3 ms·

It is very annoying when people dismiss anything sounding vaguely like "alternative therapy" out of fear of quackery. I remember reading a comment on Reddit whe

by calebm 10y ago

It is very annoying when people dismiss anything sounding vaguely like "alternative therapy" out of fear of quackery. I remember reading a comment on Reddit where someone denied there the body ever contains any toxins... apparently they were not familiar that the liver and kidneys have a purpose.

adwn 10y ago
Nobody (well, nearly nobody) denies that the body contains toxic substances. The disputed claim is that various fasting methods will remove those toxins, for which there is no evidence (in typical "alternative therapy" fashion). Of course, this doesn't mean that fasting can't have other health benefits. Want to help your body shed toxins? Drink some water, and your kidneys will get rid of them. The view that fasting will flush them out of your system appears to be wrong, though.
- gtirloni 10y ago
  Do you have any evidence that drinking more water alone without weight loss will remove the toxins from the adipose tissue that have accumulated over the years? I'm interested in learning how that works in more detail.
  - adwn 10y ago
    I didn't say anything about toxins in adipose tissue.
- baccheion 10y ago
  I didn't even go into this. When the body is in the fasted state, it begins burning up whatever it can find (in priority order-- oldest/crappiest tissues first) to fuel its processes. This includes adipose tissue. In the process of breaking down this fat, stored/trapped toxins may end up released into the bloodstream. Is this something that can be spun around to the point that it can be claimed water fasting results in detox? I don't know, but I suppose there is all around healing and rejuvenation during this time. It's also good to give the body a rest from constant digestion, so it can see to other things, and as cravings are reset during the fast, it's an easy transition (afterward) to whatever diet you actually want to follow. There are many things that detox the body (liposomal vitamin C (liposomal mainly due to the high dosages needed), liposomal glutathione, ashitaba, chlorophyll, Centrophenoxine, magnesium oil spray or magnesium lotion, mercury chelators like spirulina (unless you have amalgam fillings), etc).
- calebm 10y ago
  In our pharmaceutical-run health system, "no evidence" often equates to "since this thing is not patentable, no company has paid for expensive FDA-approved testing of it". That's not the same as no evidence.

by calebm 10y ago

adwn 10y ago

Nobody (well, nearly nobody) denies that the body contains toxic substances. The disputed claim is that various fasting methods will remove those toxins, for which there is no evidence (in typical "alternative therapy" fashion). Of course, this doesn't mean that fasting can't have other health benefits. Want to help your body shed toxins? Drink some water, and your kidneys will get rid of them. The view that fasting will flush them out of your system appears to be wrong, though.

gtirloni 10y ago
Do you have any evidence that drinking more water alone without weight loss will remove the toxins from the adipose tissue that have accumulated over the years? I'm interested in learning how that works in more detail.
- adwn 10y ago
  I didn't say anything about toxins in adipose tissue.
baccheion 10y ago
I didn't even go into this. When the body is in the fasted state, it begins burning up whatever it can find (in priority order-- oldest/crappiest tissues first) to fuel its processes. This includes adipose tissue. In the process of breaking down this fat, stored/trapped toxins may end up released into the bloodstream. Is this something that can be spun around to the point that it can be claimed water fasting results in detox? I don't know, but I suppose there is all around healing and rejuvenation during this time. It's also good to give the body a rest from constant digestion, so it can see to other things, and as cravings are reset during the fast, it's an easy transition (afterward) to whatever diet you actually want to follow. There are many things that detox the body (liposomal vitamin C (liposomal mainly due to the high dosages needed), liposomal glutathione, ashitaba, chlorophyll, Centrophenoxine, magnesium oil spray or magnesium lotion, mercury chelators like spirulina (unless you have amalgam fillings), etc).
calebm 10y ago
In our pharmaceutical-run health system, "no evidence" often equates to "since this thing is not patentable, no company has paid for expensive FDA-approved testing of it". That's not the same as no evidence.