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  • This episode of DNews is brought to you by HARRY'S

  • When you hear the word "detox" or "cleanse" do you get irrationally angry?

  • Well c'mon get happy!

  • Let's break this down like the digestive system!

  • Detoxes tell us on our diet is filled with "toxins" and "chemicals," that need to be

  • cleaned out.

  • Their solution is to eat raw things, or only drink juice, or whatever

  • Detoxing is a huge industry that has been completely debunked by medical science, but

  • that doesn't stop us doing it.

  • If you are a drug addict, medical science can help clear your system with a detox, but

  • if not -- buying dime-store online direct-to-consumer health fad detox is not going to do anything

  • helpful.

  • Pills and potions to improve the body have been sold for centuries; and every time science

  • looks into it, it's obvious they're selling snake oil.

  • The human body is an incredible thing -- it can take in any number of edible, drinkable

  • and breathable things which are low-level poisons, and process them.

  • You're probably thinking sugar! alcohol! fast food!

  • But, oxygen, salt, and water are poisons!

  • In high enough quantities, each of those can kill.

  • It's all in the dosage.

  • Everything in moderation, is a great way to look at it.

  • For example, alcohol got its moniker as a poison from the Women's Christian Temperance

  • Union, The Anti-Saloon League and the KKK[1] to get people to stop consuming.

  • Sure, in massive quantities alcohol will poison us, but so will salt or oxygen!

  • Plus, popular "detox" foods like tomatoes and broccoli contain cyanide!

  • And drinking nothing but fructose -- the sugar which makes fruit juice sweet -- does not

  • go over well in humans.

  • In reality, the human body comes with structures designed specifically to clean and filter

  • the blood and digestive systems -- the liver and the kidneys[2].

  • They do a great job keeping us clean.

  • When we consume anything, the kidneys and liver filter out any "toxins" and send them

  • out of the body as waste.

  • *hands* done.

  • A "detox diet" doesn't help the kidneys do this job any better.

  • According to the Guardian[3] and Harvard Medical School[4], detox kits are often designed to

  • make you FEEL like you're getting something for your money, even if you're not.

  • For example, there are no little bits of poop stuck in your colon that need to be cleansed,

  • but some colon-cleansing tablets claim to have a polymerising agent that makes your

  • poop stick together in a single piece; so you can then admire it and feel accomplished--

  • actually, that sounds pretty awesome.

  • BUT IT'S NOT HEALTHIER.

  • Even though the detoxing itself isn't doing anything helpful, the act often has people

  • reporting they feel healthier or have more energy, or even have weight loss!

  • All these things are possible, some might be a placebo

  • But in the end, it could also be down to the highly restrictive forms of many of these

  • diets.

  • Intermittent fasting has shown some benefits[5]… and if you're restricting nutrients you're

  • essentially fasting.

  • During a fast, your metabolism drops, and your body puts more resources into your brain

  • power to help you find food.

  • In modern society that means more energy flow for your neurons[6]!

  • The reason people keep doing it is a mystery, maybe it's because we want to believe we have

  • control over our bodies, or because we feel like we have to make up for eating badly,

  • or because we hear about pollution and toxins in our environment[7], or because taking a

  • pill seems easier than exerciseor something else

  • Who knows.

  • The best way to "detox" your body, is not to drink only juice for a week, that's for

  • SURE; but rather to eat healthily, exercise outside.

  • We couldn't have made this episode of DNews without support from Harry's.

  • Valentines Day is just around the corner and Harry's is offering a special Winston shave

  • kit that comes with three blades, a personalized chrome razor and really awesome smelling shaving

  • gel.

  • The kit makes a great v-day gift and DNewsers get 15 bucks off with the coupon code dnewsvalentine.

  • If you want to change how you shave check out Harry's.com and stop paying a ton of money

  • for razors and blades.

  • Do you have friends who "cleanse" what do you tell them?

  • Did you do one?

  • Do you care about the science?!

This episode of DNews is brought to you by HARRY'S

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