What then is a Detox?
The word detox has been butchered. It has been butchered so much, that to find the real meaning, one has to dig through a lot of muck and dirt, disguised as information. And, like anything else, people who don't believe in a detox, will go on about its dangers. Paracetamol, if overdosed can kill you. Wait. Water, if overdosed can kill you too!
OK. So back to the question, what is a detox? Isn't it very simple? De-tox. De-worm, means removing worms. De-tox means, removing toxins. It is very simple. Yes, it is. Then why all the confusion? Let us assume that you, a well meaning person, undergoes a detox. As part of the detox, you lose weight. You meet your friend, who is hung ho about your new look and you tell them that you did a wonderful detox. Your friend, who might be very slightly overweight, goes in for a detox, expecting to loose the same '7 kilos' that you lost. Guess what happens. Your friend will not lose it. What does she tell the world? 'Oh, detox is of no use.'
Another example. You do a detox and your issues with sleep disappear. You start sleeping well. You tell your friend the same story. Your friend, whose reason for not sleeping well is entirely different, goes for a detox. No result in sleeping. Tells the world that detox is very 'subjective.' Imagine, a million people do this. What do we have? A set of people who totally believe in the concept and a set of people who are dead against it.
But, as you might have now noticed, the problem is not just with people who undergo a detox, but the 'specialist' himself. The doctor undertaking the detox has to counsel the potential detox client about the benefits, what to expect, what not to expect and the dangers. Yes, there are dangers to detoxing. Like there are dangers to a surgery, if not done properly, a botched up detox can cause problems. That does not mean that detox is bad, but like a bad surgery, or a bad botch up with a poor gym trainer, an improper detox can cause problems.
In reality, a detox program only initiates the detox. It is your body's detox organs that do the actual detoxing. So, no, your detox program is not putting a straw into your body and sucking out toxins! If it was that easy, every body will be doing it and nobody will be sick!
For the naysayers, whose only argument is that 'the body detoxes itself and there is no need to get somebody to do it,' ask them a question, "your body has a defence system, so why do you fall sick with infections?" Just like the way, microbes can infect your body and overpower your natural defence system, excessive exposure to toxins like smoking, pollution, processed foods etc, can overpower your body's detox system, thereby needing help.
Oh yes. A spa massage. One session of yoga. One week of 'juice diet.' Anything similar will not detox your body. Detoxing is done by a structured method. And, no person, including myself, can claim that my method is the best method of detoxing. There are many many methods that give the desired effect and one only has to ensure and be satisfied that the person knows what he or she is doing. A few minutes with your therapist and you will find out if the person has the knowledge or is doing a half baked detox program.
More on the components of a detox, soon!
drwasim@yourwellnessdoc.com
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