Are you overburdened by toxins? Can detox therapies get rid of acne? Today I want to take a moment to answer a reader email dealing with these questions.<\/p>\n
After spending nearly a year (10 months to be exact) going around the alt-med part and being mind-fucked… I think most people have read that ”toxins” causes acne.. Is there some truth to it at all or what?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I like that you used the word mind-fucked. I think it appropriately describes what the alt-med industry does for you.<\/p>\n
So let\u2019s dive in. Let\u2019s see just how far from science and rationality the alt-med industry can stray.<\/p>\n
What is detoxification<\/h2>\n
Detoxification refers to the process of removing toxic substances from living organisms. You probably already have intimate familiarity with the process; hangover is partly a symptom of dehydration and partly because your body neutralizes and eliminates alcohol and other toxic substances you ingested the previous evening.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a legitimate medical use for the term detoxification, but in this post I\u2019ll focus on the alternative and natural health use of the term.<\/p>\n
The alternative health view of detox<\/h2>\n
Within the reality distortion field of alternative medicine, detox refers to various therapies for eliminating undefined toxins. The claim is that modern life exposes us to \u2018toxic burden\u2019 so large our bodies struggle to cope with it. The elimination organs, usually referring to the colon, liver and kidneys, become overburdened and clogged with toxins.<\/p>\n
After failure of the primary elimination organs, the body has to resort to secondary means of elimination, usually the skin and lungs. As toxins are eliminated through the skin, they can acne and other skin problems, whereas elimination via the lungs can cause asthma.<\/p>\n
I have a question\u2026<\/h2>\n
There\u2019s a little problem with this, the premise and every link within the chain are wrong. I think we can agree that in order for the claim toxins cause acne to be true, you would need to demonstrate the following:<\/p>\n
\n
- These toxins should be detected in the bloodstream and tissues, yet no such studies exist.<\/li>\n
- These toxins should be detectable in the skin, assuming the theory that toxins passing through the skin cause acne. Despite numerous studies looking at skin scrapings from all stages of a pimple, no paper has ever noted the presences of toxins.<\/li>\n
- There should be a marked deterioration in liver function and liver detox capabilities. Yet, despite liver function of tens of thousands of people taking Accutane being monitored, no paper has ever shown abnormalities in liver function.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This concept would be very simple to prove experimentally: define a toxin and measure its levels before and after treatment.<\/p>\n
Detox and excessive toxic burden are central concepts of many alternative health modalities, yet nobody has ever bothered to do this very simple experiment. And it\u2019s not because of money, because the US government spends over $400 million<\/a> every year to fund research on alternative medicine. Close to half a billion dollars (every year) and nobody has bothered to test this thesis so central to alternative medicine.<\/p>\n
Perhaps because:<\/p>\n
\n
- Real medical science has shown humans have a very effective mechanisms for removing toxins<\/li>\n
- There\u2019s no evidence that, in absence of serious disease, the detox mechanisms could not cope with the toxic load<\/li>\n
- There\u2019s no known way to speed up the elimination of toxins<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
For hundreds of years, the assumption was that our body produces waste products, many if not most of which, in turn, cause illness. Today we know that this is not normally the case; humans have highly effective mechanisms to eliminate toxins. In the absence of serious disease, we do not require outside help for this function, nor can normal elimination processes be meaningfully enhanced through therapeutic interventions. The very basis of \u2018detox\u2019 has thus \u2018long been consigned to the dustbin of medical history.<\/p>\n
Edzard Ernst MD. \u2018Detox\u2019<\/a>. Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies. Volume 14, Issue 3, pages 163\u2013164, August 2009.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Nobody denies the fact that we are exposed to countless toxic substances on a daily basis, anything from air pollution to pesticides to industrial emissions. Some of these substances can cause harm, for example pesticides can disrupt the endocrine system, and not too long ago a Chinese study correlated exposure to traffic air pollution with higher risk of skin problems.<\/p>\n
The point is that your body is very effective at eliminating these substances. Neither is there any evidence that it needs help from you, nor that the detoxification therapies would amount to anything but waste of money.<\/p>\n
The real solution is to minimize exposure and allow the body\u2019s detox mechanisms to work. There\u2019s no need for additional detoxification.<\/p>\n
Even alternative medicine sources agree detox is bunk<\/h2>\n
Even experts the most sympathetic to complementary and alternative medicine admit detox is more of a sales pitch than science. This quote is by Prof. Marc Cohen, Professor of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and President of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (a group that think it\u2019s a good idea to integrate magical thinking with medicine).<\/p>\n
While a modern science of ‘detoxicology’ seems to be emerging, evidence based detoxicology still seems quite far off, and at present ‘detox’ is certainly more of a sales pitch than a science.<\/p>\n
Marc Cohen. Detox: science or sales pitch<\/a>. Australian Family Physician Vol. 36, No. 12, December 2007.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
With detoxicology he refers to measuring the toxic load in the body and assessing whether exposure to small doses of different toxins cause cumulative harm. Nothing in the article in anyway supports the validity of detox therapies (feel free to check the article yourself).<\/p>\n
Naturopaths still happy to keep prescribing detox therapies<\/strong><\/p>\n
If there\u2019s anything to admire in natural health practitioners, it\u2019s their rugged determination to ignore scientific evidence and maintain \u2018faith\u2019.<\/p>\n
A recent survey published in an alternative medicine journal shows over 75% of naturopathic \u2018physicians\u2019 (ND) use \u2018clinical\u2019 detoxification therapies to treat patients. Yet, even their own literature admits NDs have no way to establish the effectiveness of these \u2018therapies\u2019 (emphasis mine).<\/p>\n
The majority of NDs responding to this survey reported routine use of clinical detoxification therapies to treat a range of medical conditions utilizing multiple therapeutic approaches. Although the majority of NDs reported using some follow-up measurements after detoxification therapy, few of these are an objective means to determine treatment efficacy<\/strong>. Further research is needed in the field of complementary and alternative medicine clinical detoxification to determine the safety and efficacy of these approaches.<\/p>\n
Jason Allen, et al. Detoxification In Naturopathic Medicine: A Survey<\/a>. J Altern Complement Med. 2011 December; 17(12): 1175\u20131180.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This is why I\u2019m against alternative-medicine and visiting these alternative practitioners. Their own literature admits they have no idea of whether these therapies even work, yet the vast majority use them routinely. You decide what to make of that.<\/p>\n
Imagine if a real doctor was to tell you to take this drug and that drug and we\u2019ll just see what happens.<\/p>\n
Why some people claim detox cured their acne?<\/h2>\n
If detoxification is certified nonsense (it is), then why so many people claim detoxification helped their skin? The answer is simple: people confuse correlation with causation.<\/p>\n
Detox therapies almost always involve severely restricted diet and caloric restriction. Caloric restriction reduces both insulin<\/a> and inflammation<\/a>, both of which are linked to acne. Detox diets also restrict dairy products<\/a>, sugar<\/a> and refined carbohydrates, all of which can be bad for the skin.<\/p>\n
As you can see, there are perfectly good, science-based explanations for why detox diets could be good for acne, and there\u2019s no need to involve imaginary concepts.<\/p>\n
The problem with using \u2018detox diets\u2019 is that such diets amount to nothing more than a flash in the pan. Whatever benefits you may get will be short-lived. Very few people can stick to such extremely restrictive diets, and acne will come back within a few weeks of resuming normal diet.<\/p>\n
Bottom-line<\/h2>\n
Detoxification is one of the central tenets of alternative and natural medicine. Despite enormous popularity, the concept is utter nonsense and has been ditched to the \u2018dustbin of medical history\u2019. Not only is there absolutely no evidence to support it, it also goes against what medical science has learned of the human body.<\/p>\n
Even journals and experts dedicated to alternative medicine admit the efficacy of detox therapies is unknown, and that detox is more a sales pitch than science. Yet, over 75% of naturopathic doctors routinely prescribe detoxification therapies.<\/p>\n
Whatever benefits detoxification brings will be short-lived and are better achieved by making less drastic but sustainable dietary improvements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Are you overburdened by toxins? Can detox therapies get rid of acne? Today I want to take a moment to answer a reader email dealing with these questions. After spending nearly a year (10 months to be exact) going around the alt-med part and being mind-fucked… I think most people have read that ”toxins” causes … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[44,93,76],"tags":[55,142,75],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8721"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8721"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11014,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8721\/revisions\/11014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}