Flush out the toxins?!? seriously?!?

Triathlon Forum
1

i was reading the “what would you do?” thread about ATX getting a little sick before CDA, and took note of all the replies that include “flush out the toxins” … fer gosh sakes, somebody set me straight and tell me that this is not quackery/wives-tale jibberish. i know what it’s supposed to mean, but, what toxins? isn’t the only reason you would have “toxins” is if you’re experiencing liver/kidney/renal/whatever failure? have a balanced diet. hydrate well. rest well. cover your bases and supplement with antioxidants just in case. then show me a study that proves the efficacy of vitamin c or zinc or echinacea or herbal tea in treatment of the accute symptoms of anything.

i’m sorry if my rant is … well, a rant, but i’ve been listening to howard stern on the drive lately and robin is doing the “nantucket 21 day fluid diet” or some such garbage, where she’s going without solid food, having scheduled “health drinks” and regular colonics … and all her “doctor” can tell them about the drinks that they’re giving her are that they “flush out the toxins” … good god! and then i come in here, possibly the most medically, scientifically, athletically informed group of people i’ve ever come across, and here people are recommending the vitamin-c drinks and herbal tea for toxin-flushing purposes … it’s killing me!

2

It’s possible that HS needs to flush the toxins out of his guest’s heads.

jaretj

3

without toxins, why would i listen to that show?

it’s the ultimate auditory guilty pleasure …

4

maybe your attitude would improve if you flushed out some of those toxins.

5

I think of “flushing out the toxins” as making sure you’re really well hydrated, then doing some light activity that allows your body to help pump fluids that have a higher concentration of metabolic by-products through your lymphatic system. Gets to the blood, then the kidneys, and then urinated out.

As for herbal products that “cleanse” you- complete bunk. Want to get cleansed? Try Metamucil and water.

6

I have 7 massage therapists who work for me. I refuse to let them use the sentence “dont forget to drink after the massage work so you can flush out the toxins”. The body does not work this way.

7

I agree with you. Howard Stern is toxic.

8

the diet industry is making millions on these “diet flushes” where people drink juices or take certain pills etc.

our bodies detox themselves–thank God, our bodies are self sufficient.

the best bet is to eat whole fresh foods; manage or reduce stress; exercise and sleep. if people could just do that, they’d be in much better situation! it’s not about starving or drinking cabbage juice, or whatever.

this is a fad rebounding from the 1970’s. all of this stuff recycles and becomes popular again because people are desperate. before long we’ll see a re-hash of sea weed and platic body wraps that promise a weight loss of 5 pounds (hello, it’s sweat). maybe i should be in the gimmicky diet business!

9

Bodies are not self-sufficient. Want a proof? Stop eating and drinking for one week. Report to us every day…(towards the end, you might need to ask someone to do it for you)…

10

Things like this?

Modulation of cytokine expression by traditional medicines: a review of herbal immunomodulators.
Spelman K, Burns J, Nichols D, Winters N, Ottersberg S, Tenborg M.

Clinical Division, Department of Herbal Medicine, Tai Sophia Institute, 7750 Montpelier Road, Laurel, MD 20723, USA. spelman123@earthlink.net.

Modulation of cytokine secretion may offer novel approaches in the treatment of a variety of diseases. One strategy in the modulation of cytokine expression may be through the use of herbal medicines. A class of herbal medicines, known as immunomodulators, alters the activity of immune function through the dynamic regulation of informational molecules such as cytokines. This may offer an explanation of the effects of herbs on the immune system and other tissues. For this informal review, the authors surveyed the primary literature on medicinal plants and their effects on cytokine expression, taking special care to analyze research that utilized the multi-component extracts equivalent to or similar to what are used in traditional medicine, clinical phytotherapy, or in the marketplace. METHODOLOGY: MEDLINE, EBSCO, and BIOSIS were used to identify research on botanical medicines, in whole or standardized form, that act on cytokine activity through different models, i.e., in vivo (human and animal), ex vivo, or in vitro. RESULTS: Many medicinal plant extracts had effects on at least one cytokine. The most frequently studied cytokines were IL-1, IL-6, TNF, and IFN. Acalypha wilkesiana, Acanthopanax gracilistylus, Allium sativum, Ananus comosus, Cissampelos sympodialis, Coriolus versicolor, Curcuma longa, Echinacea purpurea, Grifola frondosa, Harpagophytum procumbens, Panax ginseng, Polygala tenuifolia, Poria cocos, Silybum marianum, Smilax glabra, Tinospora cordifolia, Uncaria tomentosa, and Withania somnifera demonstrate modulation of multiple cytokines. CONCLUSION: The in vitro and in vivo research demonstrates that the reviewed botanical medicines modulate the secretion of multiple cytokines. The reported therapeutic success of these plants by traditional cultures and modern clinicians may be partially due to their effects on cytokines. Phytotherapy offers a potential therapeutic modality for the treatment of many differing conditions involving cytokines. Given the activity demonstrated by many of the reviewed herbal medicines and the increasing awareness of the broad-spectrum effects of cytokines on autoimmune conditions and chronic degenerative processes, further study of phytotherapy for cytokine-related diseases and syndromes is warranted.

11

maybe this is what you need. :slight_smile: no personal experience, but seems to be the thing for the celebs to do.

http://www.blessedherbs.com/

http://www.blessedherbs.com/Program_Images/spacer.gif
The Colon Cleansing Kit This is our best selling Kit, it is an eight-day intestinal cleansing program that removes built-up waste (see photos) from your intestinal system.* It works by using two herbal formulas. The first, Digestive Stimulator, comes in capsule form and works to assure that one has at least three bowel movements a day.* The second, Toxin Absorber, is a powder that is consumed five times per day after being mixed with organic apple juice. The herbs in this formula have traditionally been used for their strong absorptive properties and work to cleanse the intestinal system.*

12

Why did i click on that link? Why did i look?

13

Ok, my fault. I didn’t look at the link either before posting it. I just copied the description from the website and didn’t realize the link. THAT… is disgusting!!! Some of the pics suggest they did more than cleansing and may have lost crucial parts of their anatomy. I’m stunned…

14

wow.

15

that’s hilarious. i cannot imagine holding up poo with chopsticks and flashing a photo to share with others, then writing up what is essentially a “poop report” for the internet. LOL

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Bodies are not self-sufficient. Want a proof? Stop eating and drinking for one week. Report to us every day…(towards the end, you might need to ask someone to do it for you)…
duh, we have to fuel. but the body processes on it’s own. otherwise, we’d all be hooked up to kidney machines, etc.

17

now tell me what cytokine’s are … and i’ll gladly agree that this article served to not rule out herbal remedies of cytokine expression … which to my untrained and un-medically educated eye is a little short of “proof of efficacy.” are cytokines’s these “toxins” everyone seems soooo concerned about flushing?

i don’t have the ability or desire to get into a “pub-med citation war” and reeeally don’t want to come off as pissy about it … i’m totally open to the concept that herbal remedies provide some benefit … however, the articles i’ve seen and understood (things unreferenced here) … that have indicated no observed benefit from echinacea … extracts (?) … and that dosing of vitamin c does nothing for the person suffering from a cold other than give diarreaha … and that vitamin c and zinc cancel each other out in the absorbtion battle …

18

it’s a beautiful marketing concept, especially since these “therapists” prey on people like Robin who are significantly overweight, underrested, physically inactive, etc. They sell a magic cure that will “flush the toxins” that are making you fat and tired. Hilarious, my favorite part is the coffee enema. Fucking genius.

19

i know, right?!? i loooove when howard asks “and what does that drink do?” and the “doc” says … “it’s a lemon drink.” … awesomely technical answer … now lets go bounce on our “rebounder” and get a seaweed wrap.

20

Maybe there’s something to that coffee enema… The colon is the most absorptive bit of tissue in the body. If caffeine can hit the bloodstream quickly, it causes a bigger release from the adrenal glands and makes you feel better.

Or maybe I’m just over-thinking the old “latte up the ass”?