Файл: Medical_Myths_Lies_and_Half-Truths_guidebook.pdf

58

Lecture 16: Facts about T

o

xins and Myths about Detox

Yes, there are toxins in our 
environment. But does this mean 
that the claims made for detox 
treatments are legitimate, that 
they can remove toxins from the 
body? There is no evidence for 
the need for routine or nonspeci

¿

 c 

detox. This is just marketing 
hype, a marketing strategy 
playing off fears of toxins in the 
environment. In case of genuine 
toxicity or genuine overdose, 
targeted medical diagnosis and 
treatment is necessary, not some 
nonspeci

¿

 c detox product. 

Let’s look now at some of the 
popular detox treatments that 
don’t have medical legitimacy. 
For example, there is the colon 
cleanse—cleaning toxins out of 
your colon or out of intestinal 
walls. One version of this is the coffee enema, which claims to clean out 
toxins that are collecting and gunking up the intestinal wall. There is no 
evidence for toxins or anything clogging up the walls of the intestines. The 
intestines continuously move waste through, and everything eventually 
comes out. There is no theoretical reason for coffee enemas or other colon 
cleanses. This is also not a risk-free procedure. Enemas carry the small but 
real risk of perforating the colon. 

Another entirely different type of treatment with the same claims of 
detoxi

¿

 cation is rol

¿

 ng. This is a deep, often painful, muscle massage. The 

idea is that by squeezing the muscles very strenuously, you will squeeze 
out the toxins into the blood, and then they’ll be removed by the liver and 
kidneys. There’s no proven health bene

¿

 t to rol

¿

 ng, and it actually contains 

a small risk of nerve or muscle damage. 

First- and secondhand tobacco 
smoke are common sources of toxins 
in our environment. 

© iStockphoto/Thinkstock.

59

Next we have ear candling. The procedure is to put a wax candle in your 
ear with your head down on its side. The claim is that burning this candle 
in your ear will draw out the wax, and toxins, from inside your ear. This 
has been studied in several different ways. First of all, there’s no negative 
pressure created, no sucking action. In addition, the wax that collects on the 
plate at the base of the candle has been shown to be entirely composed of 
wax from the candle itself; it’s not earwax. The black sooty material that 
proponents often say is the toxins drawn out of the body is nothing more 
than ash from the wick of the candle. The procedure also carries the risk of 
burning or damaging the eardrum.

There are also many herbal or diet detox products—too many to name. This 
is a very common type of supplement on the market today. These are usually 
harmless mixes of vitamins, herbs, or some food regimen. They are alleged 
to give your body a break from toxins or to augment your liver and kidneys’ 
ability to remove toxins from your body. There is no basic science or any 
clinical evidence to support any of these claims. 

Ultimately, dealing with the notions of toxins and human health is about 
balance. Yes, there are toxins, and you do need to be reasonably aware of 
them. However, it is easy to spread unreasonable fears that are not based in 
science. Sometimes these unreasonable fears are used to sell products that 
make nonspeci

¿

 c claims not backed by science. The bottom line is not to get 

scammed by fear. Beware of products that make claims that have not been 
veri

¿

 ed by science. Let’s end with a quote from some colleagues of mine, 

Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst, who said about detox products, “The only 
substance that is being removed from a patient is usually money.” 

Ŷ

Australian Skeptics,

 “Debunking the Detox Myth.” 

Karasov and Martinez del Rio, 

Physiological Ecology

.

Novella, “The Detox Scam.”

    Suggested Reading

60

Lecture 16: Facts about T

o

xins and Myths about Detox

1. 

What are the most common toxins to be aware of?

2. 

Which detox products, if any, are legitimate? Why?

    Questions to Consider

61

Myths about Acupuncture’s Past and Bene

¿

 ts 

Lecture 17

The notion that acupuncture is ancient has led to what some call the 
argument from antiquity. If the idea’s been around for thousands of 
years, then it must have some merit. But, on closer inspection, this is 
simply not true.

A

cupuncture is perhaps the most misunderstood of the so-called 
alternative treatments. The history of acupuncture is different from 
what many people might suppose. The 

¿

 rst myth of the acupuncture 

history that I’d like to debunk is the notion that it is uniquely Eastern. In fact, 
the ideas behind acupuncture were common to most ancient cultures, East 
and West. 

A concept that you may think of as Western—and that is also common among 
many cultures—is the use of bloodletting. There are signi

¿

 cant  historical 

records that show that traditional acupuncture points were very similar to the 
bloodletting or lancing locations that were being used in the West. Chinese 
acupuncturists were largely peasant healers who practiced minor surgery, 
bloodletting, and needling. All of these practices were mixed together in one 
cohesive system. 

But in China in the 1930s, there was a period of acupuncture reform. Chinese 
pediatrician Cheng Dan’an moved the traditional acupuncture points from 
over veins to over nerves. He distanced the practice of acupuncture from 
bloodletting; he changed the concept to using 

¿

 ne needles to affect nerve 

function. This is the modern concept of acupuncture, which is taught in
the West. 

The modern practice of acupuncture involves sticking a very thin needle 
into one of thousands of acupuncture points to a certain depth. The needle is 
then rotated in order to elicit what’s called the 

de qi

, which is a vibrational 

sensation. It’s that sensation that is thought to represent the unblocking of 
the 

À

 ow of the vitalistic energy.

62

Lecture 17: Myths about 

Acupuncture’

s Past and Bene

¿

 ts

There are many different claims made for the modern incarnation of 
acupuncture. The most common claim is pain relief, but it’s also used 
to treat nausea, addiction, and back pain. There is also something called 
medical acupuncture that is used to treat diseases, including serious illnesses 
such as cancer, and to enhance the chances of becoming pregnant. There 
are also claims made for 
acupuncture anesthesia, the 
ability to perform invasive 
surgery with nothing but 
acupuncture for pain relief. 

Some scientists have sought 
a modern, physiologically 
based explanation for 
how acupuncture may be 
producing the effects that 
are attributed to it. These, so 
far, are mostly speculation. 
There have also been 
published studies looking at 
other biochemical effects. In 
2010, a study was published in 

Nature Neuroscience

 that found that needling 

with an acupuncture needle caused the local release of a chemical known as 
adenosine. In response to this, local pain and in

À

 ammation decreased. But 

there are signi

¿

 cant limitations to this study: It was done in mice, and there 

were no controls in this study. All we can really say, based upon this study, 
is that there is a local tissue response to minor trauma. This then inhibits the 
in

À

 ammation and pain that results from that trauma—not surprising when 

you really think about it. But, the speci

¿

 c mechanism that was identi

¿

 ed 

may lead in the future to treatments that will help address both pain 
and in

À

 ammation.

What about the clinical research for acupuncture? Acupuncture is one of the 
most studied of the alternative modalities. The main challenge in designing 
acupuncture trials has been properly blinding both the acupuncturist and 
the subject. It’s hard not to know if a needle is being stuck into some part 
of your body or if you are doing the sticking. However, this technology 

The perceived bene

¿

 ts of acupuncture may 

actually be placebo effects.

© Hemera/Thinkstock.