Toxin

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Against allopathy
Alternative medicine

Clinically unproven

* Carrot
* William H. Philpott
* Access Consciousness
* The Mind Unleashed
* Gloria Thomas Sam
* Frank Lipman

Woo-meisters

* Julian Whitaker
* Gary Null
* Jair Bolsonaro
* Raffy Tulfo
* Mahatma Gandhi
* Evie Magazine

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Potentially edible!
Food woo

Fabulous food!

* Soylent
* Vitamin and mineral supplements
* Trans fat
* Glyphosate
* Subway diet

Delectable diets!

* Macrobiotics
* Trans fat
* Jeanette Winterson
* Mediterranean diet

Bodacious bods!

* Anti-Gym
* Broscience
* Joe Rogan

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“”"Toxin" is classic pseudoscience terminology.

—Ben Goldacre, M.D.[1]

"Toxin" is a term commonly thrown around by quacks, even though they can't tell you what the exact toxin in question is, how it is absorbed or builds up in the body, why no organisms have evolved methods of disposing of these toxins, or why things like dose, epidemiology, or basic chemistry don't make any difference to the said toxin's effects.

"Toxin" in the scientific and medical sense refers specifically to a metabolic product of a living organism that has deleterious effects either in itself or in another organism at a sufficient dosage. In alternative medicine and food woo, "toxin" is not restricted to metabolic products; woo-meisters often use the word to refer to heavy metals or to synthetic chemicals (which, if showing any actual toxicity, should correctly be termed "toxicants"). Alternative medicine is often not concerned with whether the dosage is sufficient to cause an actual measurable harmful effect.

Detoxification, more popularly known as cleanses, is big business in the alternative medicine world. Chelation therapy is a more formal — if less popular — quack attempt to remove "toxins", most commonly lead or mercury, from the patient's body and to extract as much cash as possible from the client's wallet.

If you are unsure if you're dealing with genuine detoxification woo, simply ask the basic kindergarten question: "Can you please name the compound in question and explain its mechanism of action?". If this question stumps[note 1] the person in question, snap a Polaroid for remembrance's sake. It's not every day one brushes up this close to textbook woo.

## Contents

* 1 General ignorance
* 2 See also
* 3 References
* 4 Notes

## General ignorance[edit]

“”It's an irrational concept, yet an intriguing idea, that modern life so fills us with poisons from polluted air and food additives that we need to be periodically "cleaned out" ("detoxified"). Never mind that natural chemicals in our foods are thousands of times more potent than additives, or that most Americans are healthier, live longer, and can choose from the most healthful food supply ever available.

—Frances M. Berg, M.S.[2]

According to a woo-meister, a toxin is any chemical that doesn't belong in a (usually human) body, for whatever reason they think it shouldn't be there. However, alties usually ignore the following:

* Appealing to nature is not a component of any system of thought that makes even basic sense.
* Bodies of organisms may have ways of either processing or ejecting those chemicals through digestion, basic liver functions, sweating, vomiting, conjugation, Glucuronidation, and a hundred other things (which explains why studying to be a biologist or chemist can't be done over a weekend, e.g. at a firewalk convention in Tampa, Florida).
* Some chemicals, such as formaldehyde (a boogeyman amongst the anti-vaccine movement), are found in many natural foods, but are also produced by the bodies of organisms.
* The dose makes the poison.
* Many "unnatural" (in the sense of not being part of a normal diet) products have no chemical or biological effect from exposure or ingestion. For example, other than displacing oxygen, breathing helium is harmless, as it does not react with any part of the body and is exhaled with the next breath.
* The chemistry of living organisms is kind of an actual branch of science and not something you master simply from years of wearing sandals and eating chlorella. Even purposeful death is vital to your very own, individual health (the lack of it being kind of deadly).

## See also[edit]

* Dihydrogen monoxide
* Detox
* Median lethal dose
* Appeal to nature
* Alternative medicine
* Food allergy

## References[edit]

1. ↑ The Sceptic's Dictionary: Detoxification therapies
2. ↑ Quackwatch: "Detoxification" with Pills and Fasting

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ That is: stumps, or sends into a fallacy spiral, or sends into a shill gambit, or what have you. *shudder*

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Articles about food woo

Food woo: |

Nutritionist • Kymatika test • Superfoods • Haggis • Green tea • Bovine growth hormone • Microwave oven • Cat food • Raspberry ketone • Juicing • Orthorexia • Fortune cookie • Cayenne pepper • Soylent • Kopi luwak • Pete Evans • Raw honey • Apitherapy • Germ theory denialism • Omega-3 • Burusho • Chris Beat Cancer • Turmeric • Salt • Tripe • Vegetarianism • Pork • Water woo • Chocolate • Magnetic water treatment • In vitro meat • Agaricus • Locavore • Cyclamate • Freedom fries • Fast food • RationalWiki diet • Spot reduction • Breastfeeding • Sugar • Bottled water • Forks Over Knives • Pseudovitamin • Coffee • Dietary cholesterol • Humans are herbivores • Hydrogen water • New Eden School of Natural Health • Irina Ermakova • Airborne • William Li • Center for Science in the Public Interest • Baby eating • Cannibalism • Super Size Me • Wine • Sandwich • Fish farming • The miracle of honey as an alternative medicine • Food irradiation • Heart Attack Grill • Probiotics • Udo Pollmer • Richard A. Passwater • Bacon • Food woo • Insect • Jilly Juice • Spam • Veganism • Obesity • Food and Drug Administration • Soy boy •

| Promoters: |

American Association of Nutritional Consultants • John Fagan • Food Babe • GreenMedInfo • Organic Consumers Association • Vandana Shiva • Anti-Gym • Bulletproof diet • Joel Fuhrman • Harmonized H2O • Errol Denton • Gerson Therapy • MonaVie • Purity Products • Robert Young • Matt Cahill • Life Extension Foundation • Rick Scott • David Wolfe • Whole Foods Market • PETA • THINCS • Abd ul-Rahman Lomax • Jeffrey Smith • Jim Bakker • Mehmet Oz • Essene Gospel of Peace • John Heinerman • Institute for Natural Healing • Aseem Malhotra • Konstantin Monastyrsky • Marika Sboros • Malcolm Kendrick • Gary Taubes • Consumer Health Digest • James DiNicolantonio • Dwight Lundell • Chris Kresser • Frank Lipman • Carolyn Dean • William Davis • Anthony William • Josh Axe • Nasha Winters • H. L. Newbold • Tim Noakes • Zoë Harcombe • Annee de Mamiel • Sarah Palin • Weston A. Price Foundation • Michael Savage • Gary Null • H2Om • Nancy Appleton • Vinnie Tortorich • MeMe Roth • Environmental Working Group • Eric Berg • Varg Vikernes • Shawn Baker • Hunter Avallone • David Perlmutter • Jake Angeli • Church of Scientology • Kevin Trudeau • Kurt Saxon • Jack Dorsey • Steve Pavlina • TruthWiki • Lew Rockwell • Steve Jobs • NaturalNews • Jethro Kloss • Jordan Peterson • Jason Fung • Vegan Artbook • Paul Saladino • Truthstream Media • Jimmy Moore • Max Lugavere • Vegan Gains • Tom Naughton • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. • Ray Peat • Joel D. Wallach •

| Diet woo: |

Blood type diet • Breatharianism • Jesus diet • Lemonade diet • Ephedrine • Fasting • Macrobiotics • Organic food • Raw foodism • Doughism • Alkaline diet • Self help • Paleo diet • French paradox • Nutritional supplement • Gerson Therapy • Herbalife • Vitamin D • Creatine • Raw milk movement • Gluten-free • Anti-oxidants • Squirrel diet • Vitamin and mineral supplements • Soy • Trans fat • Errol Denton • Coconut oil • Glycemic index • Isagenix • Subway diet • Agave nectar • Sweeteners • High-fructose corn syrup • Neti pot • Milk • Bulletproof diet • Pro-ana • Carnivora • Geophagia • Holland & Barrett • Weigh down diet • Clean living movement • Edward Howell • Bone broth • Palm oil • Jack Dorsey • Carrot • Diet soda • Food dye • Low-carb diet • Carnivore diet • Vitamin C • Steve Pavlina • Lew Rockwell • Steve Jobs • Jeanette Winterson • Onion • Helminthic therapy • Mediterranean diet • Fad diet •

| Supplement woo: |

Ellagic acid • Apple cider vinegar • Canola oil • Aspartame • Chlorella • Chlorophyll • Coconut oil • Creatine • E number • Rooibos tea • Açaí berry • Vitamin D • Salt woo • Matt Cahill • Vitamin and mineral supplements • Soylent Green • Rick Scott • Dietary supplements • Herbal supplement • Consumer Health Digest • Activated charcoal • CEASE therapy • Vitamin C •

| Toxin woo: |

Aspartame • Canola oil • Microwave • Broccoli • Cleanse • Chemophobia • Candida • Nitrites • Lead • Mercury • Trans fat • E number • Monosodium glutamate • Food allergy • DDT • Colloidal silver • Arsenic • Aristolochia • Alcohol • Median lethal dose • Ayahuasca • Activated charcoal • Water • Polonium • Botox • Radium • Uranium • Real Water •

| Bodybuilding woo: |

ECA stack • Creatine • Ephedrine • Fad diet • Urban caveman movement • Anti-Gym • Human chorionic gonadotrophin • Bodybuilding woo • Broscience • Bold and Determined • Human growth hormone • The Golden One • Joe Rogan • Shawn Baker • Carnivore diet •

| GMO: |

March Against Monsanto • Monsanto • GMO A Go Go • Seeds of Death • Mark Lynas • Michael Pollan • GreenMedInfo • Judy Carman • Vandana Shiva • Bill Maher • Liberty Beacon • Food, Inc • Food Babe • Gilles-Eric Séralini • Nassim Nicholas Taleb • Glyphosate • AlterNet • FAQ on genetically modified food • Kevin Folta • Beppe Grillo • Jill Stein • TruthWiki • Genetically modified food • Golden Rice • Kyle Kulinski • The Non-GMO Project • Environmental Working Group • Fair trade • The Young Turks • Frank Lipman • American Academy of Environmental Medicine • Chidambaram Subramaniam • M.S. Swaminathan • Norman Borlaug • Percy Schmeiser • Jimmy Dore • Immortal Technique • David Dees • NaturalNews • Truthstream Media • Zachary K. Hubbard • Matt Walsh •