It is not to be confused with detoxification carried out by the liver and kidneys, which filter the blood and remove harmful substances to be processed and eliminated from the body.
[1][2] Activities commonly associated with detoxification include dieting, fasting, consuming exclusively or avoiding specific foods (such as fats, carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, juices, herbs), colon cleansing, chelation therapy, certain kinds of IV therapy and the removal of dental fillings containing amalgam.
Scientists and health organizations have criticized the concept of detoxification for its unsound scientific basis and for the lack of evidence for claims made.
[5] Dara Mohammadi summarizes "detoxing" as "a scam [...] a pseudo-medical concept designed to sell you things", and Edzard Ernst, emeritus professor of complementary medicine, describes it as a term for conventional medical treatments for addiction which has been "hijacked by entrepreneurs, quacks and charlatans to sell a bogus treatment".
Scientists, dietitians, and doctors, while generally viewing brief "detox diets" as harmless[citation needed] (unless nutritional deficiency results), often dispute the value and need of "detox diets", due to lack of supporting factual evidence or coherent rationale.
[4][14] In cases where a person suffers from a disease, belief in the efficacy of a detox diet can result in delay or failure to seek effective treatment.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the "toxins" typically remain unspecified and there is little to no evidence of toxic accumulation in patients treated.
[31] Alan Boobis, a professor and toxicologist at Imperial College London, states: The body’s own detoxification systems are remarkably sophisticated and versatile.
[4]Scientific skeptic author Brian Dunning investigated the subject in 2008 and concluded that:Anyone interested in detoxifying their body might think about paying a little more attention to their body and less attention to the people trying to get their money... Why is it that so many people are more comfortable self-medicating for conditions that exist only in advertisements, than they are simply taking their doctor's advice?
[3] As with some other alternative medicine treatments, efficacy has been attributed to astroturfing, the placebo effect, psychosomatic improvements, or natural recovery from illness that would have occurred without use of the product.