DIOXINS. PCBs. Phthalates. Those are the reasons Randall Hansen and his wife, Katharine, embark on an annual detoxification program.
The Hansens, who live in DeLand, Fla., have made a ritual of doing the "Fat Flush Plan" at least once a year "to cleanse our bodies and help break some bad habits," said Mr. Hansen, 48, president of Quintessential Careers, a career guidance Web site.
The regimen, made famous by the nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman in a 2001 book, mostly targets the liver, which Ms. Gittleman believes is less able to metabolize fat because of toxins absorbed orally or through the skin. Her plan includes a low-carbohydrate, high-protein menu of about 1,200 calories a day, with no alcohol, caffeine, sugar, grains, bread, starchy vegetables, dairy products, fats or oils (save flaxseed oil). She also recommends a "Long Life Cocktail" of diluted cranberry juice and ground flaxseeds, or a teaspoon of psyllium husks, in the morning and evening; and a mixture of cranberry juice and water throughout the day. Ms. Gittleman sells a Fat Flush kit for $112.50 with herbs and nutrients like dandelion root, milk thistle and Oregon grape root.
"It's horrible when I'm on it - I feel very deprived," said Mr. Hansen, who credits the program with helping him lose more than 70 pounds. "But I always feel better after, and I end up dropping about 10 pounds in the two weeks - an added bonus on top of the detox."
The Hansens are among the thousands of Americans who regularly "detox" in an effort to rid the gastrointestinal system of unsavory substances that proponents believe build up and can cause allergies, exhaustion and certain cancers.
But many Western doctors question the legitimacy of the regimens and their claims of promoting good health, believing detoxification does little to no good, and is possibly harmful.
"It is the opinion of mainstream and state-of-the-art medicine and physiology that these claims are not only ludicrous but tantamount to fraud," said Dr. Peter Pressman, an internist with the Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., and a critic of detoxification. "The contents of what ends up being consumed during a 'detox' are essentially stimulants, laxatives and diuretics."
Such opinions have done little to deter the growing interest in the practice. Detoxification is enormously popular, according to SPINS, a market research and consulting firm based in Schaumburg, Ill., that caters to the natural and organic products industry. Sales of herbal formulas for cleansing, detoxification and organ support among natural food retailers were more than $27 million from Dec. 2, 2007, to Nov. 29, 2008. A survey by Mintel International, a Chicago-based research firm, found that 54 food and drink products were launched in 2008 with the word "detox" in their descriptions - up from 15 in 2003.
The thinking goes that by avoiding certain foods, adding nutritional and herbal supplements and cleansing your innards, you can cure the body of all sorts of evils.
Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/fashion/22skin.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print