Don’t expect much support from you medical doctor when you mention the word “detox”, unless your GP has been trained in detoxification and/or nutritional medicine such as the AIMA course (Australasian Integrated Medical Association). Most medically trained physicians view detoxification as “not scientifically proven”.
Don’t expect much support from you medical doctor when you mention the word “detox”, unless your GP has been trained in detoxification and/or nutritional medicine such as the AIMA course (Australasian Integrated Medical Association). Most medically trained physicians view detoxification as “not scientifically proven”.
A study conducted in 2011 states: “As increasing evidence of the relationship between body burden and adverse health effects of synthetic chemicals emerges, safe and effective methods of reducing body burden levels will be a vital component of naturopathic medicine, and complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine in general.”
According to the Mayo Clinic (USA), the typical medical response to the notion of detoxification with patients is “Detox diets are touted as a way to remove toxins from the body, some people actually report feeling more focused and energetic during and after detox diets. However, this may be due to a belief that they’re doing something good for their bodies”, and further “
There’s little evidence that detox diets actually remove toxins from the body, most ingested toxins are efficiently and effectively removed by the kidneys and liver and excreted in urine and stool. If you’re considering a detox diet, get the OK from your doctor first”.
It is interesting how the Mayo clinic website states that most toxins are “efficiently removed”. But what about the rest? And, where is the proof that all toxic residues we take in (diet, air, water, personal care products, pharmacy drugs, etc) are all efficiently removed? Furthermore, the problem arises that if you do consult your doctor untrained in detoxification you will be greeted with much skepticism and disapproval.
My first experience with the medical model was when I was newly qualified as a naturopath and started to work in conjunction with a young doctor. Dr. X was trained to the highest caliber as a Western medical doctor. But when I first spoke with him about the importance of nutrition in medicine, his reply was “Well Eric, I didn’t think that nutrition had much bearing on health, apart from constipation perhaps”.
In my clinical experience, and no doubt other naturopaths will be able to testify that many patients have benefited from detoxification, in particular those patients who have been exposed to chemicals.