Clawing our way to the bottom of the food chain

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