The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

A nutritionist debunks five myths of the culture of 'detox' and wellness promoted on the internet

2023-06-01T03:24:03.995Z

Highlights: Not all processed food is bad, nor do vegetable juices have the magical power to heal everything and "detoxify" the body, says Christy Harrison, a dietitian, nutritionist and author of The Wellness Trap. Wellness culture has more to do with the belief that our bodies can't function well or regulate themselves well enough on its own, Harrison said. Many of the beliefs circulating on the internet, especially around nutrition, have little evidence to substantiate, she said.


Not all processed food is bad, nor do vegetable juices have the magical power to heal everything and "detoxify" the body, says Christy Harrison, a dietitian, nutritionist and author of The Wellness Trap.


By Caroline Kee - TODAY

Well-being is defined as a state or quality of good health. The culture of well-being, however, is a more complicated one.

According to Christy Harrison, dietitian, nutritionist and author of the new book The Wellness Trap, wellness culture has more to do with the belief that our bodies can't function well or regulate themselves well enough on its own and require products, diets and discipline to do so.

"The culture of wellness poses certain behaviors as patterns to be achieved," Harrison told TODAY.com, adding that it promotes a principle of body care that is unattainable or even harmful.

Wellness culture has exploded over the past decade, thanks in part to social media, and has reached a growing audience of young peopleGetty Images

Wellness culture has boomed over the past decade, thanks in part to social media, and has reached a growing audience of young people, Harrison said. But many of the beliefs circulating on the internet, especially around nutrition, have little evidence to substantiate.

[U.S. cities where the earth is "sinking" the fastest, study finds]

Here are some of the most common myths wellness culture has led us to believe, according to Harrison, and why you should abandon them immediately.

We need to "detoxify" our bodies

The word detox, which describes the removal of toxins or substances from the body, has been one of the most embraced by wellness culture, according to Harrison. Whether it's cutting out sugar, solid foods, or social media, so-called "detoxifiers" are presented as means to cleanse the body and soul.

"It's a very harmful wellness trend," Harrison said, adding that detoxifiers often include extreme or restrictive behaviors.

Cleansing juices, supplements and fasts, he said, are marketed as ways to detoxify the body, even though the body is designed to do it on its own.

It looks like an image taken from a movie, but the flight of this car was real due to an accident.

May 31, 202300:30

"The liver and kidneys are very good at removing toxins from the body without us having to intervene," he said. Extreme cleanses aren't going to make organs work better, he said, and necessarily those methods aren't necessary as body-maintenance measures.

"Wellness culture sees the liver and kidneys as filters in a clogged sink," she said. "A lot of the message has to do with the need to detoxify or cleanse them to make them work better." But that's simply not true, he stressed.

[U.S. drug shortages increased 295% in the past year]

"Unless you have liver or kidney disease, or in rare cases of poisoning ... you don't have to do anything to get your liver or kidneys to work," he added.

Concerns about toxins driven by wellness culture are often exaggerated and fraught with misunderstanding, he said. "There's a fear about toxins in our food and environment that forces us to supposedly detoxify regularly," he said.

The "cure" of cleansing juices

Juicing has evolved from an easy way to eat fruits and vegetables to a magic formula that can reverse a range of diseases, Harrison said. "There's no scientific evidence behind [cleansing juices], but they're still presented as a cure-all," he said.

Harrison said any wellness trend that is promoted as a cure or a way to help a diverse spectrum of health conditions should raise a red flag.

Celery juice, in particular, remains a popular trend among wellness promoters and celebrities, with many claiming it promotes rapid weight loss, improved gut health, increased energy, and healthier skin.

Although fruits and vegetables provide the body with vitamins and nutrients, juicing them does not increase their benefitsGetty Images

"Celery juice is supposed to help or cure a dozen chronic health conditions," he explained, such as immune system diseases, skin problems, allergies or digestive ailments. But research to support these claims is very scarce," he said.

Although fruits and vegetables provide the body with vitamins and nutrients, juicing them doesn't increase their benefits, TODAY.com previously reported. Juicing can be a great addition to a diet, alongside nutritious meals, but taking them as a food substitute or as a cleanser isn't worth it.

Eating "healthy" is always better

Wellness culture has created an obsession with how clean and pure the things we put in our bodies should be, Harrison said. That has moved from food to personal care, beauty and house cleaning products.

[The terrible death of the New York doctor accused of using his own sperm on patients with fertility problems]

The premise of eating healthy is to focus on eating natural foods and avoiding processed foods, eliminating sugar, limiting saturated or transgenic fats and limiting or avoiding alcohol and caffeine. It's one thing to try to consume more nutritious foods in our diet, but eating healthy is sometimes actually a problematic diet wrapped in a disguise, Harrison said.

Nearly a dozen teenagers have been arrested for the beating of two Marines

May 31, 202300:21

Eating healthy includes eliminating entire food groups -- such as grains and dairy, for example -- and maintaining very restrictive eating habits, Harrison said. What's of most concern, he added, is that this can lead to eating disorders or "orthorexia."

"Orthorexia nervosa" is an eating disorder characterized by an obsession with healthy eating and restrictive behaviors associated with it, according to the National Institutes of Health. It often includes a fixation on cleaning meals, TODAY.com previously reported.

[How much do the expiration dates of medicines matter? A doctor explains]

Although not yet formally recognized as a mental disorder, the term "orthorexia" has been around since 1998, according to the National Eating Disorders Association, and cases have been on the rise ever since.

"Research is limited, but there is evidence that [orthorexia] is high among the health-conscious population," Harrison said. For example, the prevalence of "orthorexia" among exercisers was very high, at 51%, according to a study published in February.

All processed food is bad

The "moralization" of food — or the classification of certain foods as "good" or "bad" — is one of the most damaging aspects of a culture of wellness, Harrison said. "There are no good and bad foods," he explained. Some foods are more nutritious than others, but this equation doesn't capture the full spectrum of the nutritional value of foods.

Assigning moral values to foods can create feelings of guilt or shame about consuming them, Harrison said. Phrases like "guilt free" or "cheat meals" reinforce this belief.

"The demonization of processed foods and sugar are some of the worst things," he said. "It makes people feel like if they eat some of those foods, they're going to have immediate health consequences or they're getting poisoned." Not only is this a myth, he added, but it can lead to eating disorders.

According to the author, although processed food can be linked to some health problems, it does not merit creating the fear that is sometimes promoted about its consumption. Getty Images

Processed foods are those that have undergone some kind of change in their natural state, and include everything from candy to cookies, to canned fish or vegetables, TODAY.com previously reported. A step above these foods are ultra-processed foods, which have undergone extensive transformation and have been linked to an elevated risk of certain cancers.

Harrison acknowledged that while research suggests that eating a lot of processed food or sugar may be associated with health problems, he doesn't think it warrants the atmosphere of fear around certain foods that the wellness industry has created.

"It doesn't mean that the people with the best health in these studies are always the ones who don't eat sugar or processed foods," he said. Moderation is key: an occasional bag of chips or a chocolate bar is no reason to panic.

Supplements cure-all

No matter your disease, you can always find a supplement that ensures you can eradicate it. Wellness culture always pushes the idea that taking vitamins and dietary supplements is a more "natural" solution to good health, according to Harrison.

However, the benefits of dietary supplements for the general population have been widely questioned. And research continues to show that vitamin pills and gummies that are promoted as ways to stay healthy may have no effect, TODAY.com has reported.

In addition, supplements can be harmful for a number of reasons, Harrison said. They can cause unpleasant side effects and even damage to health, if consumed in large doses. Another downside is that the U.S. supplement industry is mostly unregulated, he added.

This is why wildfires in Canada impact air quality in the U.S.

May 31, 202302:49

Vitamins and dietary supplements are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA does not approve the safety or effectiveness of supplements, nor the accuracy of information on labels before they are sold to the public, TODAY.com previously reported.

Harrison explained that supplement manufacturers are not allowed to claim that their products cure diseases, but they can make vague claims such as that they "raise energy" or provide "immune help."

"It's scary because there's no one watching us in terms of what's going into the supplements before they hit the market," Harrison concluded.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2023-06-01

You may like

Life/Entertain 2024-03-05T08:59:31.980Z
Life/Entertain 2024-02-12T18:13:52.463Z
Life/Entertain 2024-01-29T13:39:41.031Z
Life/Entertain 2024-01-31T13:11:12.634Z
Life/Entertain 2024-02-13T16:00:23.977Z
Life/Entertain 2024-02-15T18:42:33.841Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.