versatile enough to withstand the normal levels of \u2018impurities\u2019 we put into our bodies. Yet we are constantly told by adverts and he media that we must \u2018detox\u2019 from such things as caffeine and alcohol because they allegedly attack the body, which is defenceless in their make.<\/p>\n
It is because of these supposition that a team of reputable scientists, including Professor Bobbies, set out to investigate the outlandish health claims of numerous detox plans. Their results were published in the Making Sense of Chemicals guide published last year.\u00a0 \u201cWhat worried me most is that some of the claims on products would be laughable if they weren\u2019t cynically exploitative and potentially dangerous,\u201d he observed.\u00a0 \u201cSome detox products might actually cause health problems rather than solve them. For example, some detox tablets contain liquorice extract, which is recognised in medicine as a treatment for those suffering from constipation, since it can stimulate the gut \u2013 so those who take could suffer from an upset stomach.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut worse than that, because liquorice lowers potassium in the body, it can also cause serious problems such as high blood pressure and fluid retention. Other products were simply pointless.\u00a0 For example, one detox patch claimed to help prevent a `stagnating lymphatic system\u2019. Now, the lympatic system which is responsible for draining fluids from tissues, is anything but stagnant: in fact, it circulates several pints of fluid every day. If it ever stagnated, it would cause inflammation of the lymph nodes, which is very painful. You\u2019d know about it without needing a detox patch to tell you\u201d. If you\u2019re tempted to use gimmicks like this, Boobies advice you make sure you read the small print beforehand. For example, the side-effects of a `detox foot-patch\u2019 containing vinegar \u2013 which claims to help arthritis joints \u2013 include irritation of the skin.<\/p>\n
Another example are skin\u00a0 smothering detox wraps which you wear around your body (but not the head) for about half an hair at a time. The effect \u2013 especially if the material isn\u2019t permeable enough \u2013 will be like wrapping the body in plastic which could irritate the skin and even cause swelling because fluid will not be able to circulate properly around the body. If kept on for a prolonged amount of time, this could lead to impaired circulation and even of blood clots. Besides, since one of the functions of our skin is to form a protective barrier against the outside world, toxicologists don\u2019t see how some flimsy patches which look like wilting tea bags could do much good.<\/p>\n
Detox socks and patches worn on the feet are especially bizarre in their assertions that they can somehow magically flush the body of toxins. Tight socks could cause circulation problems \u2013 and prevent fluids from moving around the body \u2013 and sleeping in them at night might encourage athlete\u2019s foot or other fungal infection because of the lack of breath ability.<\/p>\n
Here, Professor Boobies gives his verdict on some of the most popular detox treatments \u2026<\/p>\n
Foot patches: Claim \u2013<\/strong> Contain a natural crystal called tourmaline and wood vinegar to detox the body. Fact: The soles of the feet have the thickest skin so are the least likely place from which to extract toxins from the body \u2013 if extracting toxins in this way is possible. It is simply fanciful regardless of what these products contain, to suggest otherwise \u2013 not only is the skin too thick but the pads cover too tiny area.<\/p>\n Lemon Maple Syrup: Claim <\/strong>\u2013 A drink made from organic natural tree-syrup, mixed with fresh lemon juice, water and a pinch of cayenne pepper, to dissolve mucus and waste, as well as having stimulatory heating effect which speeds up the metabolism, helping it cleanse and eliminate toxins. Fact: There is nothing special in the syrup and lemon that you couldn\u2019t get in the balanced diet and they will have no detoxifying effects. The cayenne may make you feel not and sweaty.<\/p>\n Exsom Salts Bath:\u00a0 Claim \u2013<\/strong> An Epsom salts detox\u00a0 bath stimulates the lymph system and encourages increased oxygen and blood flow to our body Fact: A warm, relaxing bath can lower blood pressure and inhaling steam can have a relaxing effect.\u00a0 But there is no detoxing effect.<\/p>\n Detox tablets:\u00a0 Claim<\/strong> \u2013 A blend of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants including beta-carotene and N-acteylcysteine, to support the body\u2019s natural eliminative processes.\u00a0 Fact: This wouldn\u2019t have any impact at all. N-acteylcysteine would not be needed in a normal diet, which already contains similar substances. Added antioxidants are no use those already on a balanced diet, and, at very high levels, beta carotene has been linked to cancer.<\/p>\n Detox Socks: Claim <\/strong>\u2013 These draw out and absorb stagnant lymph fluid, toxins and other impurities. Fact: Even if the socks did help remove toxins \u2013 which is implausible \u2013 they only cover a tiny fraction of the skin\u2019s total surface area. And lymph fluid rarely stagnates.<\/p>\n Body Wrap: Claim<\/strong> \u2013 Helps eliminate harmful toxins from your body and provide essential vitamins and minerals to your ski. Fact: Swearing is a natural process and that\u2019s what the wraps may make you do. But perspiration is not a major rout for removing harmful substances, so sweating more will have no effect. His wouldn\u2019t make any difference.<\/p>\n Foot Spa: Claim \u2013 <\/strong>An \u2018Energizing cartridge\u2019 create a flow of electrons and a bio-energetic field into warm salted water to rebalance and harmonise by sending signals up through the lymph glands to stimulate the detox process. Fact \u2013 the skin \u2013 especially n the feet \u2013 is the least effective place to draw any thing from the body. If you could penetrate it to \u2018send signals to the interior of the body, the effects would be catastrophic, because it would mean we could seriously alter the function of the body by signals through the skin. This would result in total imbalance of the body\u2019s normal functions.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Leading a horse to the brook!\u00a0 (Humour)<\/strong><\/p>\n A man drove too fast down a country lane, skidded on some boulders and ended up in a ditch.\u00a0 Fortunately, a farmer appeared moments later, leading a big black horse. When he saw the man\u2019s predicament, he offered to help.\u00a0 \u201cIf we tie a rope round the car, I think old black Bess here will be able to help get it out\u201d. So, they tied the rope from the horse to the car and the farmer shouted, \u201ccould on Star-light, pull as hard as you can!\u201d, but the horse didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n Then the farmer shouted, \u201ccome on Silky one, two, three.\u00a0 Pull!\u201d But still the horse didn\u2019t move. So for a third time, the farmer yelled, \u201cOK, Dublin, pull now!\u201d Nothing happened. Then he called, \u201cGo on Black Bess my beauty, pull hard\u201d. This time, the horse took the strain and slowly pulled the car out of the ditch. The motorist was very grateful but also a little puzzled.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t mind me asking\u201d, he said, \u201cbut why did you call the horse by all those different names?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWell, it\u2019s like this\u201d, explained the farmer,\u00a0 \u201cOld Black Bess is blind and if she thought she was the only one pulling, she\u2019d never have bothered trying\u201d.<\/p>\nRelated<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n