"Toxins exist. Doctors typically define them as something that enters the body that has a damaging effect on its own — like pesticides, lead or antifreeze — or in large quantities, like alcohol or medications such as acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol.
But for the most part, the body handles toxins just fine on its own.
“The human body is well designed to eliminate wastes and toxins, and a number of organs play a role,” Dr. Grendell said.
The kidneys and the liver do the main removal work. They draw substances out of the bloodstream and process them for the body to excrete as feces and urine.
When asked what about this process would be helped by juice, Dr. Grendell seemed at a loss.
“It’s hard to understand because there is no good scientific evidence that a juice cleanse, or any other food for that matter, is particularly relevant to removing toxins,” he said.
This isn’t to say that drinking vitamin-rich, antioxidant-filled vegetable juice can’t be beneficial for one’s health, he added, or function as an effective tool for weight loss or resetting one’s habits. It’s the vague talk of toxins that reminds doctors of leeches."
I was reading a book that brought up the ways that "purity" is part of the human system of morality, and that different cultures have different definitions of purity, and how it can mead to a lot of seemingly Irrational behaviors. Environmental/health purity is a big part of the American liberal culture; GMOs fall in here too. A lot of food stuff is about purity, a lot of people slide into environmentalism around the anger that our food might be impure.
And I totally get this feeling; when I was little and I had a stomachache, I used to picture it as some kind of sludgy (dirty/impure) ball in the pit of my stomach, that I needed to get out. It's really easy to feel weighed down and exhausted and imagine those feelings as icky, physical, dirty invaders of our bodies.
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