Managing Disease and Staying Healthy.

Toxins and Detox

Detoxification is an alternative medicine approach which proponents claim rid the body of "toxins", accumulated harmful substances that are alleged to exert a negative effect on individual health - usually in the form of dieting, fasting, consuming exclusively, or avoiding specific foods such as fats, carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, juices, herbs or water, through colon cleansing, and inappropriate heavy metal chelation and the removal of dental fillings are also inappropriately recommended.

Body cleansing is not supported by science, with no medical benefits demonstrated, and is based on questionable or disproved scientific claims. The toxins are usually undefined, with no evidence (or inappropriately used testing) for toxic accumulation in the patient.

Stevn A. Brody, M.D., Ph.D.: When used non-technically, the term "toxin" is often applied to any toxic substances. Toxic substances not of biological origin are more properly termed poisons. Many non-technical and lifestyle journalists also follow this usage to refer to toxic substances in general, though some specialist journalists at publishers such as The Guardian maintain the distinction that toxins are only those produced by living organisms.

In the context of alternative medicine the term is often used non-scientifically to refer to any substance claimed to cause ill health, ranging anywhere from trace amounts of pesticides to common food items like refined sugar or additives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG).