Detoxing

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Thanks so much for coming to our chat on detoxing, an age-old practice. We’re honored to have Dr. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch. He’s written quite a bit about detox treatments, and has posted essays by others on the topic too. So welcome! Let’s go!

So Dr. Barrett, how widespread is detoxing and why is it popular?

Many people are concerned that they are exposed to too many chemicals. There’s a small realistic basis for concern, but it has been blown out of proportion by people who are (a) confused and/or (b) have something to sell.

Absolutely not. There’s no logical reason to believe that autism has a toxic basis. The percentage of doctors who believe that autism has a toxic basis is minuscule — I would guess no more than 1 in 1000.

Hi ProHealth. I agree with Dr. Barrett. So far nobody knows what causes the majority of cases of autism, outside of some rare genetic disorders. Both of those citations indicate the EPA belives scientists should look into toxins, but it has not been accepted that it plays a role in the disorder yet.

Many methods are said to “detox” people. The vast majority make no sense. To answer more pointedly, I would need to know what methods someone has in mind.

Again, though, Dr. Hertz-Picciotto is saying he thinks it is “time to start looking.” That’s a long way from saying, or proving, that environmental toxins play a role. There are lots of areas scientists are looking into, but they are not at a point where they can say this or that causes autism. Indeed, if we knew, there would be ways to prevent it, and new ways to treat it.

Defeat Autism Now! has several hundred doctors. The number of doctors in the US is probably about 800,000.

The vast majority of people who are chelated each year do not have a condition for which chelation is FDA-approved. Very few people, even with lead poisoning, need chelation. Quackwatch.org has a complete discussion of this subject.

Hi Eugene, there have been no clinical trials showing chelating children with autism is safe or effective. In fact, one was started, and abandoned out of concern that the children would be harmed.

We wrote about this extensively last year: bancodeprofissionais.com/autism

I don’t trust what the late Dr. Rimland advocated — and I would suggest that people ignore what the Autism Research Institute says.

Hi Eugene, chelation is only recommended for children with high levels of lead.

Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland is not producing enough thyroid hormone. Proper diagnosis requires blood tests. If the underlying cause is amenable to medical treatment, it should be treated. If the hormone level can’t be restored, hormone should be administered. I can’t think of any type of detoxification that would help. Buy the way, most so-called detoxification products and procedures actually don’t detoxify anything.

No. Medical treatment of gout is usually effective, so that would be the best route to use to get help.

I do not believe that the various products purported to “detox” the liver actually do that. There’s a common belief that the liver stores toxins. That’s a misconception. It detoxified various substances so that they can be excrete by the kidneys. It does not generally store them. Most so-called liver detox products contain laxatives and fiber, neither of which will benefit the liver.

Regular consumption of the four beverages you mention does not cause any type of toxic buildup. Excessive amounts of caffeine and alcohol can be harmful. Large amounts of soda can unbalance diet if they contribute large amounts of sugar to the diet. But “detoxification” has no relevance to use of these beverages.

The scientific definition of toxin refers to specific types of toxic substances. The popular understanding of the term is much broader. Regardless you are correct that some “detoxification” products can cause trouble — most often diarrhea.

Dr. Barrett: People talk about being ‘heavy metal toxic’ and point to lab tests as proof. Often these are called provoked heavy metal urine tests. What do you think of these?

In provoked testing, a chelating agent is given and a urine specimen is obtained afterwards. Provocation artificially raises the test results. Some doctors and labs compare these levels to a “standard” for non-provoked testing. This is not legitimate because it makes people appear to have too much lead, mercury etc., when they actually do not. There’s a detailed article about this at http://www.quackwatch.org/t

The “detoxification” that all of the questions so far seem to be referring to is an array of practices based on quack notions that are not based upon the body of knowledge related to health, disease, and health care that has been widely accepted by the scientific community. I do not believe that any of them actually “detoxify.” The danger of these practices depends upon how much they are used and whether they are substituted for necessary medical care. I have a summary article at http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/detox_overview.html

Hi Elias: That’s exactly the kind of question we should ask ourselves before we pay money and embark on any sort of treatment, whether it is detoxing or some other alternative therapy or, also importantly, mainstream treatments. What does the science say? Is there a good reason to think this works and is it worth the risk of taking whatever pill, supplement, etc.?

The idea that the intestine traps toxins or builds up toxins is not valid. Some detoxification proponents claim that intestinal sluggishness causes intestinal contents to putrefy, toxins are absorbed, and chronic poisoning of the body results. This “autointoxication” theory was popular around the turn of the century but was abandoned by the scientific community during the 1930s. No such “toxins” have ever been found, and careful observations have shown that individuals in good health can vary greatly in bowel habits.

Right now, the gluten-free, casein-free diet is a very popular, but unproven, therapy for all kinds of ailments, from allergies to autism. It’s part of the reason why we are seeing so many gluten-free products on store shelves these days. I was at Jewel (a grocery store) the other day and I was amazed by how many products were GF.

Raw (uncooked) foods do not detox anything.

The term “detoxification” used to be used to describe procedures for helping people withdraw from alcohol or drug addiction.

There is no simple way to lose weight. Some misguided marketers claim that people become obese because they have trouble with digestion or because toxins accumulate in their body. Neither of these ideas makes sense — so any detox strategy based on them would make no sense.

Dr. Barrett: So what would you tell people wondering how to avoid pointless therapies?

The Internet is filled with misguided advice about products and procedures. It’s important to have the right level of skepticism and to get information from trustworthy sources. My Web sites debunk hundreds of dubious methods and identify over 500 sites that are trustworthy.

We also have a free email newsletter.

Here’s Dr. Barrett’s website where you can sign up for the free newsletter: www.quackwatch.com.

Okay, thanks so much for joining us! Join us next week, Tuesday, Feb. 1, with my colleague Deb Shelton. The topic is kids and tobacco.

Thanks again and stay warm!

Thanks for having me. And thank your editor and publisher or the fact that your newspaper is one of the few papers that still provide high-quality investigative reporting.