Ori Hofmekler Blog

In Part 1, we outted MSNBC for their toxic advice about detox, to wit: you should be very afraid.

But detox is not starvation. And the body wasn't made to detoxify itself from the current bombardment of chemicals, hormones and junk. So what's the case for detoxification?

Fatter and Sicker

The facts are bold and simple: We're getting fatter and sicker than ever because we live in a world that is more polluted than ever. It's known that the same chemicals responsible for the near extinction of some marine life and mammalian species are now threatening us.

These toxins in our environment, food and water are killing us – and our bodies are gradually giving up. Men's sperm count has dropped by 50% in only a few decades. The rate of estrogen disorders and cancer among women is at an all time high. Something must be done to remove toxins from our bodies.

Detox in Perspective

First of all, detox is not prolonged fasting. The body's primary sites for detoxification are the liver and the kidneys. These organs are responsible for the neutralization and elimination of waste material, hormonal metabolites and chemical toxins.

The key for a viable detox is:

1. Eating foods (and herbs) that promote liver and kidney detox
2. Overall reduction of the ingestions of toxins

The most detoxifying foods are those found on the bottom of the food chain (i.e. fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds).

There is also evidence that humans are better adapted to survive on these foods, nutritional resources that were introduced to the human body thousands of years before post-agricultural foods (grains, overfed farm animals), pesticides, additives and preservatives. We have never adapted to synthetic chemicals such as artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohol, plastic chemicals that leak into the foods they contain and a host of petroleum based components that are found in the products that we commonly use.

Going lower on the food chain and avoiding chemicals is a huge step ahead in supporting the body's detoxifying capacity.

We can't overlook the fact that detox is not only beneficial and natural but it can actually be critical. Too bad MSNBC didn't understand that. The article ignores the positives of detoxification and therefore remains inconclusive and misleading.

Moderation?

MSNBC rounds out the article with the standard nutritional battle cry of "cut back on high fat foods…and eat in moderation." Indeed…we've heard this many, many times before and yet, in spite of trying to cut back on fat and eat in moderation (Who eats only a few cookies at a time?) so many people can't figure out how they got obese (3 out of 10 adults), developed diabetes (over 20 million people) or why they are experiencing problems with impotency (over 30 million men).

Finally, MSNBC's advice to eat in moderation is pretty vague and relative, based on no clear parameters. What is moderation? Do we do anything important in moderation? Do we do business in moderation? Do we love moderately? Let's face it – humans aren't moderate beings and eating has nothing to do with moderation, but with primal desires such as passion, pleasure and sheer survival.

Mrs. Moores' advice isn't just a rehashing of the "one size fits all" mentality of the average nutrition "expert". It's also just plain wrong.

Coming Next, Part 3: Go ahead, eat fat

We all know our food chain is full of toxic contaminants. In fact, a robust industry has developed to peddle de-toxification advice. Much of this advice is wrong.

Case in point: MSNBC’s recent piece about the dangers of detox diets. The article, by columnist Susan Moores, R.D., focuses on quotes from nutrition experts warning of risks such as vitamin deficiencies, muscle breakdown, fatigue, lethargy, blood sugar problems, frequent bowel movements and dependency on laxatives (notice that the latter two are a complete contradiction all on their own).

Ms. Moores wraps up the rant of paranoia with the advice to cut on fat and eat in moderation instead of "starving yourself like a celebrity for days."

Starvation is Not Detox

Ms. Moores has a point. But it is a point that is in no way related to the practice of detoxification! Celebrities like Nicole Ritchie or Victoria "Posh" Beckham do not practice detoxification. They practice starvation. And in this case, practice does not make perfect.

Detoxification is a historically sound health practice evidenced in Native American sweat lodges, Tibetan monks in search of spiritual enlightenment and Chinese martial arts masters training. It has been practiced in many forms throughout the ages to include the simple elimination of certain food types (refined flour, processed sugar, alcohol and salt, for example) to significant dietary restrictions such as The Master Cleanse Diet and juice fasting. It is NOT a wholesale elimination of food for an unlimited amount of time. We have to have food to live.

Detoxification is not starvation.

The expert’s focus on one end of the spectrum and make the generalization that all detox methods involve severe fasting, ergo, all fasting is dangerous. Ms. Moores was on to something with the use of the word moderation, but not in the way she used it. Warning people of detox is like warning people of exercising. Exercise indeed involves side effects including muscle soreness and exhaustion, but nevertheless there’s no doubt that exercise is beneficial for us. However, if you take exercise to the extreme, particularly without conditioning, you can harm the body. The same holds true with detoxification. You wouldn’t attempt to run a marathon if you’d never so much as jogged a single step would you? No. You also wouldn’t embark on a 30-day juice detox if you had never engaged in any form of dietary restriction.

What The Experts Forgot

One expert (an MD) quotes: “Your body does a perfectly good job of getting rid of toxins on its own.” In other words, you don’t need to worry about a thing – the body will take care of itself.

Of course, in real life things aren’t that simple. Quite the contrary, some of the most prevalent disorders and diseases today have been correlated with exposure to toxins.

In spite of an ever-growing legion of health experts, doctors and medications, people are getting sicker than ever.

The body may do a perfectly good job of getting rid of the toxins that occur naturally but with each passing year we put more and more unnatural chemicals, preservatives, artificial ingredients, pesticides and even medications that can cause more harm than good into our bodies. We cannot purge this unnatural chemical burden nor can we continue to overload our system with these chemicals without consequence.

Coming next: Part 2: Clawing our way to the bottom of the food chain