4 ms·
"Neither can CAM. But doctors do have some pretty good ideas why it happens: exposure to infections, number of organisms that get into the body, genetic factors
by CaptainZapp 13y ago
"Neither can CAM. But doctors do have some pretty good ideas why it happens: exposure to infections, number of organisms that get into the body, genetic factors, toxins, immune deficiency"
I would have preferred that they use the word poison instead of toxins. Not that it's factually wrong but a lot of woo treatments claim to flush the toxins out of the system.
Maybe I'm overly pedantic here, but a provider of dubious therapies can point to this very article and claim that "see, my mercury enema treatment flushes out the nasty toxins. Even scientists claim that this can be a problem".
- criley2 13y agoI agree, the word is tainted by the association with woo-peddling. It has a real use and when speaking technically, or writing scientifically, the correct term should be used, but when speaking colloquially, I think we should avoid those words. Reminds me of the word "believe". It should mean "you think it's true", but it has so many supernatural/unscientific connotations that people start using it as a trap "do you believe in global warming" which is just becomes a minefield of misused language and gotchas.