"Detox Diets are a Complete Con"

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Apparently they've even found a way to turn water into snake oil.

Who should we blame, the marketing people or the people who swallow their hype? I suggest it's difficult to blame the public - the idea that constant rehydration is essential for good health has been promoted so ubiquitously that it has seemingly gone beyond urban myth into the realms of unquestionable fact...

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well, that is a bummer. So we are just stuck with the toxins that we pump into our bodies on a daily basis? I have never tried a detox diet, but the idea of them appealed to me.

I will wait for more evidence before I make my mind up though. One woman OD'ing on water isn't enough to turn me away just yet.

I drink alot of water.It makes me feel good.
However I don't think the idea was to drink to much.
I think the idea was to stress the fact that the body needs some fluids each day directly from water.
Some people go years without ever drinking a glass of actual water they get all there fluids from other things that are bad for you.
I think someone going overboard and drinking 500 glasses of water is not the way it was meant to be.
But on some of these weird cult diets, they encourage to drink to much water because you have to buy some special water from them.Just another sales scam.

reply to post by Karlhungis

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Thanks for the level-headed response.

This does make you think, though:


Source: original article above

I know it is weird, but too much water is unhealthy. No one should give this any thought though. Don't go changing anything. Anything in excess is bad for you.

There is indeed such a thing as too much water and in fact it can be poisonous. It is called water intoxication, hyperhydration, or water poisoning. If you are consuming more water then your body can remove then the electrolytes, primarily sodium, in your body become diluted.

Much more interesting and detailed information can be found here:
Water Intoxication

But just in case your worried, here's a snippet to calm your nerves.







[edit on 23-7-2008 by deadboi]

This is nothing new. People have know about water intoxication for a long time. I should be a "no brainer" to watch how much water you are taking in. It can and will kill you if you drink to much. Not sure what the big deal is now. Detox diets are safe unless you are stupid and drink tons of water. I have heard of numerous numbers of water intox deaths so nothing new here.

I wonder about all these bottled waters,I remember as a kid when we were out playing baseball or whatever,if we were real thirsty we would suck on sprinkler heads to get water,I'm over 50 and doesn't seem to have effected me any,I think it has to do with ones genes,some live longer some don't

reply to post by deadboi

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Nice addition to the discussion. I seem to remember Margaret Thatcher's son almost ended up killing himself in this way after his rescue from the desert during the Paris-Dakar motor rally several years ago (-couldn't find a reference online, though).

I don't suppose many people would end up in that state due to a 'detox' - although the woman in this article apparently ended up with brain damage.

There is, however - if the article is to be believed - the definite hint of a conspiracy to defraud with respect to these widely-respected 'health' programmes.

why dont U tell that to the Military
In Basic Your Forced to Drink 5 glasses of Water with EVERY meal.

That Has stuck with me but I also drank alot of water before hand, I handle about 4 to 6 bottles of water a day and I feel great, Other then My digestion problems, which I can blame On myself, My genes and Food Additives.


Water is your life source. Without it You die. too much of it and You die, has to be Goldie Lock sized. lol Just right,

But Ive been drinking * or more cups of water ever since I was in high school, and honestly It helps.

Also Heres a New Study I just made up, lol I drink water everyday, and No volcanoes come near me, I think Water is a Volcano Repellent.

Im gonna start selling My Volcano repellent spring water soon, Look for it on your store shelves. Now With 99% extra Volcano fighting power.

reply to post by pause4thought

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Hey, P4T! What I am about to say isn't aimed at you but at the article.

The way the article addressed the issue made it very misleading. Of course drinking too much water can lead to problems (and even death in extreme cases) but that doesn't mean all detox is bad or that all detox includes drinking insane amounts of water.

There are many ways to detox the body and it has so many health benefits- not just weight loss. It helps with energy, metabolism, skin, etc.

I am a detox fanatic and do just about everything under the sun regarding detox for health, skin, and 'anti-aging' maintenance. Detox foot pads worn while sleeping, herbal teas, an ionic machine that draws the toxins out through my feet, and herbal detox vitamins. Also sauna use, drinking plenty of water (but not too much), and focusing on cardio. Not to mention eating whole foods whenever possible. Of course I do not do all of the above every day because that would be way too much but you get the point. lol

The article made it sound like it was all about water and appeared to give off the logical fallacy of all water = detox therefore all detox = water. And too much water = danger therefore detox = danger. At least that is what I got from the article.

Detox for weight loss has some logic to it but that can be a lot of hype. Losing toxins and water is not fat loss so I can understand that angle of 'hoax' but many people including myself do it for health benefits and to maintain skin vibrancy, youth, energy levels, and overall optimal body function.

Please correct me if I misunderstood the article.

As others have already said, anything in excess is bad for you. It is all about ballance. The article title is misleading also... many detox diets are based around combinations of fruit juices that are drank 3 times a day while otherwise fasting for a couple of days. The combination of acids, vitamins, minerals, and natural laxatives within the various juices cleanses you system. Then you take a week or two of acidophilus/lactobacteria/probiotics and it's like changing your oil and filter on your truck... everything is clean(er) and ready for better performance.

(and believe me, the first time to do a true colon cleaning detox diet, when you see, smell, and experience the growlers you'll dump during the initial cleansing phase you WILL know without a doubt that detox diets are no con job. It is truly horrifying what collects in the human digestive system thanks to the crap we ingest.)

Ashley - trust you to find holes in the article. Typical.

Well, for all you water fanatics out there I for one must be riddled with toxins. It's 7pm and I reckon I've had one mug of coffee and one and a half glasses of orange juice all day. But hey, I'm not likely to fall victim to water intoxication, at least. Granted I live in a cooler climate (although its about 25 C today).

I just think everybody has a different metabolism & therefore different needs. As I understand it, the problem with the 'detox' diets discussed in the article is that the proponents are taking people's money while broadly hyping the pseudo-scientific need for increased water intake without regard to the individual's particular body and rate of water loss.

reply to post by burdman30ott6

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How much do you charge for your programme?

Only kidding. But you can see where there's plenty of room for charlatans. What you say sounds pretty impressive. Conversely there seem to be those in the medical profession questioning much of what is being promoted in this sphere.

constant rehydration DOES make sense - the maxim drumed into british army recruits is :

once you are thirsty you have left it too late - you are already dehydrated

Well excuse me!



Burdman expanded a bit on what I meant by 'detox teas' only he was a little more... um... 'direct.' lol But you will know detox is the real deal with those things. Intestinal detox teas are brutally effective. lol

reply to post by pause4thought

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Any naturopathic medicine or holistic health center worth their salt should be more than happy to discuss any questions or concerns that you have and most of them would probably even provide you with recipes to mix your own juices together, especially if you bought your probiotics and suppliments from them. I've never used the commercialized stuff like Colon Cleanz, or EZ Detox because if you look on the label you see that some of the ingredients are of the same nature as what you're trying to remove from your body (food colorings, chemical preservatives, etc.) Go with 100% natural juices like Knudson or better yet find an organic shop and buy produce to make your own juice. It isn't cheap, but then again it isn't something I'd suggest you do more than once every 6 months or so. Then once a month try to have at least one day where you just eat some fresh organic fruits and veggies, frink your water, and definitely up that fiber intake! Fiber is nature's scrub brush and you'd be shocked at how much your overall health improves simply by eating plenty of fiber and drinking enough water to flush it through your system every day.

reply to post by bakednutz

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Really? It has been my experience that water intoxication is not commonly known about and most people I've talked to about it seem to think it means you can "drunk" (like alcohol intoxication) from drinking water. It may be common knowledge to people who are into being physically fit and people who pay attention to what they put in their bodies but I think the majority of people out there do not have a good understanding of or just don't care about what they put in their bodies.

I do not agree with the OP that all detox diets are cons but detox diets have become a big fad recently and with all fads a lot of people rush in without doing any kind of research on their own. They just want to jump on the band wagon and go for a ride cause it's the cool thing to do. Unfortunately, like all fads this leads to:

1) Scams and cons to milk people out of their money.
2) People who have good intentions but lack real education in the field.
3) People who despite having proper instruction decide to over do it. eg: "It says take one tablet ever 4 hours but I'm going to 5 because it will work better".

In all cases people who go in without any real understanding of what they are doing can get injured or even die.

[edit on 23-7-2008 by deadboi]

Reply to deadboi ('Reply' button not working)

You've echoed my gut reaction to the article & put it into words very neatly. Sometimes it takes a case like the one quoted in the article to get people to be more cautious regarding whatever therapy or special diet they're looking into.

Where there's money to be made there are bound to be exaggerated claims plus people playing fast and loose with evidence of potential harmful side-effects.

Just look at the Atkins diet, for example...