Let’s start by exposing some arguments behind diets called “detox” or debugging. By Guadalupe German Lascurain
Suppose I prepare to enjoy a cookie from a chocolate cookie. Like other foods, it contains vitamins, proteins, minerals and other substances that are absorbed by the cells and become part of them.
Now, if we take the proverb “I am what I eat ” to the letter, it turns out that, when toxic substances are ingested, they also reach the cells – that is, the “bricks” or basic blocks that constitute us— and the whole organism starts to get sick.
It is clear that I have no intention of putting toxins into my cells, but according to the detox promoters, today it is almost impossible to escape from toxicity: on the one hand, we live exposed to environmental toxins; on the other, our way of feeding ourselves is determined by industrialization.
In sum, it is argued that by the time that cookie reaches the digestive system, it has previously been exposed to fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, additives, preservatives, flavorings, dyes and other cravings that have serious consequences for health, including: obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, infertility and allergies.
To this horror mini-story, we can add that the cookie is made with sugar, dairy and gluten, the villains of fashion. So, what can I do to recover my health?
Well, at least according to this logic, sticking to a strict feeding program designed to eliminate toxins that rob us of a healthy state. It does not sound so extravagant compared to other beliefs we have reviewed in this section (such as that the Earth is flat). However, it must be analyzed carefully before biting the hook.
THE HUNGER GAMES
The Clean book by the allopathic doctor Alejandro Junger announces on its cover:
“A REVOLUTIONARY PROGRAM THAT WILL RESTORE YOUR BODY TO ITS SELF-HEALING ABILITY.”
The back cover includes a quote from Gwyneth Paltrow, Hollywood actress famous for having won an Oscar and for selling products and treatments that the scientific community considers questionable and even harmful to health. Returning to Junger’s book: what it promotes is a three-week feeding program that is limited to abundant freshwater, a solid meal and two liquid foods in the form of a shake, juice or soup.
Obviously, the latter do not include beer, frappuccino or tequila. The menu of a typical “Clean day” reads like this: green smoothie breakfast (which has almond milk, coconut water, kale, avocado and mango) accompanied with hot water or herbal tea; at noon, steamed fish with fennel, parsley and capers; a “snack” of herbal tea and at dinner time, cold cucumber soup with mint. According to Junger, you can “detoxify yourself while you nourish yourself”, although the nutrient part sounds very scarce.
BUT LOOK HOW THEY DRINK …
There are many other detoxification programs in the market. Although their names, brands or technical jargon differ, they share these characteristics: they convince the potential consumer that he is seriously intoxicated. For this they usually invite you to answer a test with questions such as:
“DO YOU SUFFER HEADACHES?”, “ARE YOU BLOATED?”, “DO YOU HAVE EPISODES OF ANXIETY?” AND SO ON.
As the person who answers is not a robot (and also approaches the detox universe with the predisposition that something is wrong), he answers yes to nine out of ten questions and, immediately afterwards, he begins to feel like a human piltrafa.
The “intoxicated” organism is shown to need a respite, which means abandoning the usual diet to undergo a restrictive diet based on juices, smoothies, infusions, mineral water and soup.
Every detox program sells something, directly or indirectly: courses, recipes, books, conferences, personal advice, nutritional supplements, ultra-powerful blenders, alkaline water, alleged superfoods (read: chia, flaxseed, spirulina seaweed, amaranth …) and even packaged juices and labeled as if they were the elixir of eternal youth. In short, it is a very juicy business.
FROM PLATE TO MOUTH …
To recap: Detox diets promise “to eliminate toxins from the body derived from large amounts of processed foods, sugars, saturated fats, refined carbohydrates, dyes, preservatives, and so on.” But … what do nutrition experts say? According to a bulletin from the Harvard Medical School, these programs are forms of fasting, characterized by an alarming shortage of proteins, fatty acids and other essential nutrients.
It is true that poor diet damages health, but does not amount to “poisoning”; and even if that were the case, there is no conclusive scientific evidence that a detox diet eliminates toxins.
The graduate in Nutrition, Raquel Lobatón Shabot explains: “The human body has its own detoxification systems, which work efficiently to get rid of what our body does not need. Our organs (liver, kidneys, lungs, skin and colon) are responsible for maintaining a safe environment and expelling everything that must be expelled.
Let’s talk clearly: detox is a scam. The gurus who promise through pseudoscience to end all our problems are not only spokespersons for false hopes, but also endanger our health. Depending on the technique one chooses to ‘detoxify’, the risks can range from constipation (due to lack of fiber) and inflammation (due to excess fructose when it comes to juices), to hyponatremia, excess water.
Any cycle of restriction is harmful to the organism, since it awakens natural survival reactions through which the body tries to recover from the starvation state to which it was subjected. These reactions include an increase in the production of cortisol and insulin (which leads to greater fat storage and a decrease in metabolism), an increase in the segregation of ghrelin (a hormone that intensifies hunger) and a greater desire for eat, which most of the time ends in an overfeeding that triggers guilt, despair and stress, ”he explains.
A BITTER DRINK
Speaking of guilt and stress, several specialists have pointed out that the fashion of the so-called clean eating or healthism (also called “salutism”, in Spanish) is the prelude to an eating disorder, when not the socially acceptable way to mask this imbalance .
Dr. Max Pemberton, from the National Health Service of the United Kingdom, writes:
“All the patients I see in my eating disorder clinic say they are trying to eat healthier.”
And quoting Raquel Lobatón again, regarding detox diets, “the lack of calories leads to a state of weakness and lethargy that, in turn, produces irritability, hunger and recurring and obsessive thoughts about food. These factors generally trigger dysfunctional eating behaviors, such as: binge eating, guilt when eating and feeling of failure to feel that you don’t have enough willpower. ”
It is easy to understand why the detox method can trigger or worsen a bad relationship with food, as part of a dogmatic stance where certain products are inherently “bad” or “dirty” and other “good” or “healthy” while exercising very strict control over what the person ingests. However, food lacks moral burden. Eating a donut does not transform you into a wicked monster; Chewing lettuce does not make you more or less virtuous.
THUS…
The term detox is a marketing tool that, without the slightest scientific foundation, feeds a multimillion dollar industry dedicated to profit with our fears of gaining weight, getting sick or dying. Many of its militants – such as the aforementioned Gwyneth Paltrow – lack professional training in the field of medicine or nutrition, which does not prevent them from arrogantly decreeing what is “healthy” and what is “forbidden”. Thus they foster an extremist thought, making us believe that in every bite we could be, or saving our life, or putting it at imminent risk.
The key, will say any nutrition professional who works seriously, is not in exclusion, but in moderation. Food is a source of life and pleasure, not guilt or terror, so… enjoy them sensibly, and enjoy!
1 Comment
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