A group of science students have revealed that it is unlikely any miracle products aimed at ridding the body of toxins as part of a new year detox will actually work.
The report, which was published today, highlights the problem within the market, as people are buying products on the basis that their body will be detoxed, whereas there is a significant lack of actual scientific evidence to prove they will work. Voice of Young Science, who produced the report, are a group of PhD and post-doctorate science students.
As part of the research, the students got in touch with a number of different manufacturers and retailers to question them about what made their products detoxing, and concluded that other when used to describe
clinical treatment for drug addiction and poisoning, the word “detox” is is not appropriate.
The study discovered that companies had very contrasting uses of the word “detox” and their claims that they were, are “meaningless”.
Despite manufacturers attaching the word “detox” to “promote everything from foot patches to hair straighteners”, they could not back their claims up with evidence to fully explain what that meant.
The British Dietetic Association, which represents 6,000 dietitians throughout Britain, deemed that a “potion” or “lotion” could not physically “magically” extract harmful chemicals from the body.
Harriet Ball, a biologist and an authors from today’s report, stated, “Detox is marketed as the idea that modern living fills us with invisible nasties that our bodies can’t cope with unless we buy the latest jargon-filled remedy.”
Actually, “there is little or no proof that these products work, except to part people from their cash and downplay all the amazing ways in which our bodies can look after themselves,” she added.
Development officer at Sense About Science,which is publishing the report, Alice Tuff commented, “It is ridiculous that we’re seeing a return to mystical properties being claimed for products in the 21st century.”
The study included a leaflet explaining the body’s real detox system - the liver and kidneys.
