Detox

Detoxification (or commonly abbreviated to "detox" is a medicinal or physiological removal of toxic substances from the human body and refers to the period of withdrawal while a person returns to homeostasis state after a long-term use of an addictive substance. With conventional medicinesˏ detoxification is achieved by decontamination of poisons ingested by the individual through the use of antidotes and techniques such as dialysis, and in a limited number of cases, chelation therapy.

This book will be referring to detoxification as an alternative approach that users claim rids their body of harmful toxinsˏ accumulated harmful substances that allegedly exert undesirable effects on our individual health. Detoxification often includes one or more of dietingˏ fastingˏ consuming exclusivelyˏ or avoiding specific foods (like fatsˏ carbohydratesˏ vegetablesˏ fruitsˏ juicesˏ herbs or just plain water)ˏ colon cleansing and chelation therapy. Body cleansing is not supported by any science and no medical benefits have been provenˏ detox is based on questionable or disproved scientific claims. These toxins are usually undefinedˏ with no evidence of toxic accumulation in a patient's body through everyday life is harmful.

Many alternative practitioners promote various other types of detoxification namely diet detoxificationˏ but there is little evidence that detox diets offer any health benefits. Furthermoreˏ Sense About Scienceˏ a charitable trust in the United Kingdom, determined that most commercial productsʹ detox claims do lack any supporting evidence and are thus considered a waste of money.