"Do detox diets work?" "What do you think about me going on a 12-day water fast?" "Should I get a juicer and start juicing?"



When I'm faced with these questions or conversations, I often try to do my best to dodge them, not because I don't have something to say, but for a couple of other reasons.



First, the answer takes longer than most people are willing to listen to (hence, this full article to answer the question).



Second, people aren't really asking me for my opinion, as much as they're looking for approval, thinking that doing a detox is a "healthy choice."



Instead of detox, you might wonder about juicing, cleansing, water fasts, drinking celery juice, and most of the other versions of detox programs popularized by celebrities or pseudo-science "experts."



As with other questions, such as "Is intermittent fasting good for you?" or "Is coffee bad for you?" or "How much protein should I eat?" I decided to sit down and write out an answer, once and for all.



I recommend reading this from beginning to end the first time. I've written it just as I'd explain it if you asked me that initial question. However, if you want to jump around, I've divided the article into the following sections to make it easy to navigate.







What are toxins?



Toxins are compounds either produced by living organisms, or through synthetic means, which are poisonous or harmful to the organisms that make them, or to other organisms.



Though we tend to think of toxins as chemicals produced by modern-day manufacturing, toxins have been around since the beginning of time.



Some of the more common "natural" toxins include glycoalcaloids, produced in the green spots of stored potatoes, mycotoxins produced by fungi in different foods, aflotoxins in nuts, rice, fruit, and milk, and lectins in beans.



These aren't the types of toxins commercialized detox programs target, though. When you think of detoxing, you probably think of chemicals related to plastics, pollution, or heavy metals.



Modern-day manufacturing creates numerous new chemicals each year, but not all manufacturing-related chemicals are toxic.



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Are there really 84,000 chemicals used in commerce today?


An often-cited stat is that "There are more than 84,000 chemicals used in commerce today." This number is a huge exaggeration. The "84,000" comes from a list of chemicals in the EPA database. However, the list includes many duplicates of the same chemical, as well as the names of chemicals that are not used.


The more accurate number is about 7700 chemicals used in commerce.





Most detox programs focus on eliminating toxins like persistent organic pollutants, phthalates, and heavy metals, which I'll briefly review next.



Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)



Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were used in flame retardants, pesticides, paints, coolants, and lubricants until around the 1970s, when Europe, the United States, and Australia began banning their use.